What to Know

Stolen Device Protection prevents changes to your iPhone security when you're away from home.
If you are away from home, the security delay on your iPhone forces you to wait one hour to make any changes.
To disable the security delay, you will need to disable Stolen Device Protection altogether.

A couple of years ago, a series of iPhone thefts that led to users losing access to their Apple Accounts prompted Apple to add a feature called Stolen Device Protection. This feature has a security delay that prevents changes to your Apple Account or iPhone security when away from familiar locations. Here's how to turn off the security delay on your iPhone.

What Is Security Delay on iPhone?

Stolen Device Protection is a security feature that keeps your device secure by preventing any changes from being made to your iPhone security or your Apple Account details. This feature was added when there was a rise in iPhone thefts, in which the thieves would be able to change the user's Apple Account password and take over their whole account.

The security delay with Stolen Device Protection makes it so that if you are not at a familiar location, like your home, any changes made to your device security or Apple Account details require you to wait one hour. For more tips on keeping your iPhone secure, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter, which includes our weekly privacy and security newsletter!

Turn Off Security Delay on iPhone

So, if you don't want to use a security delay on your iPhone, how do you disable it? Well, since this feature is integral to Stolen Device Protection, you will need to disable Stolen Device Protection in order to turn off the security delay on your iPhone. Here's how:

Open the Settings app, and select Face ID & Passcode.
Scroll down to Stolen Device Protection.
Select Away from Familiar Locations if you want your device to only enforce the security delay when you're not at home or work.
Select Always if you want your device to always enforce the security delay even if you're at home (which means if you change your mind after you select it, you'll need to wait one hour to change it).
Tap the toggle next to Stolen Device Protection to disable the feature altogether.

That's how to turn off the security delay. Keep in mind that if you have Always selected, you will always have to wait one hour until you can make changes to your device and account security. There is no way to bypass this iPhone security lockout. Next, find out how to do an iPhone emergency reset.

FAQ

Why does my iPhone not recognize my home as a familiar location? Unfortunately, Apple doesn't always clarify exactly how its features work. There is no clear explanation for how your iPhone determines what is a familiar location and what isn't. Head over to our Stolen Device Protection not recognizing home article for all the ways this can be resolved.
What should I do if my iPhone is stolen? If your device is lost, the first thing to do is turn on Lost Mode. You can check out our article on what to do when your iPhone is stolen for more tips on getting your device back.
Can you track your iPhone if it is turned off? Good news: the Find My network works even if your device is powered off. Find out what iPhone is findable means.