lost phone can not erase

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lost phone can not erase

Lost my phone, Find-My phone not turned on. Can the person that found my phone use it? When I sign in to iCloud, a verification code is sent to the lost device. I don't know who thought up the verification code thing, but it seems like a dumb thing to do, because the verification is sent to the thief that stole the phone. All they have to do is click the verification on the screen and they gain access to my account! Looking at iCloud, it tells me I am signed in on that device, so why can't I select it and erase my info from the phone? The only option I have is to remove it from my account (and say goodbye forever) with all my personal information on the phone! Who thinks this stuff up? Every time I sign into "Find MY" app, it sends a verification code to the lost device -HELLO! IT'S LOST!

iPhone 6s, iOS 15

Posted on Jul 14, 2022 3:40 PM

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Answer 1

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FoxFifth

Level 10

470,025 points

Jul 14, 2022 3:58 PM in response to Lostphoneuser

You can use any internet browser and log into www.icloud.com/find without any verification code being requested and without any verification code being sent anywhere.

Also see: If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

Also, when a verification code is sent to a trusted device it could not be accessed by a thief unless the thief also had the passcode to the device. Also, the thief would need both the Apple ID password and the verification code in order for the code to be of any use.

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Answer 2

Jul 14, 2022 5:28 PM in response to FoxFifth

That's not the case. A verification code is sent every time I log in. In fact, I just recieved a code to log in and respond to my question above. The instructions for lost phone are pretty much useless. They take you in a circle depending on which link you click in the article, and if your not careful, you will remove the lost device from your account and say goodby forever. The "Mark as lost" link never shows up, but if I click on the Settings tab, my phone is shown as signed in to iCloud. So if it's online and signed in, why can't I enable Find My, erase it, or at least mark as lost?

Lostphoneuser

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Answer 3

Jul 14, 2022 5:35 PM in response to Lostphoneuser

Since you did not enable Find my in iCloud settings, you can neither remote track it nor remote erase it.

To access it someone would need to know your screen lock passcode to get in.

To access your iCloud account they need BOTH your password AND a 2FA code. Having just one of those won’t let them access your iCloud account.

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Answer 4

FoxFifth

Level 10

470,025 points

Jul 14, 2022 6:14 PM in response to Lostphoneuser

Lostphoneuser wrote:

That's not the case. A verification code is sent every time I log in. ...

Again, if you use an internet browser and log into www.icloud.com/find no verification code is requested, sent, or needed. That has always been the case and is still the case today. Either click on my link above or use that address yourself but be sure to use it exactly as shown above with the "/find? in the address.

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Answer 5

Jul 17, 2022 6:02 PM in response to Lostphoneuser

So I clicked your link, and the device does not show up in Find My, but my new device does. When I click the settings tab in iCloud, it says "you are signed in on these devices" and both devices are listed. So if my device is signed in, why can't I take control and flip "Find My" on so I can go over and kick in the thief's door and grab my phone? Or at least wipe my personal info from it and deactivate my credit card. If I remove it from my account, I would not be able to track it ever again, correct? I would just give it up with all my personal info on it - That doesn't make much sense. You would think Apple would have a better solution than that.

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Answer 6

Jul 17, 2022 6:37 PM in response to Lostphoneuser

Apple gave us all choices in setup; unfortunately, for whatever reason your phone was not configured for this possibility.

FindMy can NOT be turned on (or off) remotely.

“Signed in” means that your phone is still signed-in to your account. Changing your AppleID password should “fix” that and yes you WILL loose the ability to track it at that point.

Recovery of stolen property is something to to be performed by law enforcement professionals; not amateurs armed with an iPhone.

As others have posted, your personal data IS very securely protected by the passcode known only to you.

Unfortunately, since FindMy was “off” someone CAN re-use your phone; although to do so they must first reset the phone which completely erases ALL data and returns it to it’s “just out of the box” state.

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lost phone can not erase

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