Stolen iPhone stuck on "Erase" mode

meeharla115 wrote:

Hi all,

My iPhone 13 Pro was stolen in London, UK on 19 December 2022. I realized after about 20 minutes, after which I tracked it on my MacBook and saw it moving away from my location. I informed the police who filed a report, ultimately did nothing, and asked for the IMEI number, which I provided. Simultaneously I marked it as lost, and then pressed "erase device".

A few hours later, it showed up on Find My in the outskirts of London, and then no action until this morning when it showed up in Dubai. I can see it live now, every few minutes appearing at the same location, so it's not moving but is connected to internet.

My question is why it's taking so long to erase the device? I read online that it shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes, but I chatted with Apple Support this morning and they said it could take days - weird discrepancy.

Would really appreciate your thoughts. To note, I had a passcode on it, Face ID, it's marked as lost and set to erase mode, so I am hoping it's all OK?

Thanks.

Edit: Also wanted to add that iCloud.com says that the phone is offline and that the erase will take place when it is next connected to the internet, whereas the Find My app says that it is showing up in Dubai every few minutes. Weird?

And where are you located?