How do I erase a broken iPhone 14 through Find My?

If it's broken sufficiently to not communicate and not charge and not boot, it can't be erased.

Which means your passcode will have to protect your data.

If your passcode was weak or your security requirements higher, physically shred the iPhone.

Vtlah wrote:

My iPhone 14 broke and I got a new phone. I am trying to erase the iPhone 14 through find my. The phone will turn on, but all I can see is a graphic of a charger cable pointing to a computer. Nothing changes when I plug it into my computer. When I choose the phone on Find My and hit "erase," it says "erase pending..." but after hours still does nothing. How do I erase it so I can trade it in?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Erase broken iPhone 14

If it's broken enough as MrHoffman suggests, you can't erase it. But it also won't have any trade value. You can drop it by your local Apple Store or other electronics retailer, like BestBuy and ask them to recycle the device responsibly for you.

“‘Erase Pending…’ and the screen showing a charger cable pointing to a computer indicate two completely different scenarios.

1. ‘Erase Pending…’ means the iPhone was remotely erased using iCloud.com. The erase command has been sent and will complete once the device connects to the internet. You may have used iCloud.com to erase your device.
2. The charger-to-computer graphic indicates the iPhone is in Recovery Mode, usually triggered during a software update, restore, or troubleshooting process.

Neither of these messages suggests the iPhone is physically damaged or ‘bricked.’ They are software states, not hardware failures—and in most cases, they’re recoverable with the right steps.”

Don'ts

If the device is removed from an account after it is erased, Activation Lock will be turned off. This allows another person to turn on and use the device.

An example of my iPhone 5 is given in the GIF below. There is no "Undo" after you remove it from your account.