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Find My iPhone Check Before You Pay
A Find My iPhone check should say OFF before you buy. ON means the device is still tied to an Apple Account.
A Find My iPhone check tells you whether the device is still registered to an Apple Account. Find My turns on Activation Lock. When that lock is on, the next person cannot finish setup without the previous account password. That is the point of the feature. It is also why a used iPhone with Find My ON is not a phone you can activate.
ON, OFF, and Lost Mode
- OFF is what you want on a phone you are about to buy. Still watch it boot to the Hello screen. A report can be older than the moment the seller turns Find My back on.
- ON means do not pay. Ask the owner to remove the iPhone at iCloud.com or in Settings, then run the Find My iPhone check again.
- Lost Mode is a harder stop. The owner has marked the device lost. Treat it the same as ON.
There is no buyer-side removal
The Apple Account owner is the person who can turn Find My off. A listing that says the phone is iCloud locked and priced as parts is describing a device you should not plan to set up. This check does not remove the lock. It only reports the status the provider returned.
On a phone with a recent iOS version, an Activation Lock screen can say the iPhone is locked to the owner. If you see that before you have paid, stop. If you do not see it, still run the Find My iPhone check and compare the result with the phone in your hand. Then check blacklist and MDM. They fail independently.