How to Erase iPhone Remotely

Lost or misplaced your iPhone? If yes, you must wonder how to Erase iPhone Remotely, and here, you’ll find how!

Author Avatar Joy Taylor Last Updated: Nov. 18, 2022

If you lost your iPhone and it falls into the wrong hands, there is a significant risk of data theft, identity theft, and more. You can first try to report a stolen iPhone to get it back as soon as possible. Moreover, if you need to erase data from your stolen iPhone, iPhones are capable of self-destructing their data.

To prevent people from accessing any of your sensitive information, in this article, you’ll discover how to erase an iPhone remotely when iPhone is stolen or lost.

Remotely Erase an iPhone with Find Device

First, you can erase your iPhone with the iCloud Find Device, which is designed by Apple to self-destruct your data with the help of iCloud. Since Apple itself developed this iCloud feature, it is reliable and trustworthy that guarantees the wiping of your data when you do it.

To Erase iPhone Remotely:

Step 1. Open iCloud.com through a web browser on a separate device, and then log in to your iCloud account using the credentials associated with your Apple ID.

Enter iCloud Account and Password

Enter your iCloud Account and Password

Note: You also have the option of launching the Find My iPhone app on any of your other devices if you have any.

Step 2. After you are logged in, click Find My.

Choose Find My

Choose Find My

Step 3. You will be able to view the Maps Window, which will display all of the devices to which you have connected. Select the iOS device you want to remotely delete data from by tapping on the All Devices option.

Step 4. After doing that, choose Erase iPhone. A pop-up window says All your content and settings will be erased when this iPhone connects to the internet. An erased iPhone cannot be located or tracked.

Confirm to Erase iPhone

Confirm to Erase iPhone

Step 5. Enter the iCloud password to continue.

When you’re using iCloud, you may wonder how to remove iCloud on your iPhone/iPad for changing your account.

To Stop Erase Request:

If your iPhone is offline, erase is pending when it connects to the internet.

If you want to stop erasing when found iPhone, also go to Find My and locate your iPhone > tap on Stop Erase Request > enter iCloud password to confirm.

Stop Erase Request

Stop Erase Request

What Happens when you Erase iPhone Remotely?

When you enable Erase iPhone, the pop-up window will tell you that all content and settings will be erased when this iPhone connects to the internet (if iPhone is offline). An erased iPhone cannot be located or tracked any longer.

What Happens when you Erase iPhone Remotely

What Happens when you Erase iPhone Remotely

Besides, after erasing:

  1. Your Apple ID email address will get a confirmation email after a successful login.
  2. You can use Find My to find or play a sound on a device if the erased iPhone is installed iOS 15 or later.
  3. The Activation Lock feature stays initiated to secure the device. To remove it, you will need to provide your Apple ID and password.

However, the most apparent disadvantage of this course of action is that it will be completely unusable if you do ultimately locate your iPhone. However, if you’ve been backing up your iPhone to iCloud regularly, you will always have the option to restore from one of your previous backups.

How to Erase iPhone after Too Many Failed Passcode Attempts

Another useful way to erase iPhone remotely when iPhone is lost or stolen is enabling Erase Data in advance. To protect iPhone data, it will erase all data on an iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. Here are the steps:

  1. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
  2. Swipe down and enable Erase Data.
Erase iPhone after Too Many Failed Passcode Attempts

Erase iPhone after Too Many Failed Passcode Attempts

How to Wipe My iPhone without iCloud

If you wish to remove all your data without using the Find my iPhone feature of the iPhone, you need a professional third-party tool to erase your iPhone remotely. If you’re looking for the best iPhone erase app, AnyUnlock – iPhone Password Unlocker is your best bet. It can wipe off your device data completely via its ‘Unlock Screen Passcode’ feature, no matter whether the Find My is turned on or off.

Besides, you can also use AnyUnlock to bypass MDM lock, unlock Apple ID, unlock screen time passcode, bypass iCloud Activation lock, remove SIM lock, etc.

Free Download

Free Download

* 100% Clean & Safe

Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe

To use the Unlock Screen feature of AnyUnlock to erase all your iPhone data with Find My, follow these instructions:

Step 1. Download and install AnyUnlock software on your PC, and launch it. Now, click on the Unlock Screen Passcode option.

Choose Unlock Screen Passcode

Choose Unlock Screen Passcode

Step 2. Ensure that your iPhone is connected to the PC via a USB cable > Head to Start.

Click Start Button

Connect iPhone and Start

Step 3. Click the Download button to get the iOS firmware.

Get a Matching Firmware

Get a Matching Firmware

Step 4. When the firmware download is completed, click Unlock Now.

Tap on Unlock Now

Tap on Unlock Now

Step 5. When you get the success page as below, all the data on your device will be erased and the iOS system will be upgraded to the newest version.

Unlock iPhone Successfully

Reset iPhone Successfully

Can I Erase my iPhone without the Internet?

If your device is offline, the remote erase happens the next time it’s online. If you find the device before it’s erased, you can cancel the request.

The Bottom Line

That’s all for the methods to erase an iPhone remotely. The easiest method to erase the iPhone is through iCloud. However, if, due to any reason, you cannot erase the data through iCloud, we recommend using AnyUnlock to erase your iPhone. Besides erasing iPhone data, it can also unlock iCloud passwords and iPhone screen passwords and solve other issues.

Free Download

Free Download

* 100% Clean & Safe

Free Download * 100% Clean & Safe

Author Avatar
Joy Taylor Twitter Share Facebook Share

Senior writer of the iMobie team as well as an Apple fan, love to help more users solve various types of iOS & Android-related issues.

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