How to prevent iPhone from turning off when locked?

While this is not currently possible without a jailbroken or modified version of iOS, I hope this can help:

(This guide is designed for devices using Face ID or devices using iOS 17, some steps may be different on previous iOS releases.)

1.) Go to Settings, and search "Face ID & Passcode" and enter your passcode.

2.) Scroll down and find "ALLOW ACCESS WHEN LOCKED" just below "Voice Dial"

3.) Turn off Control Center and whatever else you please. This will not allow a potential thief to turn off your location services such as mobile data or WiFi without a correct PIN or Face ID.

Now that the device cannot have its location services turned off without proper authentication, let's ensure the device's location stays on after power off:

1.) On the Settings front page, tap your name at the very top.

2.) Tap "Find My". This is a green icon that resembles a radar scanner.

3.) Tap "Find My iPhone". Ensure that all three sliders are checked on. This will ensure your device not only sends its location at low battery, but will continue to do so for a period of time after the device is shut down.

Enjoy! Now, in the event your device is stolen or lost, you can easily check its location with another Apple device.

RashadHero wrote:

how to turn off my iPhone and it requires passcode, I mean to prevent someone from turning off when locked. That’s in case it’s stolen

You cannot prevent it from being turned off. Even if you could, it wouldn't deter thieves. It would also make troubleshooting issues on the phone far more difficult, possibly even rendering people's phones useless until they were able to get to an Apple Store.

Consider using Stolen Device Protection:

About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone - Apple Support

huandney wrote:

It would really be very interesting if we could prevent it from turning off if the screen is locked.

If your idea of "really interesting" is "really bad", I guess so. In addition to not being helpful, it would actually be a problem for a lot of people. One of the most basic of troubleshooting steps is to turn the phone off and back on again, or, if necessary, to use a forced restart. What you're suggesting would make this impossible in some circumstances. And, the thief could just put the phone into a faraday bag until the battery dies anyway.

appnap96 wrote:

You are not getting my point, those users who want this feature will trigger it and those who do not need it will disable this feature. At least give the access to user's wish.

I get your point. You are not getting the point that what you're suggesting could render people's phones unusable until they are able to get to an Apple Store if something goes wrong and they can't restart the phone. And for no good reason. Even if you couldn't turn the phone off without a passcode, all the thief has to do is put the phone in a faraday bag and it will be disconnected from the network.

Apple is not likely to give people the option to brick their hardware in order to do accomplish....nothing.

I mean to prevent someone from turning off when locked. That’s in case it’s stolen

Taking away the ability for a thief to power off the phone will not help you.

You do know that thieves are very fond of placing stolen phones in a special type of bag that will not allow the phone to send or receive a signal, correct?

In other words, the thief can very easily prevent you from accessing your phone without turning it off.

gowtham137 wrote:

I am not sure if it will necessarily “brick your phone” if you can’t turn off when when there is an issue. Having had my phone stolen yesterday, I am absolutely of the view there should be a way to disable the power button should I choose to do so.

The person who stole from me yesterday definitely didn’t carry around faraday bag, and I’d doubt they knew what a faraday bag was - there are many opportunistic thieves looking to make a quick buck and this feature will help prevent it / deter it.

it’s very likely the thief would’ve thrown my phone away on the street if they thought they can’t turn it off and would get tracked. yes, it may be damaged beyond repair but over time might make iPhones less attractive to steal.

If the phone is locked up or frozen to the point that you need to forcibly reboot it, you can't turn the option off if such an option existed.

Activation lock has already gone a long long way toward reducing iPhone thefts. What you're suggesting would create far more problems than it would solve.

appnap96 wrote:

Sometimes thieves are pickpockets in crowded places and next he/she shuts the phone off.

Yes, that happens. But, making it impossible to turn off the phone without a lock code would cause problems for a much larger number of people. And the thieves could still disconnect the phone from the network.

huandney wrote:

This could be easily resolved by adding a user-choice option, meaning in the iPhone settings, we could enable forced restart only with another computer. This option wouldn't be the default setting.

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

But it is unlikely they will decide to add this "feature".

lazaro0390 wrote:

Do you know any Apple developer that could at least make a setting to require a PIN to be able to NOT turn of the iPhone??

No, it's not possible.

i see that you talk about Faraday bags and signal blocking devices but in the real world most people dont use that.

But thieves do.

As already posted …

For a theft the contemplated feature is absolutely pointless … a criminal will ALWAYS be able to defeat FindMy - or for that matter IMEI - tracking.

However, providing the ability to reset a “hung” phone ALWAYS applies to ALL users.

Who cares if it's not new? It's not a good reason that Apple has not acted on it, and as customers of Apple, we can hound them as much as we want to add this feature. Thieves power down your phone so they can't be tracked. As customers, we should be able to specify that none of the buttons work without entering a passcode, Face ID, etc.

In the event the thief places the device in an EMF and/or RFID blocking container, you will be unable to track its location.

Still, the above guide will prepare you for common cases of thieving. It is better than not being prepared at all. With that being said, keeping an active eye on the device is the most effective method of preventing your device from being swiped or pickpocketed.

currency227 wrote:

How to prevent your iPhone from turning off when locked

In addition to not actually being helpful, as Bob Timmons noted, it would actually be a problem for a lot of people. One of the most basic of troubleshooting steps is to turn the phone off and back on again, or, if necessary, to use a forced restart. What you're suggesting would make this impossible in some circumstances.

wittikay wrote:

Enjoy! Now, in the event your device is stolen or lost, you can easily check its location with another Apple device.

Never, ever attempt to retrieve a stolen device yourself. People have been killed doing that.