How To Disable “Find My iPhone” On Any iDevice

There are a few reasons you might want to disable “Find My iPhone” on your iDevice. Perhaps you are planning to sell your iPhone to someone else. If that is the case you will have to turn this feature off so that the new owner does not face any problems regarding the tracking service. Or maybe you just don’t like the idea of having a tracking service on you iPhone that practically allows Apple to track your location.

In this article we will be looking at several different ways to turn off “Find my iPhone” on an iDevice. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Disabling “Find My iPhone” On Your Own Device

If you want to turn off “Find my iPhone” on an apple device you purchased on your own, follow these steps:

On an iPhone/iPad

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select iCloud. Then scroll down till you see “Find My iPhone”. Tap on it.
   
3. Tap on the switch next to “Find My iPhone” to turn it off. (The switch is on if it is green. If it is already off, it is grey.)
   4. You will be prompted for your Apple ID Password. Enter it then tap on “Turn Off”.
   5. “Find my iPhone” will now be turned off on your iPhone/iPad.

On a MacBook

MacBooks come with a feature similar to “Find my iPhone” called “Find my Mac”. But it practically serves the same purpose as “Find my iPhone” and you might want to turn it off before you sell your laptop to someone else.

1. Go to System Preferences and click on iCloud.
2. Scroll down till your see “Find My Mac”.
3. Uncheck the box next to “Find My Mac” to turn the feature off.
4. You will be prompted for your Apple ID and Password. Enter them then click on “Turn Off”.
   

Disabling “Find My iPhone” From a PC via iCloud.com

Maybe you’ve already sold your phone to a third-party and they’ve asked you to disable “Find My iPhone”. Alternatively, maybe you’re locked out of an iPhone you have with you. Or, perhaps you want to disable “Find My iPhone” on multiple devices you own, all at once. For either of these cases, you could go to iCloud.com on your computer and manually choose which devices you want to disable the feature on.

1. Make sure the device you’re trying to is turned off and isn’t connected to the internet.
2. On your PC, open a web browser of your choice and go to icloud.com. Put in your Apple ID and password to sign into your iCloud account.
   
3. Once you’ve been signed in, find the icon for “Find iPhone” and click on it.
   
4. All of the iDevices connected to your Apple ID will now be shown on a Map. On the top of the window, you will find an “All Devices” section. Click on it.
5. A list of all of your iDevices will be presented. Hover your mouse pointer over the device you want to disable. A cross “X” will show up on the side. Click on it to disable “Find my iPhone” on that device.
   
6. Repeat Step 5 for all the iDevices you want to remove.

Disabling “Find My iPhone” On Someone Else’s Device

Perhaps you’re someone who has just purchased a second-hand iPhone. Unless you’ve purchased your iDevice from Apple or an authorized reseller, you need to make sure that the previous owner of the device is no longer linked to it.

If you’ve already bought the device, you have a few options. Firstly, you could contact the previous owner and ask them to remove your iPhone from their iCloud account. They could do this by following the exact same steps as in the previous section, via iCloud.com on a PC.

Unless your phone is removed from the previous owner’s Find My iPhone Devices list, you could also face a problem with the activation. You can expect to see the following screen:

Your best option is to contact the owner and have them enter their Apple ID and password, so that you can reset your device.

Purchasing second-hand Apple devices can always be a hassle, so we recommend you do so via an authorized reseller.

(Perhaps you’ve already purchased an iDevice and no longer have access to the previous owner. Read on.)

Disabling “Find My iPhone” Without Password

This is the final solution that we will be featuring on this article. And that is for a reason. We suggest you only try this method once all the previous other methods have failed.

This method utilizes an iOS bug that lets you disable “Find my iPhone” without an Apple ID password.

On iOS 12

To disable “Find my iPhone” on iOS 12 without your Apple ID password, follow these steps:

1. On your iDevice, go to Settings
2. In Settings, scroll down and tap on iCloud.
3. In iCloud, open Settings. Click on Password & Security. Then click on Change Password.
4. When prompted enter your current password. Enter any random password. You will receive an error notification regarding the wrong password. Tap on OK.
5. Tap on Cancel at the top of the screen.
6. Back at your iCloud screen, tap on Account.
7. Delete the description. Then tap on OK.
8. Back at your iCloud screen, you will find that “Find my iPhone” will have been disabled.

On iOS 10

To disable “Find my iPhone” on iOS 10 without your Apple ID password, there are one of two methods you could try. You could either try the same method as the one for iOS 12. If that doesn’t work, try the following method.

1. On your iDevice, go to Settings
2. In Settings, scroll down and tap on iCloud.
3. In iCloud, scroll down and tap on Sign Out. Tap on “Delete from my Phone”.
4. You will be prompted to enter your Apple ID Password. Tap on “Cancel”.
5. Go back to Settings and scroll up to find and open “General”.
6. In General, scroll down and tap on “Reset”.
7. Within “Reset” tap on “Reset All Settings”. Enter your iDevice passcode.
8. Wait for your iDevice to reset.
9. Once your device reopens, you will find that “Find my iPhone” will have been disabled.

On iOS 7

To disable “Find my iPhone” on iOS 7 without your Apple ID password, follow these steps:

1. On your iDevice, go to Settings
2. In Settings, scroll down and tap on iCloud.
3. In iCloud, open Settings.  Tap on “Delete Account”. Then tap on the switch to disable “Find my iPhone”.
4. You will be prompted to enter your Apple ID Password. Press down the power button and Turn Off your iDevice.
5. Restart your iDevice.
6. Go to Settings > iCloud > Settings.
7. Tap on “Delete Account”.
8. You will find that “Find my iPhone” will now be disabled.

Why You Might Want To Turn Off “Find my iPhone”

There are several reasons you might want to disable this feature on your iDevice. The most common reason is if you’ve decided to sell your device to someone else.

All iDevices are by default linked to an iCloud account. And when you sell an apple device to someone else, it could still be linked to the previous owner’s iCloud account. This could create a problem for the new user, both in terms of privacy & if they want to use the tracking service for themselves.

Another reason you might want to disable “Find my iPhone” from your iDevice is if you’re worried by your privacy. If you think someone out there might have your Apple ID, technically they could track your exact location at any time. This is unless you have disabled the feature. Also, if you’re worried that you might have a stalker, it’s always wise to change your password.