How to turn off Find My iPhone on the device, remotely when the screen is broken, before a repair (new in iOS 27), and what to do if you have forgotten your Apple Account password.
Door The Phone Shopper
Gepubliceerd: 2026-10-02
People usually turn off Find My iPhone for one of three reasons: the iPhone is going in for repair, they are selling or trading it in, or they have already given it away and notice it is still linked to their account. The switch is on the iPhone itself, but you can also handle it remotely if the screen is broken or the phone no longer turns on. Below you will find what to do in each situation, and why it sometimes fails.
Selling your iPhone? Turning off Find My alone is not enough. Follow our guide on how to reset and wipe an iPhone before selling it.
In short: on the phone, go to Settings, your name, Find My, Find My iPhone, and enter your Apple Account password. Remotely, use icloud.com/find or the Find My app on another device and choose Remove This Device. For a repair, from iOS 27 you no longer need to turn off Find My: you turn on Ready for Repair or Trade-In instead.
Find My shows your iPhone on a map and can lock or erase it remotely. Activation Lock is part of it. According to Apple, it prevents anyone else from using your iPhone if it is lost or stolen, even after it has been erased remotely.
While the lock is on, your Apple Account password is needed to turn off Find My, erase the device or activate it again. That is why a buyer or repair shop asks whether Find My is off: without your account, nobody else can use the phone.
This works if your iPhone turns on and you can use the screen.
Activation Lock is now off and the phone can no longer be found in Find My. Turn it back on as soon as you get your iPhone back.
If Stolen Device Protection is on, you cannot turn off Find My. Turn that feature off first via Settings, Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode), Stolen Device Protection. If you are away from a familiar location such as home or work, a one-hour security delay starts first. So do this at home, not at the shop counter.
If the screen is broken, the iPhone does not respond or you no longer have it, use another device:
What happens next depends on your situation:
| Situation | What you do | Result |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone is off or has no connection (offline) | Remove This Device | Activation Lock is removed immediately; after 30 days the iPhone disappears from your list |
| iPhone is on and connected (online) | Remove This Device, then confirm | Not removed, but marked Ready for Repair or Trade-In for 30 days |
| iPhone already sold or given away | Erase it remotely first, then Remove This Device | Everything erased, Activation Lock off, the new owner can activate it |
| Repair, iOS 27 or later | Find My app: More, Repair or Trade In, Enable, Apple Account password | Find My stays on, the phone is ready for repair |
| Repair, iOS 26 or earlier | Turn off Find My iPhone | Activation Lock off during the repair |
Watch out with an offline iPhone: if it comes back online within those 30 days while you are still signed in on it, it reappears in your list and Activation Lock is turned back on. Apple does note that for an iPhone you might be able to remove the lock on the web even if it is not offline.
This has changed. Apple's service preparation guide says:
You can see your version in Settings, General, About. If you cannot change Find My on the phone itself, choose Repair or Trade-In or Remove This Device on icloud.com/find or in the Find My app.
This applies to service at Apple and Apple Authorised Service Providers. At an independent repair shop, it depends on the repair and on how the shop works. At The Phone Shopper in Nijverdal, you don't need to turn off Find My for a repair. Two things always apply:
If you turned off Find My for the repair, turn it back on as soon as you get your iPhone back.
Apple now also links individual parts, such as the battery, the display and the front camera, to the account of the device they came from. If a used part comes from an iPhone that is still linked to someone else's account, it cannot be fully configured. It may then work less well, is not covered by Apple's warranty, and you cannot trade the phone in. A good reason to ask where a part comes from when you have a repair done.
Without the password, Find My cannot be turned off, and that is exactly the point. There is no reliable way to bypass Activation Lock, not even at a repair shop. Apple does offer official routes:
Not sure which account you used? Try the email addresses and phone numbers you regularly use for Apple services. If the iPhone belongs to your employer or school, go through their IT department. So keep your proof of purchase safe.
Visit our shop in Nijverdal (the Netherlands) or call +31 548 549 536. You always enter your password yourself.
No. Turning it off removes Activation Lock, but you stay signed in. Signing out of your Apple Account also turns off Find My and is part of selling. See the guide for selling.
Yes, via icloud.com/find or the Find My app on another device. For an iPhone that is offline, Activation Lock is removed immediately.
Have your iPhone repaired by us, or sell it to us and switch to a refurbished iPhone with a 2-year warranty.
Refurbished iPhones met 2 jaar garantie. Elk toestel doorloopt ons 50-punts inspectieproces en wordt geleverd met 2 jaar garantie.
Every refurbished phone is sold in one of four conditions:
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