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Disable Find My iPad feature. Can I turn off Find My iPhone without my Apple ID password? How to disable iPhone search through the application

Apple, taking care of its customers, has provided a function in its smartphones that allows you to determine the location of the device on a map. You can track your iPhone's movements in real time.

Any other iOS device or PC can be used to search for a missing smartphone. We won’t figure out how to activate this function now. Let's find out how to find an iPhone from a computer.

This can be done in three simple steps:

    First you need to go to iCloud.com through your browser;

    in the window that opens, select “Find iPhone”.

Now you can find out where your smartphone is currently located.

Another question that worries owners:Is it possible to find an iPhone if it is turned off?? We hasten to console you: there is a chance. In this case, the device will be displayed on the map as a gray dot, showing where the smartphone was at the moment it was turned off. However, as soon as the thief turns it back on, iCloud will again display his location.

What if Can't find iPhone device? Apple names several probable reasons for what happened:

    iCloud is not configured on the smartphone;

    The Find My iPhone function is disabled on the device;

    logged into an iOS smartphone using a different Apple ID;

    the phone is not connected to the Internet;

    The date on your smartphone is incorrect.

So, we figured out the reasons. All that remains is to wish site visitors not to lose their smartphones, and if such a misfortune does happen, to successfully find their gadget.


Turn off Find My iPhonecan be done from any paired iOS device. In Settings, select iCloud and turn off Find My smartphone. But what if you don’t have another device running iOS?

Here how to disable finding iPhone via computer:

    go to iCloud.com;

    select the “All devices” menu item, and then click on your smartphone in the pop-up list;

    click on the “erase” option and then confirm your choice;

    then you need to fill in the “Apple ID password” field and double-click “Next”;

    Click "Done."

Now your request has been sent to iCloud and will be carried out after connecting your smartphone to the Internet. Such a request is irreversible.

How to disable Find iPhone without password? This flaw is present on devices running iOS 7.0.4, but has been fixed for version 7.1 and subsequent ones.

    you need to open the settings menu and select iCloud;

    click on the account;

    try to change your password by entering a random set of characters into the field;

    click "Done";

    click “ok” on the error message that appears;

    select "Cancel" and return to the iCloud main menu;

    select an account;

    delete the data from the “description” field and click on “Finish”.

Since several updates have already been released for iOS after version 7.0.4, our site strongly recommends installing a later version of the system.

Or your device. When you remove a device, it’s removed from your Find My iPhone Devices list, and if your device has iOS 7 or later, Activation Lock is also turned off.

Before giving away or selling your iOS device, be sure to erase your content and settings (in Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings). When you erase your content, Find My iPhone and Activation Lock are also turned off. See the Apple Support article. For more information about what to do before selling or giving away Apple Watch, see in the Apple Watch User Guide.

Note: Apple Watch and AirPods remain in Find My iPhone until you also remove any devices that are paired with them.

Remove an iOS device or Mac

Remove Apple Watch or AirPods

To remove Apple Watch or AirPods, make sure that they’re offline , then remove them from Find My iPhone on iCloud.com.


When the device is erased, click Remove from Account.

All your content is erased, and someone else can now activate the device.

You can also use a different iOS device to remove your device. For more information, open Find My iPhone, tap Help, then go to “Remove your device.” Or you can remove your devices from your account. For more information, see

Losing a mobile phone is not the most pleasant event. This can happen even to the most careful and attentive users, so it’s clearly not worth relying on your own “sinlessness” in this matter.

And if you are the proud owner of one of the latest iPhone models, then you should remember that many people like the new products of the Apple brand, some of whom clearly do not suffer from an excess of moral and ethical attitudes and will not consider borrowing someone else’s (that is, your) property something extraordinary. CompanyApple, fully understanding the current situation, integrated tools for finding lost (stolen) phones into its operating system iOS. They are far from the most outstanding in efficiency and suffer from a number of serious limitations, but they still provide some chance of getting your pet back, so you shouldn’t neglect the “Find My iPhone” function. Perhaps you just forgot your smartphone in the next room...

Find My iPhone lets you track your device's location

Attention! In order to use the built-in search tools, two conditions must be met. First, you need to first activate them on your smartphone. To do this, go to the “Settings” menu, select the “iCloud” section and activate the “Find iPhone” on-screen switch (relevant for iOS version 5.0 and higher). Secondly, you must have your own account in the iCloud service.


Finding a lost iPhone using any device (another phone, tablet or laptop)

The procedure is completely identical to the one we discussed in the previous section, and the only condition that must be met is the presence of an active Internet connection.

Lock Find My iPhone activation

An extremely useful innovation that first appeared in iOS 7. This function allows you to turn a lost (or stolen) iPhone into a “brick”, and it will be impossible to revive it even by completely flashing it. It turns on automatically when you activate the “Find iPhone” setting. And in order to restore the functionality of your phone, you will need to enter your valid Apple ID account information in the following cases:


Attention! If registration information is lost, even service center specialists will not be able to restore the functionality of the iPhone. Be extremely careful!

Lock a stolen (but not lost) iPhone


Remotely erasing personal information from a stolen iPhone

  1. Launch the iCloud service as usual.
  2. Select the “Find iPhone” application and select the desired device.
  3. Click the “Erase iPhone” option in the window that appears and confirm your choice.

Attention! If the target device is currently offline, the data will be deleted the next time it is activated. But once you click the “Done” button, it will no longer be possible to cancel the operation!

Turn off Find My iPhone

This can be done in any of four ways, and in each specific case only some of them can lead to success.

Option 1: Deactivate Find My iPhone.

Option 2: disable (deactivate) the iCloud account in the device settings.

Option 3: Completely delete user data and settings on your iPhone.


In the “Reset” tab, all sorts of options will be available, including resetting all settings

Option 4: Disable the phone in your Apple ID account (via iCloud service).

Attention! Each action will require you to enter your Apple ID account login and password.

A few important notes

  1. Please understand that the data provided by the iCloud service refers to the moment the lost iPhone was last connected to the network and is not updated in real time.
  2. You have the opportunity to enable receipt of notifications by e-mail, which will help you “catch the moment” when a loss appears on the network, remotely block the missing device and destroy all personal information on it.
  3. The “Find my iPhone” function will be powerless if the device was stolen and then immediately reflashed.
  4. Always-on geolocation puts a fairly heavy load on the battery.

Starting with the seventh version, iOS has introduced tools to combat phone theft. A special service tracks the location of the device and allows you to remotely block it if the iPhone is lost or stolen. For everyday phone use, we recommend that you always turn on Find my iPhone. But sometimes it needs to be temporarily deactivated. In what cases is this necessary and how to disable the search is described below.

When to disable Find my iPhone service

If you take your phone in for repairs or decide to sell it and buy a new one, in both cases you need to disable the device’s security mechanisms that are part of the operating system. The manufacturing company has implemented a device tracking function so that a stolen or lost phone can tell the owner its location, and upon receiving a blocking command, reset the settings and minimize available functions. When the phone is locked, only calls can be made to 911 or to the number specified by the device owner during registration.

The main protection tool is the Find iPhone service function. When a phone with a working search mode reaches a new owner, it will work normally until the first attempt to reset or update. The Find my iPhone service will require you to enter the owner's Apple ID, and if this code is not entered or turns out to be incorrect, it will block the device. Therefore, before selling the device or visiting repairmen who will manipulate the software, the “Find iPhone” service must be disabled.

If the Find my iPhone function is enabled, it will not allow you to perform the following actions with the device:

The problem can also arise when purchasing an iPhone on the secondary market or at one of the foreign auctions. After receiving the package and turning on the device, you will find a requirement to enter the password for the iCloud account, which for some reason the seller did not disable. If the “Find iPhone” mode is active in iCloud, then when you try to flash it or reset it to factory settings, the phone will become inoperable.

This case is the most difficult, since without access to the Apple ID it is impossible to use the smartphone. Depending on the iOS version and phone settings, either only phone calls or all device functions will become unavailable. Therefore, when purchasing, be sure to make sure that iCloud is unlinked from your account and the Find My iPhone mode is disabled.

Stealing is wrong and even criminal. And if you find someone else’s gadget, the best idea is to find the owner and return the device to him. The Find iPhone service will help with this by providing you with the owner's contact number.

Ways to disable the Find My iPhone service

There are several ways to disable the feature, either using your computer or directly from your iPhone or iPad. For any of them, you will need an Internet connection, as well as a login and password for the Apple ID to which the device is linked.

Please note: both the device from which the disconnection is being made and the device that is being disconnected from the service must have access to the network. The iPhone you are switching off must also have location service enabled.

Disabling using the iPhone or iPad itself

This method assumes that the device is working, it has access to the operating system interface and the Internet, and you also know the account authorization parameters.

Disable by deleting your iCloud account

This method is best suited for a device that needs to be repaired or sold - at the end you will receive a clean device without user bindings and data. All you have to do is delete multimedia files (music, photos and videos) and call history from your phone.

Video: Resetting iPhone by deleting iCloud account

Refusal from the “Find iPhone” service using the application of the same name

If the device is inoperative or there is no physical access to it, you can deactivate the search function from another Apple device. The “Find iPhone” widget is available starting from iOS 7.0.

  1. Launch the Find My iPhone application from the device’s desktop.
  2. Enter your Apple ID authorization parameters. Make no mistake: you need exactly the entry to which the device you are switching off is linked to.
  3. Wait until the program updates the status of all devices linked to your account. This will take some time depending on the location service settings and communication speed.
  4. Select from the list the device on which you want to disable the Find My iPhone function, move the line to the left and click the red “Delete” button.
  5. Deactivating the search function will only be available for those devices that are turned off or do not have access to the Internet. If the device is working and connected to the network, the “Delete” button in the program will be inactive.

    6. Confirm deletion. The phone will leave the list of paired devices, it will be possible to restore it, flash it, and delete user data by first switching it to DFU or Recovery mode. Be careful: with other recovery methods, activation lock may turn on!

In normal operating mode, in order to restore the device from a backup, as well as to erase content from its memory, you will need to disable “Find iPhone” on the iPhone itself, otherwise iTunes will not fulfill the request. And if the remote device is connected to the network again before restoring or updating the firmware, it will again appear in the “All devices” menu and activation lock will be turned on. After deleting your device from iCloud, do not connect it to the Internet.

Disconnecting from the Internet browser of a laptop, tablet or desktop PC

To access all functions of the iCloud service, you do not have to be the owner of an iPhone or iPad. The icloud.com website is accessible from any browser except the oldest ones. That is, almost any laptop, desktop PC, and even an old pocket computer can disable the security mechanisms of the Find iPhone service. To do this, open the Cloud website or follow the direct link.


Once you have entered the password for your Apple ID and clicked the “done” button, you will not be able to roll back.

Video: iCloud website - control point for your iPhone

All the described methods will only work if you know your Apple ID login information. Otherwise, even a device erased via iTunes will not be activated.

Life hack No. 1: disable search without an Apple ID account password

In iOS 7.0, hackers found a security loophole that allows you to disable the search service without entering your Apple ID password. This vulnerability was quickly discovered and closed, so it can only be used on iOS version 7.0, no higher. It is impossible to roll back to version 7.0 from a locked device, so the method is suitable for a very small number of devices whose owners ignored installing the proposed updates.

You need to perform the following manipulations:

  1. Go to “Settings”, from there go to iCloud.
  2. When prompted for a password, enter any text and click the “done” button.
  3. In response to the incorrect password message, click Ok and then Cancel to return to the iCloud screen.
  4. Open your account settings again.
  5. Erase all information in the Description field and click Finish.

Lifehack No. 2: resetting iCloud settings using a letter to technical support

Unfortunately, it may happen that you end up with a phone for which there is no Apple ID information. For example, you bought it secondhand or at an online auction. If you speak English reasonably well and have minimal skills in working with graphic editors, try contacting Apple technical support and provide the following materials:

  1. A letter of appeal describing the essence of the problem: you have forgotten or lost access to the mailbox to which the device is assigned, and you have not saved your Apple ID password. Be sure to include a contact phone number in the text of your request. It is also advisable to confirm the accuracy of what you are reporting, otherwise there is a high probability of receiving a refusal.
  2. A photo of the device against the background of the original packaging (box).
  3. Receipts and warranty card confirming your ownership rights to the device. It is very important that the store that issued the warranty and issued the receipts is an authorized Apple retailer.
  4. If there are no such documents, you can easily find scans on the Internet and use a graphic editor to give them a reliable look.

Send the documents to the Apple technical support email address, be patient and wait for a response. It should be borne in mind that technical support is well aware of both scanned documents on the network and graphic editors. Therefore, the percentage of positive responses to such applications is low - more than half of the cases are rejected. But if there are no other options, you can use this method - do not throw away the phone, which, in principle, is operational and functional.

What to do if the service does not turn off

Problems with deactivating the search service may be caused by the following reasons:

  1. The device does not have access to the Internet. Make sure that Wi-Fi or 3G is turned on on the device.
  2. The Apple ID password pair you enter and the account to which your iPhone is linked do not match. Enter the correct username and password for the iCloud service.
  3. The iPhone is connected to iTunes, and as a result, the “Find iPhone” settings are automatically turned on.
  4. The geolocation service is forcibly disabled on the gadget you are trying to untie, which is why the system cannot determine its location and, therefore, disable the Find iPhone service.
  5. The iPhone operating system has been hacked - JailBreak.

All of the considered methods for deactivating the search service require knowledge of the Apple ID authorization parameters. Those few “holes” - vulnerabilities in the system that made it possible to bypass the search function without unlocking iCloud, Apple closed already in version 7.1 of the iOS operating system.

When registering for an Apple ID, use a reliable email service, set a complex password, and be sure to save it in a place known only to you.

After deactivating the search service and doing everything that is planned with the phone (repair, firmware, restoration), be sure to enable the service again, since disabling it greatly increases the vulnerability of your mobile device.

“Find iPhone” is a mega convenient and useful application for an Apple device that can return expensive property to the rightful owner. In case of loss or loss of your smartphone, you will not have to contact people in uniform, if, of course, you had this program installed.

So, this program is almost omnipotent because it can indicate the location of the kidnapper on the map (to an approximate scale). And even erase valuable personal information, contacts, photos, SMS and other data from memory, without direct contact with him.

How to enable it and how does the utility work?

  1. First, you need to have a previously registered Apple ID account; it plays a key role here. Log in to your profile.
  2. Then you will have to go to “Settings”, find the “iCloud” item in the menu, select “Search for iPhone” and turn it on.
  3. If you are the happy owner of several smart devices from Apple, then it would be a good idea to follow these steps on all devices.

The utility tracks the movements of your gadget on the map, so it works with its geolocation. Do not turn off this function, it will not eat up much battery, but you will have much less to worry about your phone and your data.

What can the application do?

Now imagine that we are looking for a device through this indispensable application. The first thing you need to do is log into iCloud via a computer or tablet, the main thing is that you have access to the Internet using your Apple ID login and password. Next, select “Find iPhone”. A map will appear on the screen, and on it will be the exact location of your phone. If it is turned on and configured correctly, the application will show where the gadget is located.

By clicking on the green dot (which represents the iPhone), you can find out what percentage of battery charge it currently has. The application also has various precautions if your phone ends up in the wrong hands:

  • Playing sound
  • Enabling Lost Mode
  • Removing information from memory
  • Building the most convenient route to your location.

Even a child can use the utility after reading the instructions we recommend. A little attention and perseverance, and you will learn to look for your device among the urban jungle.

Is it working now?

How to find out if the “Find iPhone” function is turned on is extremely simple, there are plenty of ways, choose which one will be more convenient. Engineers introduced the search feature in version 7 of iOS, not to mention the more modern versions 10 and 11.

Directly from the device itself.

We go to the “Settings” menu that is already familiar to us, click on “iCloud” and scroll down to the “Search iPhone” item. Next, it’s quite simple: opposite it will be marked On. or Off

Using Activation Lock. This is an official Apple service; any tablet or laptop can access it, the main thing is to know your login and password. To start the search, just enter the phone's serial number and press the button. The system will do the rest automatically.

The Internet is replete with other sites that will allow you to track whether this function is enabled. But they all work on a similar principle; in fact, they access the servers of the parent company, providing data to the user, so there is no point in mentioning them separately.

When is the best time to turn it off?

“Find iPhone” is certainly a convenient thing, but sometimes situations arise when it is necessary to disable it. Here, of course, we can talk about selling the device, but we will consider more “serious” cases when the function must be deactivated:

  • It is necessary to completely reset user settings, including content and personal data
  • It is necessary to “reanimate” the firmware or update the OS
  • Need data recovery using iTunes
  • You have discovered a failure in the system and are planning to contact the service center

In other cases, it is recommended that “search for iPhone” be always turned on. Of course, for security reasons. But, unfortunately, even this will not provide a 100% guarantee of security, because if attackers have data from iCloud, they can easily disable this useful function, but without a password, they will not be able to do this.

You can turn off the utility of the same name in the same menu; just move the radio button to the non-working position. Now data about the location of the gadget is not transmitted to the company’s servers, and it will be impossible to find out where you are using software.

Disable the function

Here, too, there are several methods to choose from, and you don’t even have to have your phone in your hands at that moment. All that is required is to remove the iPhone from the tracked list.

The easiest way is to do it from your smartphone

To do this, go to “Settings”, “iCloud” and deactivate the application there. You will need to enter the correct Apple ID password in the appropriate fields and confirm to disable the function. Your email (also known as your iCloud account login) will immediately receive a letter from technical support stating that “Find iPhone” has been deactivated.

But what to do if, for some reason, there is no direct access to a smart device, but you need to turn off the function? You can do this through the iCloud service, or you can do it through the same application, but on another smartphone or tablet.

Lost password or login

If you have forgotten the password for your ID, or do not remember your login, then before starting the procedures you need to restore them. After that, you need to check whether everything is working and whether the server accepts the recovered password. How to correctly remember the code from an iClay was discussed in another article, so we won’t stop here and get to the point.

Via iCloud

  • First, turn off your smartphone.
  • Log in to the official website using your Apple ID and a password of at least 8 characters.
  • Open “All Devices” and click on the iPhone or iPad you want to delete.
  • Click on the Remove from Find My iPhone button.
  • We confirm our choice.

If a small window appears in the upper right corner of the screen asking you to mark the device as missing, then you will have to act differently.

Click on the small gray “cross”, it is located next to the device name. Confirm removal from the list.

Through the application of the same name

  • To do this, you will need to download Find My iPhone to another Apple.
  • We go into the application by entering our iCloud data from the phone that we lost. IN
  • In the list of linked devices, we find the device we need, follow the line with the name and click on the “Delete” item.
  • We confirm the deletion.

Whether to activate this function or not is, of course, up to you. Although this application may cause a few problems, it is stupid to deny its obvious advantages.

Conclusion

It’s not without reason that Apple engineers recommend not disabling the iPhone search utility. It’s worth listening to their opinion and spending a few percent of the battery per day to keep geolocation and some other useful things on that are needed to find a missing cell phone.

Must remember! For correct operation, a regular connection to the Internet is required to transfer coordinates to the company server. If this condition is not met, it will be impossible to find the iPhone on your own. We will have to involve law enforcement agencies, but they are not willing to take on such small matters; the chances of finding the loss will tend to zero.

Video

If you still have questions about the topic of the article, watch the video instructions.