Apple announced the new iPhone 17 lineup and the new iPhone Air at its “Awe Drop” event on September 9. You can pre-order the new devices now, and they’ll arrive in stores on September 19. But before you upgrade to either of these devices, Apple suggests you turn off Find My Old iPhone.
Apple’s Find My app can help you find your luggage at a busy airport, find that one missing AirPod, and make sure you know where all your devices are. Disabling Find My iPhone before you give it away means turning off its Activation Lock feature. This feature could prevent others from using your device, so it’s great if your iPhone is stolen or someone else has it. However, if you give your iPhone to a friend, Activation Lock could prevent them from using your previous device. Fortunately, you can turn off Find My in a few simple steps.
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Here’s how to turn off Find My before you get rid of your old iPhone.
How to turn off Find My
1. Tap Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap your name at the top of the menu.
3. Tap Find My Nearby
4. Tap Find My iPhone Nearby
5. In the new menu, toggle Find My iPhone Nearby
You should now be good to go to return your iPhone, but if you have Stolen Device Protection turned on, you won’t be able to turn off Find My Lock. If you have Stolen Device Protection turned on, here’s how to disable it so you can turn off Find My Lock.
1. Tap Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap Face ID & Passcode in Location You may need to enter your passcode here to continue.
3. Tap Theft Protection in Location
4. In the new menu, toggle the Theft Protection in Location on.
Once you’ve disabled Stolen Device Protection, follow the steps above to turn off Find My. But before you give your iPhone away, remember to remove all your personal information and factory reset the device just in case. You don’t want any of that information floating around.
For more Apple news, here’s what you need to know about the new iPhone 17 lineup, including the iPhone Air. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
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