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Lock Lost iPhones and iPads with Lost Mode

Lock a lost or stolen supervised iPhone or iPad with Applivery and show a message and a phone number on its Lock Screen.

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TL;DR

Open the Device, click Action, select Enable Lost mode, add a Message or a Phone Number and click Enable. To end it, click Action and select Disable Lost mode.

Lost Mode locks a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad and shows a message and a phone number on its Lock Screen, so anyone who finds it knows how to return it. Apple calls this Managed Lost Mode.

While it's active, the current user is logged out and nobody can use the Device.

Requirements

  • The Device must be enrolled in Applivery and supervised.

  • The Device must run iOS or iPadOS 10.0 or later.

Enable Lost Mode

1
Open the Device

Once in the Applivery Dashboard, go to Devices 1 and select the iPhone or iPad.

2
Start the command

Click the Action 2 button and select Enable Lost Mode 3.

enable lost mode
3
Fill in the fields

Fill in the fields of the dialog:

Field

Required

What the Device shows

Footnote

No

Text at the bottom of the Lock Screen.

Message

Yes, unless you fill in Phone Number

Text on the Lock Screen.

Phone Number

Yes, unless you fill in Message

Phone number on the Lock Screen.

lost mode configuration
4
Send the command

Click Enable to send the command to the Device. To close the dialog without sending it, click Cancel.

Manage a Device in Lost Mode

While Lost Mode is active, the Device page shows an alert at the top with a message and three buttons:

Button

What it does

Get location

Sends the Device Location command, which requests the current location of the Device, even if Location Services are off. Only the device management service can access this location, and the user is notified if anyone accessed it.

Play Lost Mode Sound

Plays the Lost Mode sound on the Device. It keeps playing until you disable Lost Mode or someone turns the sound off on the Device.

Disable Lost Mode

Takes the Device out of Lost Mode.

Get location and Play Lost Mode Sound work only while the Device is in Lost Mode.

Once the Device reports its location, a map appears in the same alert, along with the coordinates and when the location was reported. The Get location button then becomes Update location, so you can request a newer one.

You can also send every Lost Mode command from the Commands section of the Device: click + New command and select the command.

Disable Lost Mode

Lost Mode can only be turned off from the device management service, so the Device stays locked until you do it from Applivery.

Open the Device and click Disable Lost Mode in the alert, or click Action and select Disable Lost mode. The user then sees a message on the Lock Screen or an alert on the Home Screen.

The Device needs an internet connection to receive the command. If it has lost its connection, follow the steps in Disable Lost Mode Without Internet.

Key Takeaways

  • Lost Mode needs a supervised Device on iOS or iPadOS 10.0 or later.
  • You must provide a Message or a Phone Number.
  • Nobody can use the Device until Lost Mode is turned off.
  • You can request the location of the Device and play a sound while it is in Lost Mode.
  • Only the device management service can turn Lost Mode off.

It's an Apple command that locks a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad and shows a message and a phone number on its Lock Screen.

The iPhone or iPad must be supervised, enrolled in Applivery and running iOS or iPadOS 10.0 or later.

Go to Devices, open the iPhone or iPad, click Action and select Enable Lost mode. Enter a Message or a Phone Number and click Enable.

Yes, with the Play Lost Mode Sound command, while the Device is in Lost Mode. The sound plays until you disable Lost Mode or someone turns it off on the Device.

Open the Device and click Disable Lost Mode in the alert, or click Action and select Disable Lost mode.

Yes. Click Get location in the alert of the Device page. The Device Location command requests its current location, even if Location Services are off, and a map appears in the same alert.

No. The Device can't be unlocked, and Lost Mode can only be turned off by the device management service.

It can't receive the command to turn off Lost Mode. A SIM card with data or a wired adapter can bring it back online.

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Last updated: November 6, 2026