How to Remove Old Devices from Apple ID on Mac
If you’ve owned a variety of Apple devices over the years, you may eventually get to a point where you have sold, handed down, or traded away some of those older Macs, iPhones, iPads, or other Apple hardware. Whatever the situation, once a device is no longer in your possession, you should remove the devices you’re no longer using from your Apple account for security reasons. Plus it’s just good practice to clean out devices that are no longer yours so they are not associated with your Apple ID anymore.
Signing in to your Apple ID from a device to take advantage of Apple’s services will link that particular device to your account. These devices need not necessarily be one of the Apple devices you own. For example, if you use iCloud for Windows or if you ever connected your iOS device to your PC, your computer will be linked to your Apple account. This is also considered as the trusted device list. Some of the devices in this list may be authorized to approve two-factor authentication requests for example.
We’re going to run through the steps to remove old devices that are linked to your Apple account right from your Mac.
How to Remove Old Macs, iPhones, iPads from Apple ID via Mac
Fortunately, macOS makes it easy to remove an associated device from your Apple account. The following steps are identical regardless of the macOS version your system is running.
- Open “System Preferences” on your Mac from the Dock.
- Next, click on the Apple ID option with the Apple logo located at the top-right corner of the window.
- This will take you to your Apple ID settings. Here, scroll down to the bottom of the left pane. You’ll see a list of all the devices you’ve used with your Apple account.
- Now, select the device you want to remove or unlink from the left pane. Next, click on “Remove from account” located on the right side of the window.
- When you’re prompted to confirm your action, click on “Remove” and you’re good to go.
There you go. It’s that easy to unlink any of your old devices.
You can repeat the above steps until you remove all of your old devices from your Apple account. Keep in mind that the devices that you just unlinked will reappear if they’re still signed in with your Apple ID. So, make sure you’re logged out of all the devices you’re trying to remove.
It’s worth noting that if you’re removing an iPhone that is currently used with a trusted phone number, it will still be capable of receiving two-factor verification codes. You can either contact your network provider and deactivate the SIM or switch the SIM card to a different iPhone that you actively use.
Be careful while trying to remove devices that you actively use from this list. Sometimes, you may run into issues with Apple services. For instance, you may have trouble getting iCloud to work properly, as the device won’t sync or access backups anymore unless you manually sign out and sign in again.
If you’re reading this article on an iPhone or iPad, you may also be interested in learning how to remove your linked devices on iOS and iPadOS. Although it’s a completely different operating system, the steps are fairly similar. Therefore, you’ll have no trouble getting it done.
Did you unlink the devices you no longer use from your Apple account? What’s your take on this capability that lets you see and manage all the devices you’ve linked to your account from one place? Do share your valuable opinions in the comments section down below.
Running Sierra, you have to manage devices from the app store.
Sign in with your apple ID
From the Menu Bar its on the STORE menu
“View My Account”
You’ll see a link on the right about halfway down to Manage Devices. From there you’ll see a list of devices you can deactivate by clicking the “remove” button.
I’m running Mojave 10.14.6 and that shows exactly what you’re describing.
In SYSTEM PREFERENCES select the iCLOUD icon, click on the ACCOUNT DETAILS button and in the window that opens click on the DEVICES tab.
You’ll see all the devices associated with your Mac, select the one you want to remove and you’ll get the option of deleting it.
Hope this helps.
Both my MBP and my iMac are running Sierra OS 10.12.6
The System Preferences pane does not have the “Apple ID option with the Apple logo located at the top-right corner of the window,” as you described it in the above article.
How do I remove old devices from my Apple ID in Sierra?
Thank you.
Yes the Apple ID System Preferences panel has undergone significant renovations since Sierra.
For Sierra, press “Account Details”, and then select the “Devices” tab. Select the old device and then press the “Remove from account” button.
Hope that helps!
I’m running Mojave 10.14.6 and that shows exactly what you’re describing.
In SYSTEM PREFERENCES select the iCLOUD icon, click on the ACCOUNT DETAILS button and in the window that opens click on the DEVICES tab.
You’ll see all the devices associated with your Mac, select the one you want to remove and you’ll get the option of deleting it.
Hope this helps.
You can go to appleid.apple.com. Enter your Apple ID and password, select Devices. You will see all of the devices signed in to your Apple ID. Click on the device to remove. Then click on Remove From Account.