About Activation Lock and Self Service Repair

Find out what to do if a part you’re using for Self Service Repair of your iPhone or iPad is protected by Activation Lock.

Verify the part to finish your repair

If you reuse a battery, display, TrueDepth camera, or Touch ID sensor from an iPhone or iPad that's protected by Activation Lock (the part is still linked to the previous owner's Apple Account), you need to authenticate with the Apple Account used with the previous device to finish the repair.

When using Repair Assistant to finish the repair, you'll be asked to enter the email address or phone number and password that was used to set up the last iPhone or iPad that contained the part. After signing in with the Apple Account, you might have to wait a moment for the process to complete. To unlock the part, follow the onscreen steps.

If you don't configure the part, you'll see Restart and Finish Repair in Settings > General > About > Parts and Service History. The part might not perform as well as a configured part, and features that are critical to safety, security, or privacy might not be available for the part.

Learn more about parts and service history

Remove Activation Lock with Find Devices

If the original device was set to Lost Mode, you need to turn off Lost Mode before you can complete part configuration. If you were signed in to that device, you can remove Activation Lock with Find Devices:

  1. Go to Find Devices.

  2. Sign in to your Apple Account.

  3. Select the iPhone or iPad that contained the part that you want to install in a new device.

  4. Choose Remove This Device.

  5. If the device is in Lost Mode:

    1. Click Lost Mode.

    2. Click Stop Lost Mode.

    3. Click Stop Lost Mode again when you're asked to confirm.

After following the steps, it'll take a few minutes for Activation Lock to be removed.

Learn more about Lost Mode

If you don’t know the Apple Account linked to the part

Learn what to do if you don’t remember your Apple Account information.

If you don’t know the Apple Account that the part is linked to, contact the owner or part seller and ask them to remove Activation Lock from the device that originally contained the part and turn off Lost Mode if it’s enabled. Activation Lock must be removed from the last iPhone or iPad that contained the part. Apple can't help remove Activation Lock for reused parts.

You can use the iPhone or iPad without finishing part configuration, but you might experience unexpected behavior.

Learn more

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