Activation Lock

8 things to do before selling or trading your Apple Watch

Apple Watch Ultra 2, Series 9, and SE 2 together on a red and green background

Are you planning to sell your Apple Watch, pass it down to someone else, or send it for trade-in? Here are all the important things you must do to ensure the private information stored on your Apple Watch is not accidentally disclosed to others, and the next user can easily pair the wearable with their iPhone.

What to do if your iPhone is lost or stolen

Get help finding your lost iPhone

Losing or having your iPhone or iPad stolen can be a distressing experience, but knowing the right actions to take can help you protect your data, track your device, and report the incident. In this guide, we will share 6 essential steps to follow if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation.

How to check Activation Lock before buying a used iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac

Check Activation Lock on iPhone

We published an article showing 15 things to do before selling your iPhone. However, if you're on the other side and want to buy a used, second-hand Apple device, you must check the Activation Lock and ensure it's disabled. In case you don't, you might end up with an expensive paperweight!

This tutorial shows you the various ways to check Activation Lock on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

How to check and use Activation Lock on your Mac

Apple's Activation Lock feature prevents your Mac from starting up, helping guard your private information in the unfortunate event your Mac is lost or stolen. Follow along with our step-by-step tutorial to learn how to make sure the Mac Activation Lock feature is enabled, disable it if necessary, and find out if your Mac is compatible with this new security protocol.

How to check if the phone you’re buying was stolen

If you're in the market for a used iPhone, it's always a good idea to ask the owner to disable Find My iPhone, which automatically turns off Apple's theft-deterring Activation Lock feature.

But what if you're buying a non-Apple smartphone? Can you still check if it was stolen? As it turns out, that's exactly what CTIA’s Stolen Phone Checker service does for you.

Powered by the GSMA Device Check service, which provides up to 10 years’ of a device’s history as well as the device model information and capabilities, the free Stolen Phone Checker tool is an online service designed to help consumers, businesses and law enforcement agencies make informed purchasing decisions and limit the resale of lost and stolen mobile devices.

TUTORIAL: How to find your iPhone's IMEI number

This is a US-only service so this tutorial may not apply to international readers.

How to check if the phone you're buying was stolen

1) Visit stolenphonechecker.org/spc/consumer on your device.

2) Enter the IMEI, MEID or ESN of the phone you're about to purchase. If you're buying an iPhone, you can find this information in Settings → General → About. If you're buying a non-Apple smartphone, ask the owner to provide the IMEI number.

3) Solve the captcha and click the Submit button.

If the phone isn't stolen,“Not reported lost or stolen” should appear next to Device Status along with some useful information, including the device model, manufacturer and more.

Regular consumers are allowed to check up to find phones per day. Again, this service is limited solely to consumers in the United States.

Related tutorials

Check out the following how-tos:

What to do if your iPhone is lost/stolen How to remotely erase iPhone that was lost/stolen How to use Lost Mode if your iOS device is lost/stolen How to secure your iPhone with Activation Lock How to locate misplaced AirPods Checking Activation Lock status via Apple Support website Wrapping it up

If you have a question, post a comment below and we'll do our best to answer it. Please share this tutorial on social media and pass it along to the folks you support.

Submit your ideas regarding future coverage via tips@iDownloadBlog.com.

How to check Activation Lock status via Apple’s support pages

In the past, you could check the Activation Lock on a dedicated official iCloud page by entering the IMEI number. However, Apple removed it a few years back. Now the only reliable option to check a device's Activation Lock is by having physical access to that iPhone or iPad.

But, there is a workaround that might work for some. So the tutorial below talks about that trick which involves using the Apple Support page to check the Activation Lock. If it works for you, great! If it doesn't, you can follow these tips to check Activation Lock before buying a used iPhone.

Apple likely took down iCloud Activation Lock to stop hacks relying on stolen serial numbers

As we reported, Apple recently took down its tremendously useful Activation Lock webpage for reasons unknown. The theft-deterrent tool allowed legitimate iOS device owners and just about anyone else to check the status of the Activation Lock feature by entering a serial number. Apple provided no explanation for the removal, but all checks point to it being a precautionary measure meant to prevent hacks relying on stolen serial numbers, as a reader pointed out in comments.

For reasons unknown, Apple takes down theft-deterrent Activation Lock web tool

Apple recently took down its web tool for checking if a used iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch was stolen. The firm gave no explanation for the move.

The link to the Activation Lock webpage no longer works and the support document detailing the feature does not contain any reference to the web tool as of January 24. It was unclear at post time if a new version of the tool might be returning in the future in one form or another.