How to Turn Off Find My iPhone: Computer or Trade-In

Find My iPhone lets you locate, lock or erase your phone if it goes missing. It also switches on Activation Lock, which stops anyone else from setting up your iPhone without your Apple Account password (Apple ID is now called Apple Account, but it's the same email or phone number and password). There are good reasons to disable it: you're selling the phone, trading it in, sending it for repair, the phone is broken, or you're handing it to a family member. This guide covers every route Apple supports, including how to turn off Find My iPhone from a computer, on a broken or dead phone, before a trade-in, and what to do when you've forgotten your password or the switch simply won't turn off.

Quick answer: on the iPhone, open Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My iPhone, turn off Find My iPhone, enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off. Activation Lock is removed at the same time. From a computer (Mac, Windows PC or Chromebook), sign in at icloud.com/find, select the iPhone and choose Remove This Device. That works straight away if the phone is offline, which is why it's the go-to fix for a broken or dead iPhone. If the phone is online and you no longer have it, Erase it first, then remove it. Trading in or selling? Sign out of your Apple Account and run Erase All Content and Settings, which turns off Find My and Activation Lock for you.

Every step below follows Apple's own support pages, which I re-checked on November 8, 2026: Turn off Find My on your devices, Remove a device from Find Devices on iCloud.com, Sign in to Find Devices on iCloud.com, Remove a device from Find My on Mac, Remove a device from Find My on iPhone, Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad, How to remove Activation Lock, What to do before you sell, give away or trade in, Ready for Repair or Trade In, Prepare your iPhone for a service appointment, Stolen Device Protection, If you forgot your Apple Account password, What to expect during account recovery, If your Apple Account is grayed out in Settings and How to find your lost iPhone.

Which method should you use?

Find your situation in the table, then jump to that section.

How to turn off Find My on iPhone in Settings (iOS 26 and later)

This is the fastest route if the phone is in your hand and you know your password. The path is the same on iOS 26 and the current iOS 27, and on most older versions too.

1. Open Settings and tap [your name] at the top.
2. Tap Find My.
3. Tap Find My iPhone.
4. Turn off Find My iPhone.
5. Enter your Apple Account password, then tap Turn Off.

Apple says that when you turn off Find My on an iPhone or iPad, Activation Lock is automatically removed. On an iPad the steps are identical, except the setting is called Find My iPad.

On the same screen you'll also see two related switches, Find My network (lets the phone be located while it's offline) and Send Last Location (uploads the phone's location just before the battery runs out). They only matter while Find My iPhone is on. Turning off Find My iPhone is what removes Activation Lock.

Good to know: with Find My off, you can no longer locate, lock or erase the phone remotely if it goes missing. If you only switched it off for a repair or a family handover, turn it back on afterwards. Apple's own service checklist reminds you to do exactly that when you get the phone back.

Disable vs turn off vs remove. You'll see all three words used. "Turn off" and "disable" mean the same thing: flipping the Find My iPhone switch on the phone. "Remove This Device" is what you do from another device or a computer when you can't use the phone itself. Both remove Activation Lock; they're just done from different places.

If it says you need to wait: Stolen Device Protection

Stolen Device Protection is the most common reason people can't turn off Find My. Apple is clear: you need Find My turned on to use Stolen Device Protection, and you can't turn Find My off while Stolen Device Protection is enabled.

To turn it off first:

1. Open Settings and tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode).
2. Enter your device passcode.
3. Tap Stolen Device Protection, then turn it off.

At home, work or another familiar location, this happens straight away. If you're away from a familiar location, or you set Require Security Delay to Always, a Security Delay starts. You authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, wait one hour, then authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID again. Apple says the iPhone may end the delay early once it detects you've arrived at a familiar location.

The same delay applies to signing out of your Apple Account and changing its password away from familiar places. Apple notes that changing your password at a store is likely to trigger a one-hour delay, and it recommends turning Stolen Device Protection off before you sell, give away or trade in. So do it at home, before you leave for the shop.

How to turn off Find My iPhone from a computer

This is the most-searched version of the question, and it's the one to use if you don't have the phone, it's broken, or you'd simply rather do it on a big screen. Apple doesn't make a Find My app for Windows, so on a PC (or Chromebook) you use the website. On a Mac you can use either the website or the built-in Find My app.

On any computer: iCloud.com Find Devices (Windows, Mac, Chromebook)

1. Open a current web browser and go to icloud.com/find.
2. Sign in with the Apple Account that's on the iPhone. If you're asked for a two-factor code that would be sent to the very phone you're trying to remove, Apple says you can skip it: select the Find Devices button at the bottom of the window and continue without the code.
3. In the list of devices, select your iPhone. (If another device is already selected, go back to All Devices first.)
4. Select Remove This Device.

What happens next depends on whether the iPhone is online:

• If it's offline (switched off, dead or with no connection), Activation Lock is removed immediately, and the phone disappears from Find My after 30 days.
• If it's online, Apple says it can't be removed this way. Instead you can select Continue to mark it as Ready for Repair or Trade In for the next 30 days. To remove Activation Lock from an online phone you no longer have, use the erase steps in If you already sold or gave away the iPhone.

One catch: if the phone comes online after those 30 days and it's still signed in to your Apple Account, it reappears in your list and Activation Lock turns back on. Signing out of the Apple Account on the phone itself, or erasing it, avoids that. Apple's Activation Lock page also notes that for an iPhone, you might be able to remove Activation Lock on the web even when it isn't offline, so it's worth trying Remove This Device first either way.

Only type your password into icloud.com. Check the address bar before you sign in. Pages that promise to "turn off Find My from your PC" through a download are not Apple and should be avoided.

On a Mac: the Find My app

If your Mac is signed in to the same Apple Account, you can do it without a browser:

1. Turn off the iPhone first. Apple says you can remove a device from the Devices list only if it's offline.
2. Open the Find My app on the Mac and click Devices.
3. Select the iPhone, then click the Info button.
4. In the Settings section, click Remove.

The phone is removed from the list after 30 days, and it reappears the next time it comes online if it still has Activation Lock. If you sold the phone and it's online somewhere else, click Erase in the same Settings section, follow the steps, and when the erase finishes click the Info button again and choose Remove. Apple says that erases your content, removes Activation Lock and lets someone else activate the phone.

From another iPhone or iPad

The Find My app on an iPad, or on another iPhone signed in to the same Apple Account, works the same way: tap Devices, tap the offline iPhone's name, tap the More button, then tap Remove. On a family member's phone, use icloud.com/find in Safari and sign in with your own account rather than theirs.

What a computer can't do

Plugging the iPhone into a Mac (Finder) or a Windows PC (Apple Devices app or iTunes) and restoring it doesn't remove Activation Lock. Apple explains that every time an iPhone is activated or recovered, it checks in with Apple to see whether Activation Lock is on. So a restored phone still asks for the original Apple Account. The website or the Find My app is the computer route that actually unlinks it.

How to turn off Find My on a broken, dead or unresponsive iPhone

You can't reach the Settings switch on a phone with a smashed screen, a dead logic board or water damage, and you don't need to.

If the iPhone won't turn on at all

A phone that won't power on is offline, which is the easiest case:

1. On a computer or another device, go to icloud.com/find and sign in.
2. Select the broken iPhone.
3. Choose Remove This Device.

Apple says Activation Lock is removed immediately for an offline device. That's what a repair shop, insurer or trade-in buyer needs to see. Do this before you hand the phone over, and keep a note of the date.

If the screen is broken but the phone still turns on

This is where people get stuck. The phone is still connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, so it counts as online, and Apple won't let you remove an online device from the list. You have three options:

• Make it offline. Hold the side button and either volume button to switch it off, if you can see enough of the screen to slide. Otherwise take out the SIM, move away from known Wi-Fi, or simply let the battery run flat. Then use Remove This Device.
• Erase it, then remove it. At icloud.com/find, select the iPhone, choose Erase (don't enter a phone number or message, because it isn't lost), wait for the erase email, then choose Remove This Device. Only do this if your data is backed up.
• Prepare it for repair instead. If you're sending it to Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, select Remove This Device and then Continue to mark it Ready for Repair or Trade In for 30 days, or use the iOS 27 steps in the repair section below.

If you're not sure whether it's backed up

Check before you erase anything. At icloud.com, you can see what's stored in iCloud, and on a Mac or PC you may have a local backup from a previous sync. Apple's service guide says that if your device is unresponsive and you can't complete some steps, do as many as you can, and you may be able to complete some of them on the web at your Apple Account page or icloud.com/find.

How to turn off Find My before selling or trading in

When you sell or trade in, you need more than the Find My switch. Apple's checklist wipes your data and unlinks the phone from your account in one go. It works the same for Apple Trade In, a carrier or retailer trade-in, or a private sale.

1. Back up your iPhone to iCloud or a computer, and move your data to your new phone (Quick Start works if the old one has iOS 11 or later).
2. Turn off Stolen Device Protection (see above) so you don't hit a one-hour delay at the counter.
3. Check Parts and Service History. Apple says if a part shows Finish Repair, you need to finish that repair before you can trade the phone in.
4. Unpair your Apple Watch if you use one.
5. Cancel or transfer AppleCare if you have a plan.
6. Sign out of your Apple Account. On iOS 26 or later, go to Settings > [your name], scroll down, tap Sign Out, then choose Erase this iPhone or Sign Out But Don't Erase. If asked which account, tap Sign out of iCloud and Store. On iOS 18 or earlier, tap Sign Out, enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off.
7. Deregister iMessage if you're switching to a non-Apple phone.
8. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. Enter your passcode if asked, then tap Erase iPhone. If you use an eSIM, choose to erase the eSIM profile too.
9. Remove the iPhone from your list of trusted devices.

Apple confirms that when you erase an iPhone, Find My and Activation Lock turn off. If Find My is on, you may be asked for your Apple Account password during the erase, so make sure you know it. If you're trading in at an Apple Store, Apple suggests checking or resetting your password before you go. For a deeper walkthrough of the wipe itself, including the computer method, see how to factory reset an iPhone.

How to check it worked: Apple's advice to buyers is that a phone is ready for its next owner when it shows the Hello screen. If setup asks for your Apple Account, or you see iPhone Locked to Owner, the phone is still linked to you.

Trading in with Apple on iOS 27 or later

Apple's Ready for Repair or Trade In feature also covers eligible trade-ins. When you request an Apple trade-in on a phone updated to iOS 27 or later, Apple or the Authorized Service Provider tells you whether to turn it on. If they do, it keeps Find My on throughout the trade-in, and the technician marks it complete, which switches the setting off automatically. If you aren't told to use it, or you're trading in with a carrier, retailer or private buyer, stick with the sign-out and erase checklist above.

Sending your iPhone for Apple repair

What Apple recommends depends on your iOS version.

iOS 27 or later: use Ready for Repair or Trade In

On iOS 27 and later, Apple offers Ready for Repair or Trade In. It keeps Find My on during an eligible repair, so the phone stays secure and findable.

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Select the iPhone that needs repair, then tap the More button.
3. Under Settings, scroll down and tap Repair or Trade In.
4. Tap Enable, then enter your Apple Account password.

You can also turn it on at icloud.com/find: select the device, click Repair or Trade In, then Enable, and enter your password. Apple says the technician marks the repair complete and the setting turns off automatically. If you cancel the repair, tap Turn Off next to Repair or Trade In, then tap Turn Off again to confirm.

iOS 26 or earlier: turn off Find My

On iOS 26 or earlier, turn off Find My with the Settings steps above. Apple says it might not be able to service your device if Find My isn't turned off, to stop anyone else from getting service on your phone without your knowledge.

Apple's other repair prep steps

Apple's service checklist also asks you to back up the phone, make sure iCloud has finished syncing (in Settings > [your name] > iCloud, the status next to Saved to iCloud should be green), turn off Apple Cash, remove cards and passes from Wallet, and check Parts and Service History for a Finish Repair message. Bring the phone, proof of purchase if you have it and a photo ID. Apple also warns that neither Apple nor an Authorized Service Provider will ask for your Apple Account password or device passcode, so never hand them over.

When the phone comes back it may have been erased. Restore from your backup, and if you turned off Find My for the repair, turn it back on.

If your iPhone is lost or stolen: don't turn off Find My

This is the one case where you should leave Find My alone. Apple warns that removing a lost or stolen phone from Find My removes Activation Lock, which makes it easier for a thief to unlock and resell it. Instead:

1. Go to icloud.com/find (or the Find My app on another device) and mark the iPhone as lost. This locks it with your passcode and suspends Apple Pay cards. You don't need a verification code to sign in to Find Devices.
2. If you can't get it back, you can erase it remotely, but still don't remove it from Find My.
3. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, don't remove the phone from Find My or your Apple Account until your claim is fully approved.
4. Report it to local police and your carrier, and review your Apple Account security.

Apple also says it will never contact you to say your iPhone has been found. Messages that claim to be "Apple" asking for your password to release a found phone are a scam aimed at removing Activation Lock.

Turn off Find My iPhone without a password: what actually works

Searches for "turn off Find My iPhone without password" lead to lots of paid "unlock" tools. Avoid them. Apple says your Apple Account password is required before anyone can turn off Find My, erase the device or reactivate it. That's the whole point of Activation Lock. The legitimate routes all prove the account or phone is yours.

1. Try the device passcode on the Activation Lock screen

If you've already erased the phone and it's stuck on the Activation Lock screen, Apple says to follow the onscreen steps and enter either the Apple Account and password you used to set it up or your device passcode. If you remember the passcode you used to unlock the phone, that can be enough.

2. Reset your Apple Account password

Wherever you're asked for the password, tap Forgot password? and follow the onscreen steps. Apple may send you to a trusted device (an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or Apple Vision Pro already signed in with two-factor authentication) or ask for recovery details such as:

• a code sent to your trusted phone number
• a code from your recovery contact
• access to your Apple Account email address
• the CVV of the card on your account
• your recovery key or security key, if you set one up

If you can still unlock another Apple device that's signed in, change the password there first, because that can save you from going through account recovery at all. If you don't remember which email is your Apple Account, Apple suggests trying the email addresses and phone numbers you use regularly with Apple services. Once you have a password you know, use the Settings steps above. Our guide on how to change your Apple ID password walks through each option.

3. Request account recovery

If you have no trusted device and can't provide recovery details, start account recovery at iforgot.apple.com in Safari, or use the Apple Support app on a borrowed device: Support Tools > Reset Password > Help Someone Else.

Expect a wait. Apple says recovery can take several days or longer, you'll get a confirmation email (or iMessage) within 72 hours with the date you can expect access, and Apple Support can't shorten it. If you started on the web, turn off your other Apple devices during the wait, because using a device signed in to your account cancels the request. Don't submit a second request either; Apple says that can extend the wait.

4. Start an Activation Lock support request

If the iPhone is yours but you can't get back into the account, Apple says you can start an Activation Lock support request if you have proof of purchase documentation. Business or school phones go through the organisation's IT department instead.

Bought a used iPhone that's locked?

Only the previous owner can release it. Ask them to enter their password on the phone, or to remove it from their account at icloud.com/find using the erase-then-remove steps above. Apple's advice is not to take ownership of a used iPhone until it has been erased and removed from the previous owner's account.

If you already sold or gave away the iPhone

Forgot to turn off Find My before the handover? The new owner will be stuck on the "iPhone Locked to Owner" screen until you release it. Apple's steps:

1. Go to icloud.com/find and sign in.
2. Select the iPhone.
3. Choose Erase. Because the phone isn't lost, don't enter a phone number or message. If it's offline, the erase starts the next time it's online, and you get an email when it's done.
4. When the erase is complete, select Remove This Device.

Apple says Activation Lock is then removed immediately, the phone is removed from Find My, all your content is erased, and the new owner can activate it with their own Apple Account. Apple also suggests contacting the new owner and asking them to run Erase All Content and Settings, removing the phone from your trusted devices, changing your Apple Account password, removing Apple Pay cards and deregistering iMessage if you've moved to a non-Apple phone.

Turn off Find My on iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods

• iPad: Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My iPad, turn it off and enter your password. Activation Lock is removed automatically.
• Mac (macOS 15 or later): Apple menu > System Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Next to Saved to iCloud, click See All, click Find My Mac, then click Turn Off. On macOS 14 or earlier, click Find My Mac in iCloud settings, then Turn Off next to it. If you see "Sign in" instead of your name, you're already signed out and Activation Lock is already off.
• Apple Watch: unpair it from your iPhone. Apple says this removes it from Find My and removes Activation Lock automatically.
• AirPods or Beats: put AirPods in their case (or turn the headphones off), then remove them from your device list in the Find My app or at icloud.com/find. If you're selling them, follow up with how to reset AirPods.

Troubleshooting: Find My can't be turned off

Use this table when the steps above don't go the way you expect.

A few extra checks if none of those fit:

• Make sure you're signed in to the right account. If you have more than one Apple Account, the phone only appears under the one it's signed in to. Apple suggests trying any email or phone number you use with Apple services.
• Update the phone if you can. The Repair or Trade In option only appears on iOS 27 or later. On iOS 26 or earlier, you'll see the classic Find My switch instead.
• Don't fight it at the shop counter. If you're at an Apple Store or a trade-in desk and Stolen Device Protection kicks in, it's faster to start the one-hour delay, wait, and finish than to keep retrying.

Cómo apagar Find My iPhone (quick Spanish summary)

Abre Ajustes > [tu nombre] > Buscar, toca Buscar mi iPhone y desactívalo; escribe la contraseña de tu cuenta de Apple para confirmar. Desde una computadora, entra en icloud.com/find, elige el iPhone y selecciona "Eliminar este dispositivo". Si el iPhone está desconectado (apagado o sin batería), el bloqueo de activación se quita al momento. These steps match Apple's Spanish guides to desactivar Buscar and eliminar un dispositivo en iCloud.com; the menu names are what you see when your iPhone is set to Spanish.

FAQ

Final thoughts

If you have the phone and your password, turning off Find My iPhone takes under a minute in Settings. Turn off Stolen Device Protection first if it blocks you. Use icloud.com/find on any computer when the phone is gone, broken or dead, and remember the offline rule: Remove This Device works instantly on a phone that's switched off, while an online phone needs to be erased first. Before a trade-in or sale, follow the full sign-out and erase checklist rather than just flipping the switch. And if you've lost the password, stick with Apple's reset, recovery and Activation Lock support routes. They're slower than an "unlock tool," but they're the only ones that are safe and actually work.