Using Activation Lock Bypass

Jamf Now Documentation
Solution
Application
Content Type
Technical Documentation
Utilities & Services
ft:locale
en-US

Activation Lock is a feature that protects devices by linking a user's personal Apple Account to a device. If a device is ever wiped or restored, the user's Apple Account and password are required to unlock the device. For more information on Activation Lock, see Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad from the Apple Support website.

When an organization deploys supervised devices with Jamf Now, this Activation Lock feature can be bypassed. That means that if an employee leaves without removing their Apple Account that locked the device, Jamf Now can provide a code to unlock the device, which will allow your organization to set it up as new.

Important:

If you remove the device from Jamf Now after being wiped, you can no longer bypass Activation Lock.

Note:

You can also disable Activation Lock from your Apple Business or Apple School Manager account if the device is linked to your account. For more information, see the following topics in the Apple Business User Guide or Apple School Manager User Guide:

Training Videos

Watch the following videos to learn more about using the bypass code for an iPad or Mac:

Requirements

To clear Activation Lock, you need:

  • Supervised mobile devices with iOS 7.1 or later

  • Supervised computers with macOS 10.15 or later with Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip (For more information, see Mac computers with the Apple T2 Security Chip from the Apple support website.)

  • Two-factor authentication for Apple Account

  • A personal Apple Account

    Managed Apple Accounts cannot enable Find My or Activation Lock.

  • Find My enabled on the device after enrollment (For more information, see Set up Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac from the Apple support website.)

    Important:

    Find My must be enabled after the device enrolls with Jamf Now. If Find My is enabled before enrollment, the Activation Lock bypass code will not be correctly collected by Jamf Now.

    Troubleshooting: If Find My was enabled prior to enrollment, disable Find My on the device, and then re-enable Find My. The Activation Lock Bypass Code in Jamf Now will be updated in the device record the next time the device syncs with Jamf Now.

  1. Log in to Jamf Now.
  2. Click on Devices.
  3. Click on the device for which you need to bypass the activation lock.
  4. Click the Action pop-up menu (•••) in the top-right corner of the page, and then select "Show bypass code" from the pop-up menu.
  5. Take note of the bypass code. To avoid manually entering the bypass code, plug your device into the computer so you can copy and paste the code into the device (iPad and iPhone only).
  6. Enter the bypass code on the device:

    • On an iPad or iPhone, enter the code in place of the device password. Leave the Apple Account field blank.

    • On a Mac, if macOS Recovery displays the Activation Lock window, click Recovery Assistant > Activate with MDM key.

      Note:

      If "Activate with MDM key" is not available, click Recovery Assistant > Erase Mac. After the erase process is completed, click Recovery Assistant > Activate with MDM key.

      In the Enter your MDM key to active this device field, enter the code.
  7. Click Next.
Note:

If the bypass code does not work, see How to remove Activation Lock from the Apple Support website to start an Activation Lock support request.