Handing your iPhone to a repair shop
Back up, sign out of what you can and decide whether to erase the phone before a technician gets it.
Back up your iPhone first, then erase it if the repair allows and you can restore afterward. Apple says neither it nor its authorized providers will ask for your passcode or Apple Account password. If a technician needs the passcode for software support, stay with the phone while they use it.
A cracked screen usually gets you a technician, a counter and a claim ticket. You then leave a device holding your photos with a person you have never met. A few minutes of preparation changes how much that person could open.
Before you leave the house
- Back up the phone, to iCloud or to a computer.
- Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, and check that the status icon next to Saved to iCloud is green. Apple uses this as the sign that syncing has finished.
- Remove your cards and passes from Wallet and turn off Apple Cash.
- Look in Settings under General, then About, for Parts and Service History. A part marked Finish Repair needs attention before an Apple Store or authorized provider takes the phone.
- On iOS 27 or later, open Find My, select the device, tap the More button, tap Repair or Trade In, then tap Enable. On iOS 26 or earlier, turn off Find My in Settings under your name.
If the phone will not respond, do as many of these as you can. Some of them also work at icloud.com/find or your Apple Account page.
Decide whether to erase it
Erasing gives you the strongest protection, because the technician receives a phone with nothing of yours on it. The path is Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings. You restore from your backup when the phone comes back.
A phone that will not turn on cannot be erased from Settings, and a technician may need the phone as it is to diagnose a software problem. Ask before you erase.
If you erase and later set the phone up as new, take care with your old iCloud backup. Apple warns that new backups from a phone set up as new can overwrite your saved ones, so restore as soon as possible.
If you cannot erase it
Change your passcode to a temporary one before the visit and change it back afterward. If you give the temporary code to a shop, it stops working once you replace it. iOS keeps a previous passcode usable for 72 hours as a reset option, so open Settings, tap Face ID & Passcode and tap Expire Previous Passcode Now after you change it back.
Hiding photos does little in this situation, because the passcode opens the Hidden album. A separate lock adds more protection. Our guide to locked notes and apps covers the built-in choices, though most of them also accept the phone passcode.
After the repair
Apple notes that your phone may have been erased during service. If so, restore from backup. Turn Find My back on if you turned it off. Check Parts and Service History, which lists the repair once the phone connects to the internet. Then change your passcode if anyone at the shop learned it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give the repair shop my passcode?
Apple says that neither Apple nor Apple Authorized Service Providers will ask for it. For some software support, you might be asked to enter it yourself, and Apple advises staying present while the technician has access. An independent shop sets its own process, so ask before you leave the phone.
Does erasing my iPhone delete my iCloud photos?
No. Apple says your content won't delete from iCloud when you erase the device. Confirm that your backup and iCloud sync have finished before you erase.
Should I turn off Find My before a repair?
It depends on your iOS version. On iOS 27 or later, Apple asks you to turn on Ready for Repair or Trade In in the Find My app. On iOS 26 or earlier, Apple asks you to turn off Find My.