IPhone – If I remote wipe the iPhone, can I still locate it remotely

As soon as the device connects to the internet, Apple's servers will send the erase message to the phone. I have seen this happen three weeks after the message was sent and the effect was nearly immediate.

I don't know of any way to recall the erase message once you've sent it, and you should receive an email if the device ever registers and the erase message is sent.

All the things you did after the erase request are moot since if the phone never checks in, you can't really stop the erase and if it does ever check in, it will get erased and self remove from your list of devices.

You might open a support ticket with Apple to be sure the email will send if you erase the device (I haven't actually tested that sequence), but common sense says you might expect the email if the erase ever gets issued.

Since iOS 7, Apple has employed Activation Lock. Once Find my iPhone has been enabled, the device is bound to the user's Apple ID and will require the username and password of that particular Apple ID to restore or activate.

Remote wipes put a lock on the device on top of clearing out the data. Once that phone is turned back on, a password will be required.

Activation Lock cripples iPhones for life (or till the user enters the Apple ID password).

The thief that has your device now has a brick and it will always be a brick. There is absolutely no bypassing Activation Lock because Apple's servers will chase it forever.

The only procedure left to the thief is to put the device in DFU mode, but once the restore is complete, the user will again be prompted for the Apple ID password upon setup. And since the device checks Apple's servers for this hold, the thief is left up a creak.

You can see on Apple's website what Activation Lock consists of:

With Activation Lock, your Apple ID and password are required before anyone can:

• Turn off Find My iPhone on your device

• Sign out of iCloud on your device

• Erase and reactivate your device

Jailbreaking a device requires access to it. If it was that easy, Activation Lock would be useless. Apple is much smarter than that.

iPhone Hacks has a more in-depth look at the feature: Protect your iPhone against theft with Activation Lock