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What To Do if You Forgot Your Apple ID or Password?

Worry not because you are in the right place. This guide will tell you about everything that you need to know if you answered yes to any of the above questions. If you forgot Apple ID details or the Apple ID password that you use to login to Apple ID then you may have issues while working on any device linked to this account.

To avoid any loss of work or other inconveniences read this guide to figure out a solution for the problems you may be facing. 

What Services are Linked to Your Apple Account?

Your Apple account is linked to a large number of services such as the storage to iCloud or access to the iTunes Store or even the app store. Without the ID and password for your Apple account, you may not be able to do simple actions such as buying an app or accessing pictures and documents stored in your cloud account.

Even listening to the music that you bought from the iTunes store may not be possible without signing into your Apple account using the ID and password for the account. To know more about what to do if you have forgotten the details about your Apple account like ID and password.

Read More: How to Delete Your Apple ID Account

Read the following sections that will guide you step by step on the recovery process. 

recovery process password reset of email

How to Reset the Password For Your Apple Account?

The Apple account password can be recovered using multiple options depending on the details about your account that you remember. For example, you may remember the phone number which was attached to the account.

In that case, you may choose to recover your password for your Apple account through the two-factor authentication steps which will be described in the sections below.

Read the following sections to find out which recovery method works best for you depending on the information that you remember about your Apple account. 

Read to know : Reset iPad without Apple id

Recovery Using a Two-Factor Authentication Method

This is the security option that is most popular with Apple and Mac device users. Thus, if you too have this security authentication enabled for your account then the following steps can help you recover your Apple account and change its password.

To do the following steps, you will need access to a working iPhone, iPad, iPod or Mac which is logged into an apple account or has access to one. 

Recovery Using a Two-Factor Authentication Method

Steps For iPhone, iPad And iPod Users

The following steps can be followed by users trying to recover their password using the two-factor authentication. This can be done through the devices mentioned above using operating software that is version 10 or later. 

  1. Open up “Settings” from your chosen device. 
  2. Select “Your name”. This is where your name or the name of the account holder will appear. 
  3. Click on “Password and Security” and then click on “Change password” to initiate the steps that will recover your Apple account and change the password to a new one set by you. 
  4. A few instructions will appear on the screen. You should follow these instructions to the letter and then set a password that you can remember for future occasions. 

If the above steps did not work out for you then one of the popular reasons can be that you are not signed into the iCloud service from the device that you are using. You can sign in using these steps:

  1. Open “Settings” 
  2. Click on “Sign in to your device” and then enter the details. 
  3. If you do not remember your ID details, then click on “Don’t have an Apple ID or forgot it”.
  4. A set of instructions will be provided on the screen of your chosen device which will help you to get the necessary details of your account. 

Steps For Mac Users

To recover your password using the two-factor authentication via Mac devices or other devices using macOS Catalina, follow the steps that are given below. 

  • Click on the Apple menu
  • Choose “System Preferences” and then click on the Apple ID details. 
  • Next, click on “Password and Security”
  • You will now be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. 
  • Click on “Forgot Apple ID or password” to initiate the recovery. 
  • Some instructions will appear on your device screen. You need to follow these steps and change the password for your account. However, before you reset the password, you may need to enter the password or passcode that you entered to unlock the Mas device that you are using for the recovery. 

recovery Steps For Mac Users

Steps For macOS Mojave or Sierra Users

To recover your password using this method via macOS Mojave or Sierra devices, follow the steps mentioned below. 

  1. Go to the Apple menu and click on “System Preferences” 
  2. Next, click on the “iCloud” option and select the account details for which you want to recover the password. 
  3. Here, you may be asked to enter the password for your chosen Apple ID before proceeding. You need to click on “Forgot Apple ID or password”.
  4. Next, you will be guided through a few on-screen instructions. Which will help you to recover your password and set a password of your choice for the Apple account? 

Recovery Steps For macOS Mojave or Sierra Users

Use the above steps to recover your Apple account password using the two-step authentication process. You can use it from any of your Apple devices that you can access.

If none of the above steps is working for you then you can choose one of the methods mentioned in the further sections. Such as using recovery keys or recovering your password through security questions. Read the upcoming sections for more details about these methods. 

Recovery Using a Recovery Key

The latest versions of the Apple OS have updated their security measure. That includes a security or recovery key to help users recover their password or reset a password for their devices. In case they are locked out of their accounts for any reason and cannot use the two-step authentication to recover their password.

Read More: How to Reset a Forgotten Apple ID Password 

You can use this method on any device which has an iOS 11 or a later version. You can also use your recovery key to reset your password from any Apple device. Use your recovery key in case you don’t have access to any of your own signed-in devices. To begin the recovery process you need to access the Apple Support app.

Recovery Using a Recovery Key

If this is not present in the device that you are using for the recovery then you need to download the app from the app store. After the app has been downloaded and successfully accessed you can begin the recovery procedure by following these steps:

Steps Of Recovery Using a Recovery Key

  1. Click on the “Get Support” option that is there at the bottom side of the screen of your device. 
  2. Scroll through the options and tap on the Apple ID to get started. 
  3. Enter the ID details for the account in which you need the password recovery form. 
  4. Click on the “next” button. Follow all the steps that are highlighted onto your screen in the next few images. 
  5. After resetting your password using your key, you will receive notifications confirming that you have successfully changed the password for your Apple ID.

Replace recovery key

If you tried the above steps, you still couldn’t manage to change the password. Then you need to access your security question. In order to crack the recovery process and reset a password for your account.

For this, you can simply go to your accounts page and click on “Forgot Apple ID or password”. After doing this you need to enter your account details and choose how you want to reset your password.

Here, you will get the chance to reset your password for the Apple account. By using the security question, you have set up during the initial set up of your account. By answering the preset security question you can regain access to your account. This will be easily guided by the instructions that appear on your screen. 

After changing your password using any of the above options you may be asked to sign in again. Then sign in using the new password that you have set for your Apple account. After doing this, you will be able to regain access to all the services and products that are offered via Apple accounts.

Read More: Delete apple id account

In Conclusion

However, users need to make sure that they keep the recovery key safe or have access to a trusted device. That is still logged into the Apple account for which they are attempting password recovery.

One word of caution to Apple users is that they should never lose control of all the details about their accounts. Because if that happens, then they may not be able to recover their Apple ID or password successfully.

This would mean that they would have to create a new account which could result in a loss of personal data, images, songs. And apps that are stored in the Apple accounts and cannot be recovered unless you have access to your account.

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