In our Apple devices we have a very curious function that can be vital: to locate the devices on a map. Needless to say, how useful it is to have this option enabled for cases in which you have lost your device or believe that it has been stolen. However, we will show you how to deactivate “Find my iPhone” in case, for whatever reason, you want to disable it and you don’t know how to do it.
Disable “Find my iPhone” from the iPhone itself
Since the arrival of iOS 13, the “Find my iPhone” function has been integrated together with “Search Friends” in a single app called “Search”, in which you can see a map containing all Apple devices and friends with which you are connected and who have their respective location options activated. You can even play a sound on the devices in order to locate them if we have lost them at home, in the car or somewhere nearby.
Unfortunately the location is lost if the device is turned off, but also from iOS 13 the possibility was added that through other Apple devices these devices could be located. And how does this work? In summary, it can be said that the devices, even if they are without WiFi connection, mobile data, turned off or without a battery, have enough capacity to emit a signal via bluetooth that is collected by other Apple devices and sent to the servers of the company. This second device that serves as a beacon can be ours or not and not even the owner will know that it is emitting that signal. In any case, this option must be enabled in the settings.
This functionality in the iPhone can be deactivated and is in fact necessary for certain occasions, such as when you leave your iPhone in a technical support to repair. Therefore we show you how you can do it from the device itself:
- Open Settings on the iPhone.
- Click on your name.
- Go now to the “Find” option .
- Click on “Find my iPhone”.
- Turn off the “Find my iPhone” function. Also at this point you can deactivate the “Find offline” option, which is what allows other devices to be used to mark it when it is offline.
Delete a device from the iCloud website
Through the iCloud website you can access different settings and files that we have stored on our Apple devices. We also have the possibility of accessing the location of the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch that we have with the “Search” functionality activated. However, it is no longer possible to deactivate this functionality from this website, but devices can be removed.
So here we give an alert , since really the method that we show you below not only deactivates the “Find my iPhone” function but also completely disconnects your iPhone from your Apple ID. Therefore you should use this method only when you have sold your iPhone or something similar, in those cases in which you will no longer need that device to remain associated with your account.
This method can be carried out from any device, although it is preferable to do it from a Mac or Windows computer.
- Go from the browser to the iCloud website .
- Click on the “Search” icon .
- Search the map and select the iPhone you want to delete.
- Click on “Delete iPhone”.
Once all the content and settings of the device are done, they will be deleted, so we insist on emphasizing again the importance of performing this process. In any case, once done you will not be able to locate that iPhone through the app or the iCloud website.