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Regarding Erasure of a Stolen iPhone

Someone that I have been helping has had their iPhone 12 Pro Max stolen a little over a week ago. Since we had known it was stolen, I panicked a bit and opted to immediately try and erase the phone from Find My iPhone. I am learning that this may have been a mistake. The person who stole the phone has yet to connect it to any source of internet, so it has not erased yet. Does the activation lock work on the iPhone if you just erase it, or does it need to be put into lost mode first? If it does need to be put into lost mode, what should I do? I need to cancel the erase to put it in lost mode, but I worry that if I cancel the erase to do so, some issues may arise. To start, if I were to cancel the erase, would there be a cooldown period before I can try to erase it again? I would like to ideally cancel the erase, put the phone into lost mode, and then try to erase it again. Is this a risk worth taking or should I just leave it as is? I wouldn’t want to give the person who has stolen the phone a chance to fully use the phone with access to the internet, but I worry if they have a way to get past the normal 4 digit passcode they could still access plenty of information without connecting to the internet. And just to add, we have already notified the service provider, but I don’t think that changes much regarding this issue. Thanks.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on Mar 6, 2022 4:54 PM

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Question marked as Apple recommended

So long as you don't remove it from the list of devices, it will still be activation locked after erasing it. A 12 Pro Max can still be tracked using find my after it's been erased.


Posted on Mar 6, 2022 5:08 PM

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1 reply
Question marked as Helpful

Mar 7, 2022 5:35 PM in response to ApplePerson1978_

All correct. There’s one more thing to be aware of: Beware of a common phishing scam. You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity and thus turn off Activation Lock. Delete any such message without responding to it.

29 replies

Mar 7, 2022 2:12 PM in response to KiltedTim

Okay, that’s great. So concerning the activation lock, I remember reading somewhere that the phone itself needs to briefly connect to the internet in order to turn on activation lock. The person who has stolen the phone has kept the phone completely off the internet, even before we were able to try and erase it. Does the phone need brief internet access to turn on activation lock, or will it still turn on if it’s on, for example, airplane mode? I understand that the activation lock will stay on if the phone goes offline after it is activated, but assuming the phone is offline before I tried to erase it, will the activation lock still turn on even though it is offline or will it need to connect to some source of internet first?

Mar 7, 2022 3:24 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Okay, thank you. As a follow-up, my friend is worried that his Apple ID and password are able to be seen by the people who took their phone by going into the passwords section in settings and seeing it. We are considering changing the Apple ID password ASAP, but are worried that it will log out the stolen device if we change the password. If that happens, I believe it will cancel the erase and we will no longer be able to track it, and they will have access to the data on the phone with internet.

So to summarize my questions:

  1. Will changing the Apple ID password log out that device from the account? (Keep in mind that the device is disconnected from any internet, if that makes a difference.)
  2. And if so, does that mean that the erase will be cancelled, we won’t be able to track it, and they will freely be able to use the internet on it?
  3. Also as a third question, is it possible to make it so that no new devices can log into an Apple ID account?

Regarding that 3rd question, my friend is worried that if his Apple ID password is found out, the people who stole it will try to log into it from another device. We are aware that he will be notified if someone logs in, but we are worried that if the people that stole it tried to log in at say 3 AM when he is asleep, he wouldn’t be able to see what had happened until the morning when it is potentially too late. So if possible, he would like to make it so that no new devices can log into his Apple ID.

Mar 7, 2022 3:47 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

I don’t believe that it was unlocked, however we were doing some testing that led us to believe that it was accessible. We used his new phone that he has backed up and updated with his data, and turned it on airplane mode so that it wouldn’t be connected to any internet. We then put in his 4 digit passcode to get into his phone, we went to “Passwords” in settings, and we typed the passcode in again. That gave us full access to his passwords stored there. I suppose if they don’t have a means to get past/figure out the 4 digit passcode then they can’t access it, but why bother stealing someone else’s iPhone if you have no way to get past the first passcode?

Mar 7, 2022 5:13 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Okay, that makes sense. Also, thank you very much, you have done a great job of explaining everything to me thus far.

Also, I would like to clarify two things that I’m somewhat unsure of:

  1. By changing the Apple ID password, will the stolen phone be removed from/logged out of the Apple ID account or not?
  2. The phone was stolen and promptly disconnected from all sources of internet before we tried to erase it through “Find My iPhone.” To clarify, we were in a panic and opted to try and erase the phone right away without putting it into lost mode first. It has said erase pending for the past week. I am assuming it still has not been connected to the internet. Does this mean that activation lock did not turn on?

Mar 7, 2022 5:20 PM in response to ApplePerson1978_

ApplePerson1978_ wrote:

1. Okay, that makes sense. Also, thank you very much, you have done a great job of explaining everything to me thus far.
Also, I would like to clarify two things that I’m somewhat unsure of:
By changing the Apple ID password, will the stolen phone be removed from/logged out of the Apple ID account or not?

No, it will not remove the phone from the account.

. The phone was stolen and promptly disconnected from all sources of internet before we tried to erase it through “Find My iPhone.” To clarify, we were in a panic and opted to try and erase the phone right away without putting it into lost mode first. It has said erase pending for the past week. I am assuming it still has not been connected to the internet. Does this mean that activation lock did not turn on?

Activation Lock is always on, whether the phone is powered on or not. If the first thing you did was erase it the phone is no longer trackable but activation lock is still enabled. And if it wasn’t powered on or connected to a network the erase will happen instantly as soon as it is connected.

Mar 7, 2022 5:31 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Okay, that gives me some peace of mind. So in theory, the people who stole the phone won’t be able to get into the phone at all unless they know his Apple ID password for the activation lock, even though the phone hasn’t erased yet (it still says erase pending) and it has been disconnected from the internet this whole time, even before we tried to erase it?

Question marked as Helpful

Mar 7, 2022 5:35 PM in response to ApplePerson1978_

All correct. There’s one more thing to be aware of: Beware of a common phishing scam. You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity and thus turn off Activation Lock. Delete any such message without responding to it.

Regarding Erasure of a Stolen iPhone

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