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Remove a device from trust list but not from account?

I have two-factor authentication(2FA) enabled on my Apple ID. I want the one-time passcode popped up on some of my devices but not the others.


Based on this article (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915), section "View and manage your trusted devices", I could remove devices from trust list (so that they don't receive 2FA notification).


What scares me is the button that says "Remove from account". Shouldn't it say "Remove from Trust List"? I still want to trace location, be able to download purchased apps on all devices. The only thing I want to disable on the device is 2FA notification (on that particular device).


I bit the bullet and removed an iPhone from my "account" (see screenshot below). I'm still able to track the device from "Find My iPhone" app (Good!). But I got the pop-up message on the iPhone asks me to sign in to iCloud. Of course I dismissed it by clicking "Cancel". If I sign in to iCloud, the device will be added to trust list again (that's not what I want).


My questions are:

1) I have an iPhone that was previously signed in to iCloud.

2) I removed this iPhone from my "account" (Apple ID) > Devices. Apparently the device was NOT removed from iCloud (since I can still track it via "Find My iPhone").

3) Now the iPhone prompts to "Sing in to iCloud". Does that mean the device is NOT signed in to iCloud?

    • If the device is not signed in, why it has a "Sign Out" button at the bottom of the screen? (see 2nd screenshot). In fact, I'll have to enter the iCloud password to sign out. So it seems the device is still tied to my iCloud account.
    • If the device is signed in, why it asks me to "sign in to iCloud" again?


Again, this Apple ID vs iCould thing is very confusing. I hope someone can shed some light on it?



iPhone 7

Posted on Feb 18, 2020 6:35 AM

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Posted on Feb 18, 2020 6:51 AM

Actually, yes those two actions are synonymous. I don’t know why your iPhone didn’t take that disconnect, but removing a device from your AppleID breaks its connection to iCloud. Since iCloud is the means of sending 2FA codes, when you sign out of iCloud, or remove from your AppleID on the account management web site, you again are telling that system to block codes and access to that device since it no longer trusted, and it will stay that way until you have it in hand and can sign back in (using a 2FA code received on one of your other trusted devices).


Signing into iCloud on a device is what associates that device with your AppleID. So all of these features - 2FA (uses encrypted iCloud push notifications for codes), Find My, activation lock - are all tied to an iCloud account which in turn is tied to the persons AppleID used with iCloud.

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Feb 18, 2020 6:51 AM in response to Matt.Luo

Actually, yes those two actions are synonymous. I don’t know why your iPhone didn’t take that disconnect, but removing a device from your AppleID breaks its connection to iCloud. Since iCloud is the means of sending 2FA codes, when you sign out of iCloud, or remove from your AppleID on the account management web site, you again are telling that system to block codes and access to that device since it no longer trusted, and it will stay that way until you have it in hand and can sign back in (using a 2FA code received on one of your other trusted devices).


Signing into iCloud on a device is what associates that device with your AppleID. So all of these features - 2FA (uses encrypted iCloud push notifications for codes), Find My, activation lock - are all tied to an iCloud account which in turn is tied to the persons AppleID used with iCloud.

Feb 18, 2020 6:45 AM in response to Matt.Luo

Removing from the trust list means removing from your AppleID. There is no way to have a device listed under your AppleID and not have it as a trusted device. By signing it into your ICloud account on that device, you are telling the AppleID authentication system that this is one of your devices and that it is thus “trusted” for your AppleID.


Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support


Trusted devices

A trusted device is an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 9 and later, or Mac with OS X El Capitan and later that you've already signed in to using two-factor authentication. It’s a device we know is yours and that can be used to verify your identity by displaying a verification code from Apple when you sign in on a different device or browser. An Apple Watch with watchOS 6 or later can receive verification codes when you sign in with your Apple ID, but cannot act as a trusted device for password resets. “

Feb 18, 2020 7:53 AM in response to donv_the_ghost

Sorry I don't follow what you meant by "If you remove from Apple ID". Did you mean "If you remove a device from appleid.apple.com"? In that case, it will block the device from accessing account related information.


However, you could sign back into the account from the device if you know the password. Thus I don't understand what you meant by "you will not be able to sign in to any account that requires the use of your Apple ID"

Feb 18, 2020 3:51 PM in response to Matt.Luo

Gotcha now. What you’re referring to has to do with activation lock. If you remove the device from the AppleID management web site, that action ensures it cannot receive 2FA codes any longer. It also disables Apple Pay from that device and removes the cards in the wallet app (for that device only). But you don’t want a thief to be able to actually use it, so it remains (I suppose you could say, partially in a sense) linked to your iCloud account via the Find My service only. As long as it remains that way, activation lock remains in effect.


Removing it from Find My at www.icloud.com will break the remaining connection to iCloud specifically, thus disabling both Find My and activation lock. BTW, if a thief erases it in iTunes, you’ll loose tracking as well. But as long as the device shows in your Find My linked devices at www.icloud.com activation lock remains in effect and they cannot complete activation and use the erased device.


Both actions would require a 2FA code from a trusted device to sign back in if you had the device in your hands and wanted to later on.


FYI - those two actions used to accomplish the same thing. It was the move to requiring 2FA with AppleIDs for certain services (e.g. Apple Pay, messages in iCloud, etc) and use of trusted devices for those iCloud 2FA code push notifications that I believe led to the changes that leave Find My and activation lock in effect while still allowing you to un-trust a lost or stolen device.

Feb 18, 2020 7:38 AM in response to Michael Black

Sorry I might have been using the wrong terminologies. What I meant was:

On https://appleid.apple.com, removing a device from account does not turn off "Find My iPhone" from the device. You may still track the device via "Find My iPhone". From that perspective, the device was not 100% removed from your account. It is still tied to your account somehow. In fact, you'll need a password if you want to sign out iCould or turn off [Find My iPhone] from the device.


There's another "Remove from Account" link from https://icloud.com > [Find My iPhone]. That one can turn off Find My iPhone from device. But it only applies to offline devices.


These two "Remove from Account" links (one on appleid.apple.com, one on icloud.com) were the confusions I had.


Feb 18, 2020 7:28 AM in response to Matt.Luo

Actually, I don’t think that link even understands what they are talking about. An AppleID, by itself is not an account - it is an identifier. It is the personal identifier you create with Apple in order to make service accounts. but when you first create an AppleID using Apple’s web site to do that, that AppleID doesn’t “do” anything for you, until you sign into an Apple service with it and create an account for that service.


An iCloud account is a service account you make with an AppleID. Yes, an iCloud email address is also de facto an AppleID (or an alias of your AppleID if you use a third party email address as your AppleID). But iCloud is an Apple service with a number of optional features.


Facetime, iMessage, the App Store, etc are also all Apple service accounts that you create by signing into those services with your Apple identifier, your AppleID. Each AppleID thus creates one account for each Apple service you use that AppleID with.


But an AppleID by itself is not useful for anything. it is only useful when used to create and use an account for an Apple service. You cannot add a device to your AppleID information without having an iCloud account as it is the act of signing that device into iCloud that associates the device with those trusted for use with your AppleID.


So a lot is semantics, sure, but I also find it helpful. I think of my AppleID as nothing more than a login ID or identifier. It is the services I use with my AppleID that are my Apple accounts, not the AppleID by itself. And it is the iCloud service account identified by my AppleID that ties my devices to the security features like Find My, activation lock, and 2 factor authentication.

Remove a device from trust list but not from account?

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