Use Find My and Activation Lock for lost devices

Find My locates devices

With Location Services turned on, Find My automatically turns on when the user sets up iCloud on iPhone, iPad, or Mac using an unmanaged Apple Account, and turning on Find My automatically turns on Activation Lock. After Activation Lock is turned on, Apple securely stores the Apple Account on its activation servers and links it to the device. The Apple Account password or device passcode is required before anyone can turn off Find My, erase the device, or reactivate and use the device.

With Find My, users can locate and protect a user-owned device if it’s ever lost or stolen. Using the Find My app on another device signed in to the unmanaged Apple Account, or using Find My at iCloud.com, users can locate a device, play a sound on the device even if the volume is turned off, mark it as lost, or erase the device.

Activation Lock protects devices

When Activation Lock is turned on, it’s difficult for anyone else to use or sell a person’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Activation Lock helps keep user devices secure, even if it’s in the wrong hands, and can improve the chances of recovering it. Even if the device is erased remotely, Activation Lock can continue to deter anyone from reactivating the device without permission.

Users need their unmanaged Apple Account credentials to turn off Find My, erase their device, or reactivate and use their device, even if they’ve erased the device remotely.

If a user can’t turn off Activation Lock on a user-owned device, see the Apple Support article How to remove Activation Lock.

Managed Lost Mode

When a user is signed in with a Managed Apple Account, Find My isn’t available. Instead, organizations use a device management service to remotely place supervised iPhone or iPad devices in Lost Mode, called Managed Lost Mode, to help locate and secure lost or stolen devices. For organization-owned devices, device management can limit Activation Lock and iCloud features.

When a device management service remotely turns on Managed Lost Mode, the user is locked out of the device. The Lock Screen displays a message that can be customized by the device management administrator, such as displaying a phone number to call if the device is found. Also, when a device is in Managed Lost Mode, a device management service can remotely query for the device’s location (even if location services are off) and, optionally, play a sound. Managed Lost Mode automatically enables Low Power Mode to help extend the device’s battery life and doesn’t require Find My to be turned on to use.

When an administrator turns off Managed Lost Mode, which is the only way the mode can be exited, the user is notified that the device management service administrator has turned on Managed Lost Mode and collected the device’s location through either a message on the Lock Screen or an alert on the Home Screen.

Lock a Mac

Device management service administrators can lock a Mac with a six-digit personal identification number (PIN) and include a short message. After the command has been sent to the Mac, the Mac restarts and the user can see the message. The user can’t restart into macOS until the PIN has been entered and validated by the Mac.

If Find My can’t locate a device

• What to look for:

  • In the Find My app, or when signed in to iCloud.com, “No location found” for a device is reported.

• What’s happening:

  • The device isn’t reporting it’s location to the Find My network.

• What to do:

  • If the device is powered off, turn it on, or connect it to power.

  • If the device was user-owned and was lost, stolen, or ownership was transferred, remove the device from the Apple Account.

  • If the device was owned by your organization, contact your theft and loss team for further instructions.

If iPhone, iPad or Mac is locked with Activation Lock

• What to look for:

  • After erasing a device or during the Setup Assistant process, a message might appear:

    • “iPhone Locked to Owner”

    • “iPad Locked to Owner”

    • “This Mac is linked to an Apple Account. Sign in to the account that was previously used with this Mac.”

• What’s happening:

  • The messages above indicate Activation Lock is turned on.

• What to do:

  • If the device is organization-owned and supervised, Activation Lock can be turned off in the device management service or in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager by an administrator.

  • If the device is user-owned, use the credentials of the unmanaged Apple Account that turned on Find My to turn off Activation Lock.

  • If an unmanaged Apple Account was used to setup Find My and turn on Activation Lock, the Activation Lock screen displays several characters from the unmanaged Apple Account to help identify which credentials are needed.