Lock and locate Apple devices
With a device management service, you can lock an Apple device remotely, and even locate a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad that is in Lost Mode.
Lock devices
There are three ways you can remotely lock an Apple device: with Activation Lock, by locking a Mac remotely, or by using Managed Lost Mode.
Activation Lock: When a user turns on Activation Lock, it’s difficult for someone else to use or sell an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch if it’s ever lost or stolen. If you use a device management service that supports Activation Lock, you can manage it for devices your organization owns.
Lock a Mac: Device management service administrators can lock a Mac with a six-digit personal identification number (PIN) and include a short message. After sending the command to the device, it restarts and the user can see the message. The user can’t restart into macOS until they enter the PIN and the Mac validates it.
Note: Locking a Mac computer with Apple silicon requires macOS 11.5 or later.
Managed Lost Mode: Managed Lost Mode for supervised iPhone or iPad locks the current user out of the device until Managed Lost Mode is turned off.
Locate lost or stolen supervised devices
Device management services can remotely place a supervised iPhone or iPad in Lost Mode (called Managed Lost Mode). Turning on Managed Lost Mode locks the current user out of the device. The Lock Screen displays a message that the device management service administrator can customize, such as displaying a phone number to call if the device is found. Also, when a device is in Managed Lost Mode, a device management service can remotely query for the device’s location (even if location services are off) and, optionally, play a sound. Managed Lost Mode automatically enables Low Power Mode to help extend the device’s battery life, and doesn’t require Find My to be turned on.
When an administrator turns off Managed Lost Mode, which is the only way the device can exit the mode, the user receives a notification that the device management service administrator has turned off Managed Lost Mode and collected the device’s location through either a message on the Lock Screen or an alert on the Home Screen.