What triggers the iPhone activation lock?

Suppose who found the iPhone wants to reset it and keep it, as you said with iTunes, that would trigger the Activation Lock asking for Your Apple ID password or device passcode, and that will be triggered anytime anyone tries to turn off Find My, erase your device or reactivate and use your device. And every time you will receive an email alerting you ""For your security, Activation Lock requires your Apple ID and password, or your device passcode, before anyone can reactivate and use your device.""

Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad – Apple Support

The email you got was almost certainly a phishing message that was attempting to get you to "log in" using a link in the email.

If you did that, you gave the thief your iCloud credentials, allowing them to remove the activation lock entirely.

abrandoman Said:

"What triggers activation lock?: Does activation lock happen when someone resets the phone via restore or reset? In the context of a missing iphone does that mean the person must have restored the device. Basically, is it just a restore that will trigger the activation lock on. Thanks."

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How Activation Lock Becomes Enabled:

A. Incorrect Password Attempts:

This can occur when the passcode is enterred incorrectly, too many times. Go here, who it occurs: If you Forgot the Passcode on your iPhone, or your iPhone is Disabled - Apple Support. It would be the passcode you've always entered. If you do not know it, then look for it in a location you may have stored it in.

B. Locked by the Find My App:

If someone lost their device, then they would use Mark As Lost in the Find My app.

abrandoman Said:

"What triggers activation lock?: but my real question is, does activation lock indicate that the device had been erased or restored”

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About Activation Lock:

A. Learn About it Here:

Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad - Apple Support

B. Why Activation Lock Appears:

Activation Lock appears when you enable Find My.

C. What Activation Lock Indicates:

The password was entered incorrectly too many times, or someone locked the device, such as when it was lost or stollen, They would have used Mark As Lost in the Find My app to have locked it. Sadly, this it all too common practice of scammers who sell devices for big bucks. It’s reported everyday on these forums.

abrandoman wrote:

Thanks. This email is genuinely from FindMy I’ve gotten it before when restoring my own devices.

Okay, if you shut off Activation Lock (which isn’t advisable when dealing with a lost or stolen iPhone!), yes, you’ll get mail.

If you’re getting that mail otherwise, somebody has your Apple ID credentials.

If so, you’ll want to try to claw that back, if you still can: If you think your Apple ID has been compromised - Apple Support

Besides all of that, is the activation Lock Screen only triggered after the device had been wiped or erased using restore?

Activation Lock blocks attempts to use a device without the associated Apple ID credentials, yes.

Details: Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad - Apple Support

abrandoman wrote:

You mean common practice of scammers to try and get the log in info?

Yes, it is a very common practice of thieves and scammers to

1. Try to get you to give them your Apple ID and Apple ID password, so they can clear Activation Lock and "make your phone their own"
2. Try to get you to remove your phone from the list of devices associated with your Apple ID, which will clear the Activation Lock and let them "make your phone their own"

They will often send phishing messages pretending to be from "Apple Support" or "Apple Security" or some such, but it is all a Big Lie with the real intention being to scam you.

MrHoffman wrote:

If you are getting notifications about a lost or stolen iPhone, you’ll never see it again. Apple doesn’t send those notifications. Nor do police. Pretty much any message you get—other than what is shown via the Find My app or such—is best assumed to be from whoever has possession of the iPhone.

Even with Find My, and assistance from law enforcement (confronting criminals in person to get your phone back might not be the best idea), your chances of getting a stolen phone back may be slim and none.

However, if stolen phones routinely turn into "bricks" – and fences and potential customers for used phones know it – it makes stealing phones less attractive to thieves in the first place. (Most thieves are thieves because they do not like real work. Trying to get money for "bricks" that everyone knows are "bricks" is too much like real work.)

This strategy worked to cut down on thefts of car stereos – which these days, routinely lock themselves if power is disrupted (as when a thief removes them from a car).

It's also the idea behind

• Activation Lock – which keeps someone from resetting and using an iPhone even as a glorified iPod.
• IMEI blacklisting (by phone companies) – where if a phone company receives a report that a phone is stolen, they may put it onto a "blacklist" so that no phone company that honors that blacklist will EVER provide any cellular voice, text message, or data service to that phone, ever again.

The more people realize that stolen iPhones are likely to be bricked in one, or both, of these ways, the less likely it is that someone will steal your next iPhone. Though it's always best to keep an eye on it, and keep it out of reach of low-lifes who want a "five-finger discount", just in case.

abrandoman wrote:

You mean common practice of scammers to try and get the log in info?

My device is activation locked so does that means it has been wiped/restored?

Activation Lock is enabled by default when an iPhone is first set up.

TheLittles Activation Lock information (B) and (C) are incorrect. (Activation Lock cannot be enabled remotely, is enabled by default, and is not particularly related to Find My. Activation Lock also does not indicate a passcode has been entered. If that happens, you’ll get a device unavailable or device disabled message.)

If you are getting notifications about a lost or stolen iPhone, you’ll never see it again. Apple doesn’t send those notifications. Nor do police. Pretty much any message you get—other than what is shown via the Find My app or such—is best assumed to be from whoever has possession of the iPhone.

abrandoman wrote:

Thanks Mr Hoffman but if you could just clarify does activation lock only get triggered into place once the thief has restored the device?

As MrHoffman already said, "Activation Lock is enabled by default when an iPhone is first set up."

Activation Lock is "triggered" when you set up your phone and sign in with your Apple ID. It is always there unless you sign out of your Apple ID.

abrandoman wrote:

Thanks Mr Hoffman but if you could just clarify does activation lock only get triggered into place once the thief has restored the device?

There is no ”trigger” here. Activation Lock is not “triggered”. Activation lock is a lock. It is locked by default. Activation Lock can be unlocked by explicit request, either from within Apple with proof of ownership or with the use of the Apple ID credentials. Activation Lock cannot be remotely enabled. Activation Lock, being a lock, blocks certain actions.

I have zero interest in the phone I just want to know does an email from FindMy (genuine) saying activation lock is requesting password tell me that my device is activation locked? And would that mean the device has been restored/wiped of my data until they met the activation Lock Screen?

IF THIS IS REGARDING A LOST OR STOLEN IPHONE (and you did not initiate the unlock!) THEN YOUR APPLE ID HAS BEEN COMPROMISED AND YOU WILL WANT TO TRY TO DEAL WITH THAT IMMEDIATELY SOONEST NOW NOW NOW NOW.

Hello, if you got an email from Find My saying that your Activation Lock is requiring your passcode on your iPhone, it means someone is trying sign into your Activation Locked device and didn’t manage. So they didn’t wipe your iPhone because they couldn’t pass the Authentication Lock. If you want to keep it as it is so yours and make it impossible to unlock do not erase the iPhone from your Apple ID

abrandoman wrote:

If activation lock is triggered in setup mode, wouldn’t that indicate that the phone had been restored via iTunes?

I think you're confusing yourself (and possibly the rest of us) by using the word "triggered". As MrHoffman said, there is no "triggering". Activation lock is something you set up when you set up the phone, just like you set up email and your calendar. It's just part of what happens when you log in to your Apple ID.

I think what you may mean by "when is it triggered" is when do you get notifications. You get notifications when you sign out of your Apple ID and when you sign in. Being restored with Finder/iTunes has nothing to do with this as you cannot remove the Activation Lock by restoring the phone.