I had my phone stolen in October and had blacklisted it with my carrier. But the location has updated from Mexico to China… I marked it as lost but it changed status to “found”. Now I am erasing it but was wondering how fast it kicks in. Has anyone been in a similar situation?
iPhone 13 Pro
Keisha_Keisha wrote:
Hi Bobalover89,
Once you erase the iPhone, it can then be used by anyone who has it.
That is NOT correct. An erased device is still protected by Activation Lock, and cannot be used by anyone without the Apple ID and password used to activate Find My on the phone. It will remain Activation Locked until it is removed from the account of the person who enabled it, so never remove a lost or stolen phone from your account and never tell anyone the Apple ID and password.
Keisha_Keisha wrote:
Hi Bobalover89,
Once you erase the iPhone, it can then be used by anyone who has it.
That is NOT correct. An erased device is still protected by Activation Lock, and cannot be used by anyone without the Apple ID and password used to activate Find My on the phone. It will remain Activation Locked until it is removed from the account of the person who enabled it, so never remove a lost or stolen phone from your account and never tell anyone the Apple ID and password.
Bobalover89 wrote:
...I received an email saying the phone was requesting password for the activation lock. So I freaked out a bit
... and that's a typical way a thief will try to gain access to your Apple ID credentials. Remember, Apple WILL NEVER send you an email or text you about a lost or stolen Apple device.
Hi Bobalover89,
We regret hearing about your stolen device. Once you erase the iPhone, it can then be used by anyone who has it. The changes of into effect immediately as long as the iPhone isn't offline. If it is offline, it will erase once the iPhone is connected to a network. You can see more about this here: Use the Find My app to locate a missing device or item
What happens if you erase a device
When you erase your device, all of your information (including credit, debit, or prepaid cards for Apple Pay) is deleted from the device.
If you erase a device that had iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or later installed, you can use Find My to locate the device or play a sound on it. Otherwise, you won't be able to locate or play a sound on your device after you erase it. You might still be able to locate your Mac or Apple Watch if it's near a previously-used Wi-Fi network.
Take care.
Expect more scam messages from "Apple" or "Apple Service" or even the "Police" that will claim that the phone has been found.....and just a few details remain before the phone can can be returned to you. The purpose of the message is to try to trick you into providing details like your Apple ID and Password.
You know this is a scam because.Apple will never send a message like this.
Thank you so much! This reassures me a lot. My device remains in lost mode and I’ve blacklisted the phone with my carrier as an extra safety precaution. I received an email saying the phone was requesting password for the activation lock. So I freaked out a bit
Erasing a lost/stolen iPhone
