What is Activation Lock?

Activation lock is a security feature devised by Apple to prevent any kind of unauthorized entry access to a lost device. It is possible that you might or might not have heard of Activation Lock since it was introduced as an extension of the ‘Find My’ feature offered by Apple.

Typically, when you enable your device’s “Find My” feature, Activation Lock turns on automatically. This is like an extra layer of security users can put on their Apple devices.

What to do if you lose your device?

We saw what Activation Lock is and what it does, but how do you lock down your device if it is lost? Don’t worry, it is really simple and requires only a few steps.

To start, go to the “Find My” app on a device that belongs to a member of your Family Sharing group or the Find page on the iCloud website. Thereafter, you can label your device as lost. The “Lost mode” or “Lock” option makes use of a passcode, other than the device lock screen passcode and only this passcode can unlock an Apple device in Lost mode. A personalized message, such as your phone number or address, can also be shown on the lost device.

In extreme cases, you can use the Find My app or the Find section in iCloud to wipe your device completely. However, the device still needs a passcode even after the wipe, the personalized message will still be displayed, and the Activation lock will still be turned on. As a result, your Apple device is completely protected from unauthorized access, ensuring that no one else can use your phone under any circumstances.

Therefore, your Apple device becomes completely secure against unauthorized access, ensuring that any unwanted users cannot use your phone under any circumstances.

Activation Lock can sometimes cause headaches. It can cause problems in a corporate setting, where an ex-employee has turned it on and forgot to switch it off before returning it. In such cases, there is no other option but to bypass the Activation lock.

Hexnode and Activation Lock

With a powerful UEM like Hexnode, managing Activation Lock settings in your Apple devices is simple. You can enable, clear, bypass, and view the status of the Activation lock using Hexnode UEM.

Clearing the Activation lock and bypassing it is a bit different. Clearing completely disables Activation Lock whereas bypassing it is a temporary solution to get past the Activation Lock page. In the case of bypass, Hexnode lets you create a bypass code which you can use to proceed with the Activation lock page.

There is also a section in the device summary page in the Hexnode console, where you can see whether the Activation Lock is enabled or not in an Apple device.