Turn off Activation Lock in Apple Business Manager
In Apple Business Manager, you can turn off user-based and organisation-based Activation Lock for an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or Apple Vision Pro that your organisation owns. The device must appear in Apple Business Manager; however, it does not need to be assigned to a mobile device management (MDM) solution server.
Turn off Activation Lock
In Apple Business Manager
, sign in with a user that has a role with Manage Device privileges.Select Devices
in the sidebar, search for a device in the search field, then select the device from the list. See How to search.Under Details, confirm that Activation Lock is on.
It was turned on by an MDM server linked to Apple Business Manager or by the user.
Select the More button
, then select Turn Off Activation Lock.Carefully read the dialog, check the box “I understand that this cannot be undone”, then select Confirm.
Note: The device may still indicate that Activation Lock is on when you either use Erase All Content and Settings or use Apple Configurator to erase the device, but you can still set up the device without authenticating as the previous user.
Device state support for turning off Activation Lock
The following device states determine whether you can turn off Activation Lock.
Device state | User Interface | Can Activation Lock be turned off in Apple Business Manager? | Can Activation Lock be turned off in MDM? |
|---|---|---|---|
User-based Activation Lock turned on. | Activation Lock On (User) | Yes See note below. | No |
Organisation-based Activation Lock turned on. | Activation Lock On (Organization) | Yes See note below. | Yes |
Managed Lost Mode turned on by MDM. | Activation Lock On (Organisation) | Yes | Yes |
Lost Mode turned on by user. | Activation Lock On (User) | Yes | No |
Device not configured. | No Activation Lock state appears. | N/A | N/A |
Note: Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro devices purchased before June 2024 directly from Apple, an Apple Authorised Reseller, or an authorised mobile network provider will be added to Apple Business Manager. If Activation Lock was already turn on, you won’t be able to turn it off in Apple Business Manager unless the user first turns it off.