The Secret of Activation Lock - 2021 Guide
In this article, we look in-depth at what activation lock is by delivering comprehensive tutorials of how we can use it to secure our devices and how we can remove activation. The article is divided into sections to ensure it guides you through all you need to know about activation lock.
- Part 1: What is Activation Lock?
- Part 2: Allow Activation Lock
- Part 3: Enable Activation Lock
- Part 4: Check the Status of the Activation Lock
- Part 5: Remove Activation Lock
Part 1: What is Activation Lock?

As our devices can be misplaced or lost, Apple designed a security feature that will enable its users to lock their lost phones or even wipe them clean to clear data moreover, the feature allows tracking of the device. This security feature is what Activation Lock is.
Whenever Find My is enabled, the activation lock gets turned on, Apple then stores your Apple credentials and locks the device until you reverify yourself to turn it off.
While turned on, the activation lock will display on the device’s screen a Lost Mode custom message and no one can use the device until they enter the correct Apple Id and password.
Part 2: Allow Activation Lock
To allow activation lock on your device you just need to turn on Find My on the device that you want to protect moreover, in a scenario that you lose your Apple device or if it’s stolen, the first thing you should do should is to mark the device as lost. For this, you must use your Apple credentials, and Find My iPhone should be enabled.
You can still mark it as lost via another Apple device.
- Open the Find My app.
- On the list of devices, choose the target device.
- Under “Mark As Lost”, click on activate.

Part 3: Enable Activation Lock
Enabling activation lock will depend on whether your device is unsupervised or supervised.
The differences between the two are indicated below.
For unsupervised devices:
- The end-user of the device has to enable Find My iPhone in the device’s settings.
- The administrator has the ability to check the status of the activation lock using a different device.
- A notification notifying that once activation lock is enabled one must use their original Apple credentials will pop and the administrator has to accept it.
If it’s a supervised device:
- The administrator has the ability to activate the activation lock.
- The administrator can view whether Activation Lock is enabled on a particular device
- The administrator can remove the activation lock using the methods discussed below
Part 4: Check the status of the Activation Lock
To verify whether your activation lock is enabled or not, you can use two methods.
1: Check via Find My
Before buying a used iPhone, you can check the activation lock first using the steps below.

- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Click iCloud.
- Under “Find My iPhone, check to see if it’s enabled.
2: Check using IMEI number
Your IMEI number is printed at the original box that came with your iPhone, using it you can check online if the activation lock is enabled or not.
- Open Settings > General.
- Under “About”, look for the IMEI number.
- Once you find it, visit the iCloud page and open the lock page from a browser.
- Enter the IMEI and the verification code.
- Tap the “Continue’’ button to view the status.
Part 5: Remove Activation Lock
The activation lock may be troublesome to some users or you just want to simply remove
Especially in the case of a second-hand iPhone. Use the methods below to remove it.
Method 1: Turn off Activation Lock on iPhone or iPad
If you have the correct iCloud account details of the device, follow the steps below.

- Power your device and sign in using the correct credentials.
- Once set completes open Settings.
- Click on your username at the top.
- Click “Sign Out” at the bottom.
- Enter your credentials and choose “Turn Off”
Method 2: Remove via iCloud
If you don’t have the device’s credentials or if it’s a second-hand iPhone, you can simply tell the original owner to remove the activation lock remotely via their iCloud account as shown below.

- Log in to the iCloud account.
- Click “Find iPhone”
- Choose to “Erase [device]”.
- Select the option to remove from the account.
Method 3: Remove via LockAway
If you want to remove the activation lock without Apple ID and password by yourself, use Mobitrix LockAway- Bypass iCloud Activation Lock which is a professional and effective tool to help you bypass the activation lock. Then you can regain full access to the locked iPhone and use a new Apple ID.
LockAway which is a third-party tool will remove your activation lock and fix other problems without deleting your data.
LockAway is very easy to use, effective, and secure, follow the given tutorial video, and the steps below to use LockAway.
- Connect your device to the computer
- Choose the “unlock activation lock mode”
- Remove the iPhone activation lock
With just those simple steps, your activation lock has been successfully removed.
Method 4: Ask Apple Support to remove it for you
Before you opt to use Apple support to help you remove the activation lock, ensure your device is legit and has not been reported as stolen. Moreover, ensure you have documentation proof of ownership and purchase of the iPhone. Apple will only help you if they verify the legality of the iPhone.
Visit a nearby Local Store with your documentation proof of purchase and ownership and the iPhone itself. The other option is to open the Apple website and request help. Enter your details, Apple will reach out to you with further instructions.
Method 5: Future tips regarding Activation Lock
Having remove and unlocked your iPhone, here are tips to consider next time
- Verify the status of the activation lock and remove it before buying a second-hand iPhone.
- Remove activation lock before gifting or selling your iPhone.
Summary
In summary, this article addressed all you need to know about activation lock, how to use it, and remove it. The article stressed and recommends using a clean, easy, and step-by-step method to remove the activation lock by using LockAway as you will regain your iPhone instantly with or without your credentials.