Losing your smartphone, especially if it’s an iPhone, is possibly one of the most painful things that you might ever experience.

That’s primarily because of how expensive iPhones are, or if you have tons of photos, contacts, text messages, and other files that you weren’t able to back up in the cloud.

This is why, in 2013, Apple brought Activation Lock on its Find My service with iOS 7. As the name suggests, it will lock any iDevice that’s still registered to your iCloud account.

Today, we’ll detail what Activation Lock is and why you shouldn’t remove it from your iCloud account. Let’s begin.

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What is iPhone’s Activation Lock?

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Activation Lock allows your iPhone, as well as iPad and iPod Touch, to be secure, even if it fell into the hands of the wrong people, thus increasing the chance of recovering your Apple device.

With Apple’s Find My feature, you have the ability to remotely erase your device, which deletes files, accounts, and more.

Even after you erase your device, with Activation Lock, anyone who has your phone still won’t be able to access your device without your permission. This will prevent them to reset it, use it, or resell it.

Should you remove your lost Apple device from iCloud?

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Removing your lost iPhone from your iCloud or Apple ID means that the Activation Lock will be disabled.

This essentially means that your lost Apple device — whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch — is no longer locked and the person that has it can reset it, then use it or even sell it.

How to check a used iPhone if it has Activation Lock

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There are a couple of things to check when you are buying a 2nd hand or used iPhone. For one, you can check if the device is new, refurbished, or a replacement.

Another one of them is to see if it’s been erased and no longer linked to the Apple account of the previous owner. If it is, it will give the previous owner a chance to enable the Activation Lock on a device that you already own.

This one is really easy to check. Simply turn on the device, and if the lock screen asks for a passcode, which means that it hasn’t been erased yet. You can also go to the settings, and right on top, you’ll immediately see the Apple ID account if it’s still signed in.

If the device is still signed in or linked to a different Apple ID, ask the seller to type their password and reset the device. If they persist, end the transaction for your safety.

See also: How to report and block lost phone in the Philippines

How to disable Activation Lock on iPhone

If you already made peace with your lost iPhone and just allow whoever has it to use it, here’s how you can disable the Activation Lock.

Step 1: Go to iCloud.com/find and sign in to your Apple account.

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Step 2: Go to All Devices.

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Step 3: Tap iPhone.

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Step 3: Click Erase iPhone.

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Step 4: Once the process is done, you shall see a Remove from Account option and click on that.


These are the reasons why you shouldn’t remove your lost Apple device from your iCloud account and why the Activation Lock feature on iPhones is important. Have any questions? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll try to help you out.

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