Tagged

How to Turn Off Find My iPhone, With Photos

Updated: September 6, 2023 by Nina Murphy | Leave a comment

Key Points

‘Find My’ is a great feature that helps Apple product users recover their lost or stolen devices.
Through ‘Find My,’ users have the ability to mark a device as lost, which locks it with the ‘Activation Lock’ screen. Turning off ‘Find My’ will remove this feature, allowing anyone to reset the device at will.
Follow the instructions below to turn off find my phone on the physical device or in the cloud.

‘Find My’ is a useful feature on most Apple products, allowing you to keep track of and recover lost or stolen devices. Apple introduced ‘Find My’ alongside IOS 13 in 2019. While this feature can help protect you from theft or otherwise accidental loss, you may need to turn it in some situations.

If you plan on selling, trading, or giving away your iPhone, it’s important to turn off the ‘Find My’ feature before doing so. This prevents the new owner from accessing your private information and allows them to reset the device without encountering the dreaded ‘Activation Lock’ screen. Likewise, if you send your iPhone in for repair with the ‘Find My’ feature enabled, technicians, will be unable to bypass the ‘Activation Lock’ screen to perform the needed repairs.

You can turn off ‘Find My iPhone’ on your device or through iCloud.

Turn Off Find My iPhone on Your iPhone

1. Open Settings

*Settings app is accessible from your home screen depending on your customization.*
©History-Computer.com

Pull down from the middle of your screen to bring up the Search field. Type in “Settings” and it should pop up.

2. Tap on [your name]

*Your name should be the first thing at the top of the list.*
©History-Computer.com

Tap on it. The majority of your Apple ID information is held here, including access to several other important setting options.

3. Tap Find My

When you click ‘Find My’ option, you will open more device settings.
©History-Computer.com

4. Tap Find My iPhone

*Apple devices use Bluetooth technology to detect missing devices and report back approximate locations.*
©History-Computer.com

Finally, you will see the option to turn off ‘Find My iPhone.’ Tap on the green slider to turn off tracking services for your device. It will ask for your Apple ID password, but after that, you’re all done!

You’ll also see the option to turn off ‘Find My network.’ This is a feature that extends tracking capabilities to third-party devices that can’t connect to the internet. It operates through a crowdsourced network of

‘Send Last Location’ is another useful facet of the ‘Find My’ feature. ‘Send Last Location’ does exactly what it says, sending the last known location of your iPhone to Apple when the battery is critically low.

Although not as necessary as with the ‘Find My iPhone’ feature, you can also turn off ‘Find My network’ and ‘Send Last Location’ before selling, trading, or giving away your iPhone.

Check out the video below for a quick visual guide to turning off Find My iPhone.

How to Turn Off Find My iPhone Through iCloud

No longer have the iPhone in question? No worries, there’s a remote way to disable ‘Find My.’ All you need is a web browser and your login credentials.

*If you’ve enabled two-factor authentication, you will have to enter a verification code*
©History-Computer.com

If you have another device that is already logged into your iCloud account, simply input the verification code provided on the screen.

2. Click on Find iPhone

*Find iPhone icon is accessible from your iCloud account settings.*
©History-Computer.com

You may have to re-enter your password to ensure your location information isn’t accessible to unauthorized persons.

3. Locate and select the device

*Depending on how many Apple products you own, this may be a long list or one device.*
©History-Computer.com

If you don’t see the All Devices option, it’s likely you’ve selected your device.

4. Tap Erase iPhone

*Apple will send you an email when the device is fully erased.*
©History-Computer.com

Follow the on-screen instructions to erase all content and settings from the selected device. If you no longer have the iPhone in your possession, the remote erase will begin the next time it is online.

5. Click Remove From Account

Once the device is wiped, remove it from your iCloud account. Whoever receives your iPhone next will be able to reset and activate the device.

Turning Off Find My iPhone Explained

‘Find My’ is a great feature that helps Apple product users recover their lost or stolen devices. Without said protection enabled, finding your lost or stolen iPhone can prove difficult. It’s important to be aware of the risks before disabling ‘Find My.’

Through ‘Find My,’ users have the ability to mark a device as lost, which locks it with the ‘Activation Lock’ screen. Turning off ‘Find My’ will remove this feature, allowing anyone to reset the device at will. You will no longer be able to see your iPhone’s location on a map, nor will you be able to play a sound to help locate it. ‘Find My’ cannot be reactivated remotely either, putting you in a tough spot if your device is lost or stolen.

If ‘Find My’ is turned off prior to selling, trading, or giving away your iPhone, the data can no longer be remotely erased. Be sure to wipe your data beforehand.

NEXT UP…

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I turn off Find My iPhone without the phone?

To turn off ‘Find My iPhone’ without the phone, simply go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID and password. Navigate to your chosen device, then click Erase iPhone from the options. Follow the on-screen instructions until the device wipe is complete. Once the device is erased, click Remove from Account to complete the process.

Why is it important to turn off Find My iPhone?

If you are considering selling, trading, or giving away your iPhone, you may have already heard that it’s important to turn off ‘Find My’ before doing so. Disabling ‘Find My iPhone’ removes the phone from your Apple account and prevents new owners from accessing your private information.

If you’re not getting rid of the phone but still sending it in for repairs, it is equally important to turn off ‘Find My iPhone’ so that technicians will be able to access the device. Otherwise, they will be locked out due to the ‘Activation Lock’ screen.

Does turning off Find My iPhone hide your location?

Turning off ‘Find My iPhone’ does hide your location. Other people won’t be able to see your location anymore, but then again, neither will you. Until you turn the feature back on, you will not be able to track your device if it is lost or stolen.

A quick way to disable location services without turning them off is to put the iPhone in airplane mode. This temporarily disables all cellular features, including location sharing.

Can someone use a stolen iPhone?

Someone may be able to use your stolen iPhone without the right precautions in place. However, you can prevent access by marking the device as lost through your iCloud account. Once the device is marked as lost, the iPhone will display an ‘Activation Lock’ screen, which renders the device inaccessible until the owner enters their credentials.

How do I turn on Find My iPhone?

To turn on ‘Find My iPhone,’ you’ll need the phone in hand.

Simply navigate to the Settings –> [Your name] –> Find My. Tap the green slider to enable ‘Find My iPhone.’