eldavies
Level 1 (9 points)
iPhone

Q: Lost Mode but not in iCloud

I purchased a broken phone on ebay, when repaired I found it was icloud locked and in lost mode. I found the owner and he agreed to remove the device from his icloud (turns out he lost the phone a year and a half ago, has long moved on-doesn't even live in the same country).

 

However, it's still in lost mode! Since it's no longer connected to his iCloud account he can't remove it from lost mode anymore.

 

It's asking for his Apple ID- is there any other solution than having him give me his Apple ID? We live in different countries..

iPhone 6, iOS 9.3.2

Posted on Jun 3, 2016 12:19 AM

by gail from maine,Solvedanswer
gail from maine gail from maine
Level 7 (26,725 points)
iCloud
A:

Hi eldavies,

 

Glad to see you are still around ....I think it has been a bit confusing for everyone!

 

So, here is what your phone looks like on your iCloud.com account when it is signed into Find My iPhone and online:

 

Screen Shot 2016-06-07 at 10.13.24 PM.png

My iPhone 5s is online here and showing in the devices list. When I click on that phone, because it is online, I see the same screen you posted above.

 

Then, I turn my iPhone 5s so that it will go Offline. And now, this is what I see on that same screen that you previously posted:

 

Screen Shot 2016-06-07 at 10.07.59 PM.png

 

As you can see, I also now have the option to "Remove Your Device". If I click on that option, it removes the device from my iCloud list:

 

 

Screen Shot 2016-06-07 at 10.08.27 PM.png

 

So, if you had my device right now, and I told you that I removed it from my iCloud account, then when you went to set it up, you would run into a screen that asked for MY Apple/iCloud ID and Password in order to Activate the phone. You would get that request because even though it wasn't showing on my iCloud account device list anymore, the device would still be signed in to Find My iPhone, and would still be Activation Locked.

 

However, once you turn on the device, and it connects to Wifi again, guess what I see on my iCloud.com account again:

 

Screen Shot 2016-06-07 at 10.09.56 PM.png

Since it is now back in my iCloud list, I can click on the devcie, and display the screen you had in your post, and then click on Erase Device. That would ask me to put my Apple/iCloud ID and password in in order to initiate the Erase. By doing that, it automatically turns off Find My iPhone on the device prior to erasing it. Once it is erased, I can go back in to the screen you saw for when it is Offline, and then click on Remove My Device. At that point, the device no longer is associated with my iCloud ID, and all of my data is completely erased, so it is ready for you to use as your own!

 

Thanks for sticking with this, and if you have any further questions or concerns, don't hesitate to post back!

 

Best of luck,

 

GB

Posted on Jun 7, 2016 7:38 PM

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eldavies

Q: Lost Mode but not in iCloud

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  • by Ingo2711,Helpful

    Ingo2711 Ingo2711 Jun 3, 2016 12:45 AM in response to eldavies
    Level 7 (25,942 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 3, 2016 12:45 AM in response to eldavies

    Sorry, but there is no other way, check these articles about it:

    iCloud: Remove your device from Find My iPhone

    iCloud: Activation Lock

  • by eldavies,

    eldavies eldavies Jun 3, 2016 12:37 AM in response to Ingo2711
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 3, 2016 12:37 AM in response to Ingo2711

    Appreciate the quick reply. I was afraid there would be no other solution.

     

    You'll notice that neither of those articles (which I'd already found) discusses the state of being in lost mode but not in iCloud. Nor do they remind users that they must remove lost mode before removing the device from the account. Nor does it appear that iCloud warns the user before removing the device from the account. Bad design through & through.

     

    Honestly I wonder whether even having his Apple ID & pw will fix it, after all Apple doesn't even know it's his anymore since he removed the device. He seems nice, maybe he'll give me the pw. Yikes.

  • by Ingo2711,

    Ingo2711 Ingo2711 Jun 3, 2016 1:35 AM in response to eldavies
    Level 7 (25,942 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 3, 2016 1:35 AM in response to eldavies

    Here are some articles about "Lost Mode"

    iCloud: Use Lost Mode - Apple Support

     

    And:

     

    How do you turn off or cancel Lost Mode?

    You can turn off Lost Mode by entering the passcode on your device. You can also turn off Lost Mode on iCloud.com or from the Find My iPhone app.

    copied from: If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

     

    Or this one: How can I cancel / turn off Lost Mode on iPhone? | The iPhone FAQ

  • by fromsouth,

    fromsouth fromsouth Jun 4, 2016 4:47 AM in response to eldavies
    Level 5 (4,826 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 4:47 AM in response to eldavies

    eldavies wrote:

     

     

     

    You'll notice that neither of those articles (which I'd already found) discusses the state of being in lost mode but not in iCloud.

    Means that you found a wrong person or he is looking at wrong account. Or maybe he is just screwing with you.

  • by LACAllen,

    LACAllen LACAllen Jun 4, 2016 9:05 AM in response to eldavies
    Level 5 (5,368 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 9:05 AM in response to eldavies

    You'll notice that neither of those articles (which I'd already found) discusses the state of being in lost mode but not in iCloud. Nor do they remind users that they must remove lost mode before removing the device from the account. Nor does it appear that iCloud warns the user before removing the device from the account. Bad design through & through.

     

    Honestly I wonder whether even having his Apple ID & pw will fix it, after all Apple doesn't even know it's his anymore since he removed the device. He seems nice, maybe he'll give me the pw. Yikes.

     

    Really no difference whether the device is in lost mode or not. Lost mode is an effort to provide a point of contact to the "finder" The device was/is locked even without lost mode.

     

    If he gave up on the device and removed it from his account, that was his choice and doesn't, IMO, show a poor design at all. The design is to render the device unless to anyone but the owner who put the activation lock on. That is what is happening.

     

    If he knew his passcode, he could provide that to you and get you past Lost Mode, but you'd still be up against the activation lock.

     

    So, having his ID and password and passcode would fix it. How likely is that?

  • by eldavies,

    eldavies eldavies Jun 4, 2016 12:16 PM in response to LACAllen
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 4, 2016 12:16 PM in response to LACAllen

    You misunderstood me. First off, the device had been reset, so no PIN. Turns out he lost it 18 months ago and thousands of miles from where either of us were now.

     

    He was attempting to release the lost device so I could use it, and based on my reading I thought all he needed to do was remove the device from his iCloud account and told him to do that. Instead, the proper method is to take it out of Lost mode FIRST, THEN remove the device from iCloud which I didn't find documented anywhere.

     

    There ended up being a happy end to the story, though I don't fully understand what happened. Unfortunately, we were communicating by text and I don't think English was his native language. He was about to give me his Apple ID & PW (which he was going to change afterwords), and then logged onto his iCloud & fixed the problem. It works now! I sent him a thanks by Paypal.

     

    My theories vary as to what actually happened, not really sure. I'm tempted to experiment with putting the device in Lost mode & then removing it from iCloud, but am too afraid I'll be forever locked out of my own phone to risk it.

  • by fromsouth,

    fromsouth fromsouth Jun 4, 2016 12:45 PM in response to eldavies
    Level 5 (4,826 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 12:45 PM in response to eldavies

    You are correct - removing device does disable lost mode.

    Re read my statement above.

  • by LACAllen,

    LACAllen LACAllen Jun 4, 2016 4:16 PM in response to eldavies
    Level 5 (5,368 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 4:16 PM in response to eldavies

    The steps are kinda listed here, but do not reference Lost Mode. The erase command is the step before removing the device from his account.

     

    Glad it all worked out. Never seen this scenario do that before.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-06-04 at 7.13.48 PM.png

  • by gail from maine,Helpful

    gail from maine gail from maine Jun 4, 2016 9:44 PM in response to eldavies
    Level 7 (26,725 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 9:44 PM in response to eldavies

    What probably happened is that he did remove the device from his iCloud account while it was still in Lost Mode. If you have a device that is still Activation Locked, and you remove it from your iCloud Account, it will no longer appear on that account until that device connects to Wifi again. At that point, it reappears on your iCloud Profile.

     

    What he wanted to do was to take it out of Lost Mode, Erase it, and then remove it from his iCloud account.

     

    A lot of people think that you just remove it and all is good. But again, once the Activation Locked device comes back online again, it will show up in the Find My iPhone app for the owner once again.

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by fromsouth,

    fromsouth fromsouth Jun 4, 2016 9:20 PM in response to gail from maine
    Level 5 (4,826 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 9:20 PM in response to gail from maine

    gail from maine wrote:

     

    What probably happened is that he did remove the device from his iCloud account while it was still in Lost Mode. If you have a device that is still Activation Locked, and you remove it from your iCloud Account, it will no longer appear on that account until that device connects to Wifi again. At that point, it reappears on your iCloud Profile.

     

    Wrong. Once removed it will not reappear. As far as I know and have verified at least two times removing device from the account in lost mode disables lock and lost mode, period. Lost mode or not lock is gone. So either guy just tells him that he removed it and screwing with OP. Or it is a wrong guy and wrong account.

  • by eldavies,

    eldavies eldavies Jun 4, 2016 9:58 PM in response to gail from maine
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 4, 2016 9:58 PM in response to gail from maine

    Gail's theory lines up better with what I imagined was happening than fromsouth's theory, but he does sound pretty confident with personal experience so I guess I'll have to leave it as a don't know for sure.

     

    And that's what bothers me.  Shouldn't the process be pretty clearly spelled out by Apple? Oh well...

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Jun 4, 2016 10:05 PM in response to fromsouth
    Level 7 (26,725 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 10:05 PM in response to fromsouth

    Sorry, but I have tested this multiple times. If the Find My iPhone is still signed into the device, it will reappear in the Find My iPhone app once it is connected to Wifi.

     

    I would not have posted this information had I not tested it numerous times.

     

    GB

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Jun 4, 2016 10:10 PM in response to eldavies
    Level 7 (26,725 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 4, 2016 10:10 PM in response to eldavies

    I can tell you that my answer is not a theory, but a tested piece of information. I have tested this multiple times in various configurations. Primarily to test an Apple Support article that is confusing at best, possibly just not correct.

     

    The device will reappear on the Find My iPhone app if it is still Activation Locked (i.e., still signed into Find My iPhone), as soon as the device connects to Wifi again.

     

    Simply removing it from the Find My iPhone app without erasing the device first does not disengage the Activation Lock. The only way to remove the Activation Lock from an iPhone remotely is to erase it first (which, when you do that, asks for your Apple/iCloud ID and password). If you do not erase the device first, then simply removing it from your iCloud account does not remove the account from the device.

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by fromsouth,

    fromsouth fromsouth Jun 5, 2016 5:48 AM in response to gail from maine
    Level 5 (4,826 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 5, 2016 5:48 AM in response to gail from maine

    gail from maine wrote:

     

    Sorry, but I have tested this multiple times. If the Find My iPhone is still signed into the device, it will reappear in the Find My iPhone app once it is connected to Wifi.

     

    I would not have posted this information had I not tested it numerous times.

     

    GB

    Not when it was removed from correct account.

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