All you need is an Apple device and a few steps to recover your Apple ID password.
What to do if you forgot your Apple ID password
2 min readApple loves a unified ecosystem. If you’ve got an iPhone 14, the latest iPad and a Mac, your devices will all play nicely with each other. Part of this unification is an Apple ID, which is great when everything’s automatically logged in. But what happens if you forgot your Apple ID password?
Follow these steps to recover your forgotten Apple ID password.
What is an Apple ID?
An Apple ID is a funky term for credentials, most commonly the username but sometimes also the password used to access your Apple account. The username is whatever email address you set it up with, and the password is whatever you used at the time you established the account (or whatever it’s since been updated to).
How to recover your forgotten Apple ID password
There are multiple ways to reset your Apple ID password. According to Apple support, the quickest way to reset your Apple ID password is with an iPhone or any other device you own that’s part of the Apple ecosystem. That’s because these devices already have access to your Apple ID credentials.
You’ll want to follow these steps to reset your Apple ID password on an Apple iOS device:
- Tap on Settings.
- Tap your name, then ‘Password & Security’, then ‘Change Password’.
- Follow the onscreen prompts to reset your Apple ID password.
The steps are slightly different on a trusted Mac device (one that has a passcode or password):
- Click on the Apple menu.
- Select ‘System Settings’ or ‘System Preferences’.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- Click ‘Password & Security’, then ‘Change Password’. Follow the prompts.
On a new Apple device, select the ‘Forgot Apple ID or password’ during device setup. Once you’ve finished setup, select an app like Messages (or any other one that prompts a sign-in request) and enter your Apple ID.
Alternatively, on a borrowed device, use the Apple Support app:
- Download the Apple Support app from the App Store.
- Open Apple Support, then scroll down to ‘Support Tools’. Tap ‘Reset Password’.
- Tap the ‘A different apple ID’ option.
- Input your Apple ID, then tap ‘Next’.
- Follow the other prompts to reset your Apple ID password.
If you don’t have access to a trusted device or can’t borrow an Apple iOS device, reset your Apple ID online via browser. Apple notes this process may take longer. Visit the Apple ID password reset site and follow the prompts, starting with your Apple ID email address.
Apple ID FAQs
To access your Apple ID account, sign in on your device then go to Settings. Choose the ‘Sign in’ option, then enter your Apple ID and password. You may be prompted for a six-digit verification code sent to your phone or another trusted device.
On your Apple device, go to Settings and tap your name. Select ‘Password & Security’, then ‘Change Password’. Follow the prompts to reset your password.
Apple ID is another term for the email address and password you used to create an account for Apple services. Your Apple ID email address or username should be the same as your regular email address (Hotmail, Gmail, etc.)
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