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lpisati
Contributor
Contributor

Can't remove Mac VM from "Find my iPhone" iCloud service

Hello everybody,

I realized that once I create a Mac VM in Fusion, I log into iCloud, and I activate Find my iPhone, the machine gets added to the list of devices in the iCloud service but it shows up as an iPhone, probably because of an unrecognized serial number.

The problem is that I cannot remove that machine anymore from the "Find my iPhone" list. If I try on the Apple service, it gives me an error, if I turn off iCould on the VM, the machine is not removed from the list.

So now I am stuck with a list of not-existing-anymore VMs in my iCloud service.

Anybody know how to resolve this issue ?

Thanks

Luca

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8 Replies
admin
Immortal
Immortal

Hi Ipisati,

Welcome to Fusion forum and thanks for using Fusion.

I followed your step and can not reproduce your issue. After activate the iCloud server in the Mac vm, I can see the device list in iCloud service (https://www.icloud.com). After I turn off the iCloud and log out the iCloud in the Mac guest.

I also log out from iCloud service (https://www.icloud.com), then re-log in the website, I can not see the device again as expectation.

So I didn't not encounter the issue you met, please make turn off the iCloud and log out apple ID in the Mac guest vm, then re-login the website to check the device list in iCloud service.

BTW, my Host is Maverick is 10.10.2, and my Mac guest vm is 10.8.5. But I don't think this caused by Host and guest version. Help it is a help for you.

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lpisati
Contributor
Contributor

Hi Leo,

Let me give the steps in a clearer way :

1. Create a Yosemite (or Mavericks) OSX VM on Fusion

2. Log onto iCloud on the VM and activate "Find My Mac"

Go to iCloud.com, "Find my iPhone" tab, the new VM will show up AS AN IPHONE, not as a Mac.

3. Deactivate "Find My Mac" on the VM

4. The new VM will disappear from iCloud.com

5. Activate again "Find My Mac" on the VM.

6. Destroy the VM, without deactivating "Find my Mac" or logging out of iCloud services

7. On iCloud.com "Find my iPhone" tab, try to remove the VM entry. You will get an error.

Every attempt to remove the VM will resort in an error, probably because of the weird SN assigned by VMware to an OSX VM.

If you trashed the VM, you are stuck with the entry on iCloud.com and you can't remove it.

Luca

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Anominous
Contributor
Contributor

After pulling my hair out I have found a solution. Did you resolve this issue?

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ColoradoMarmot
Champion
Champion

Not really a VM issue, but have you tried using safari to login to appleid.apple.com and remove the device from there?

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waza38
Contributor
Contributor

Hello, how did you do it please?

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dempson
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

There are are several ways to remove an unwanted device from your Apple ID.

If you have access to the device (in this case a VM), sign out of your Apple ID everywhere it is referenced on that device (iCloud, App Store, iTunes/Music, iBooks, Messages, FaceTime). Some devices sign out from multiple services at once.

If you don't have access to the device/VM:

(a) If you have an iPhone or iPad signed in to that Apple ID: you can go into Settings > Apple ID (at the top), scroll down to the list of devices, tap the unwanted device, then tap the "Remove from account" button.

(b) Sign in to https://appleid.apple.com from any device using your Apple ID and password. Click on Devices in the category list. Click on the unwanted device. Click the "Remove from account" button.

There is also a mechanism to remove devices from an iCloud account via https://icloud.com then going into Account Settings, but checking mine it only lists some devices signed in to iCloud (might be missing ones I haven't used recently, which are the state of needing re-authentication to access iCloud, or which are running older OS versions), and doesn't list any devices signed in to my Apple ID for other reasons, but not signed in to iCloud.

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waza38
Contributor
Contributor

Hello yes I had thought of all that but whether it is from appleid or icloud or even from a mac either it does not delete it or it comes back after updating.

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dempson
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

If the device/VM keeps coming back then it is still signed in to the Apple ID. Every time you start up the VM it will be logging back in again.

You haven't given much information about your situation but I'll assume it is a macOS VM. Details vary somewhat depending on the version of macOS. I'll assume for this example that your VM Is running macOS 12 Monterey (some details about earlier macOS versions mentioned in passing).

If you don't want that VM signing in to your Apple ID any more (including Find My), then you need to start up the VM and go into its System Preferences.

If the VM is signed in to an Apple ID at the user account level then there will be an "Apple ID" icon in the top row. Click that to see details. If you want to sign out you need to go to Overview and at the bottom is a "Sign Out…" button. Signing out will require authentication in some cases, and may ask you about whether you want to keep some types of data on the Mac (VM) if they were being synced with iCloud.

If the VM is not signed in to an Apple ID at the user account level then there is just a Sign In button in the top row. Nothing to do at this point.

(In somewhat older macOS versions, the above was managed via the iCloud preference pane.)

Whether or not the VM was signed in at the top level, there are other ways the VM might also be signed in to your Apple ID, and some of these will trigger it appearing in the list of devices signed in to your Apple ID (particularly the first one below). Check the following areas for a reference to your Apple ID:

  • System Preferences > Internet Accounts. You can potentially sign in to multiple secondary iCloud accounts here (e.g. for shared contacts, calendars, etc., another iCloud-hosted email account, or to use one device to do two-factor authentication for multiple Apple IDs).

The rest of these are in separate applications.

  • App Store: shows the signed-in Apple ID name in the lower left corner. Click that for account details. You can sign out via the Store menu.
  • Books: shows the signed-in Apple ID name in the lower left corner. Click that to see details. There is a Sign Out button in the account details window, or you can sign out from the Account menu.
  • Music (iTunes in macOS 10.14 Mojave or earlier): shows the Apple ID you are signed into in the Store menu, from which you can sign out.
  • TV: similar to Music.
  • Podcasts: similar to Music.
  • Messages: go into Preferences > iMessage and sign out if it is signed in to the Apple ID.
  • FaceTime: go into Preferences > Settings and sign out if it is signed in to the Apple ID.

No more occur to me at the moment.

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