Want to learn how to turn off Find My iPhone feature from your iOS device or the iCloud account? Here’s a guide on how you can disable the phone tracking feature of the Apple iPhone and why you’re better off leaving it enabled at all times.
Mobile phones, in general, are among the kind of smart devices that are very personal to the user in more ways than describable. Almost all of our digital, social, and financial information is stored in mobile phones these days, so it is obvious why losing your smartphone or having it stolen from you can cause a panic among anyone. Apart from the fact that it would cost you monetarily when you lose your expensive Apple iPhone, there’s invaluable data linked to it that is irreplaceable, even if the iPhone is.
Apple identified the issue of lost and stolen devices early on, which is why the company included a device tracking feature into the iOS, called Find My iPhone. Similar to how Find My Phone works on Android OS, this mobile tracking feature on the iOS makes use of GPS connectivity of the device to triangulate the location to where was last seen when connected to a mobile network or wireless network connection. Apart from being able to see the previously known location of your iDevice on the map, Find My iPhone feature allows you to remotely play a notification sound on your device, even if the device is in silent mode.
When to disable Find My iPhone
The reason behind introducing a device tracking feature into the software of the iPhone is to allow users to improve their chances of retrieving their lost or stolen devices. Even if you are unable to get a hold of your iDevice using the Find My iPhone service, it ensures that your data does not fall into the wrong hands, allowing you to remotely wipe all of the media, files, contacts, and apps with the touch of a button. Additionally, parents tend to use the Find My iPhone feature to keep a tab on where the kids are, making sure they’re always safe and sound.
However, the constant monitoring, especially if you share your account with your significant other, can seem like a breach of private space. For this reason alone, several users have been hoping to find a method on how to turn off Find My iPhone on their devices, even if it means compromising their security. Additionally, if you’re planning to sell your iDevice for some cold hard cash, and no longer wish to keep the device linked to your iCloud account, you might want to remove your iCloud account from Find My iPhone and allow the new owner to add theirs.
How to turn off Find My iPhone
As mentioned above, you might either find the need to turn off the Find My iPhone feature if you feel it is a breach of your privacy or in the case where you don’t own the iPhone in question anymore and wish to stop receiving the notifications for its whereabouts. Fortunately, there is a way to turn off the iPhone location tracking feature from both, the iPhone itself, as well as the iCloud web client, and here’s how both of those methods work.
Method No. 1: Turn off Find My iPhone from the iOS Device
If you have access to the iPhone, iPod, or iPad on which you wish to disable the Find My iPhone feature, there’s a simple way to do it.
- On your Apple Device, head over to the Settings app from the home screen.
- You will able to see the name of the device owner (iCloud account) at the top of the Settings menu, so go ahead and tap on it.
- Select the iCloud tab and then open the Find My iPhone tab you see on the screen.
- Press the toggle switch next to Find My iPhone to disable the feature.
Once you have the toggle switch turned off, the iPhone or iPad in question will no longer be locatable through the Find My iPhone feature.
Method No. 2: Turn off Find My iPhone from iCloud
This solution is especially useful if you no longer have physical access to the iOS device, but still have it connected to your iCloud account. Here’s everything you need to do to remove the location tracking service remotely from iCloud web client the easy way.
- Open the iCloud website on your computer using a web browser.
- Sign in to iCloud using your username and password.
- Press of the Find My iPhone app icon that you see on the iCloud menu screen.
- On the Find My iPhone screen, look for the iPhone that you wish to remove.
- Under the device tab, press the “Remove from Account” button.
The iOS device will now be removed from your iCloud account, along with the Find My iPhone feature that is a part of the iCloud web service itself.
Remove iCloud Activation Lock
So, you ended up performing a factory reset on an iPhone that had the Find My iPhone feature enabled, now what? You will most likely end up with an iDevice that requires you to enter the iCloud username and password associated with the iPhone to enable it, but what do you do if you don’t have access to it? In such cases, you will require an iCloud unlocking service to help you bypass the iCloud Activation screen on your iPhone and get the device working once again.
AppleiPhoneUnlock – 9.5/10 (The Best iCloud Activation Unlock Provider)
We’ve picked the AppleiPhoneUnlock to be the frontrunner in the race to being the best tool for unlocking Apple iCloud Activation lock which has plagued thousands of users for years now. When tested based on the criterion that has been established above, AppleiPhoneUnlock came out with flying colors, beating the competition and most importantly, ensuring an unlocked iOS device each time.
Out of the several iPhone and iPhone unlock service providers that we tested out, AppleiPhoneUnlock was the only one to complete the request to unlock all of the iPhone and iPad models provided. Since it was the only one among the competitors to be able to do this, it gives the service provider a leading advantage.
DoctorUnlock – 7.5/10 (Closest Competitor)
When you look at DoctorUnlock individually, it stands no less than one of the best service providers for the solution on how to bypass activation lock on the iPhone. However, since it is being compared to a service that is, in our opinion, possibly the best unlock service out there, the flaws in the workings of DoctorUnlock begin to show. Yet, the service provider comes off as a strong contender and has plenty of reasons for which it is the next best thing in the world of iCloud Activation unlocking.
Right off the bat, this unlocking service provider, when put to the test with a list of 12 different iPhone and iPad devices, was able to successfully unlock 11 of the devices. Since most service providers that we previously check out offered barely a 50% success rate, DoctorUnlock trumps them easily.
Final Words
As a means to combat theft and grant users a way to retrieve their lost iOS devices, Apple created the Find My iPhone feature, and it has been a useful addition for years. However, the positive impact of this location tracking feature can sometimes become a nuisance when the user either wishes to hide their whereabouts. More importantly, if you are planning to sell your iPhone, or buying a used iOS device, it is important for you to know how to turn off Find My iPhone right away. In the worst situation, if you do end up setting off the iCloud Activation Lock on your iPhone, the service providers listed above will help you get past it, so don’t sweat it.
Were you able to successfully disable the Find My iPhone feature on your iOS device with the detailed guidelines listed above? For any questions regarding the matter, we’re here to help, so go ahead and reach out to us in the comments section below.
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