Step-by-step guide

How to recover your Apple ID

Locked out of your iPhone, iCloud, or the App Store? Apple’s recovery process is free, and you can do it yourself. This is the same guide we hand customers at the counter, and if you need someone to sit with you and walk through it step by step, we can do that too for a small fee.

Read this first

For security reasons, only you can perform these steps. No repair shop or technician can reset your Apple ID password, remove Activation Lock, or get into your account for you — including us. What we can do is sit with you and help you work through it.

Cost

Always free

Start here

iforgot.apple.com

Steps

Five

Steps

1 Start on your own device

2 The golden rules

3 Trusted numbers & codes

4 Account Recovery

5 Activation Lock

A note on scams

1 Start the reset on your own device

The fastest route is right on an Apple device you already use. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings → tap your name → Sign-In & Security → Change Password. On a Mac, open System Settings → your name → Sign-In & Security.

  • If the device asks for its passcode and you know it, you can usually set a new password in under a minute, no waiting.
  • No Apple device handy, or don’t know the passcode? Go to iforgot.apple.com instead and enter your Apple ID email or phone number.
  • Not sure which email your Apple ID uses? Try the address you get Apple receipts at, then check Settings → your name on any device still signed in.

2 The “golden rules” for success

Apple trusts your own hardware more than a strange browser. To get back in faster:

  • Use a trusted device. Any iPhone, iPad, or Mac still signed in to your Apple ID counts, even an old one in a drawer.
  • Keep your trusted phone number active. Verification codes go there by text or call, so keep that SIM in a working phone.
  • Don’t start over repeatedly. Each new request can restart the clock. Start once and let it run.

3 Verification codes and your trusted number

Most Apple IDs use two-factor authentication, so Apple sends a 6-digit code to prove it’s you.

  • A code pops up on your trusted devices automatically. Tap Allow, then read the six digits.
  • No pop-up? Choose “Didn’t get a code” to have it sent to your trusted phone number by text or automated call.
  • If you saved a recovery key or set up a recovery contact, use it here ; it’s the quickest way past this screen.

4 Account Recovery — the waiting game

If you can’t reach a trusted device or number, Apple offers Account Recovery. It works, but it’s slow on purpose; that delay is what keeps a thief out of your account.

  • Expect several days or longer. Apple contacts you when the wait is up; there is no way to pay to speed it up.
  • Give a phone number you can actually answer, and don’t wipe or trade in the device while you wait.
  • Watch your inbox and your spam folder for messages from Apple, and answer their call when it comes.

5 Activation Lock: what it means for repairs

Every iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch signed in to an Apple ID is tied to that account by Activation Lock. It’s the reason we sometimes can’t finish a job until you’re back in.

  • Only the account owner can remove it. No shop, tool, or service can bypass Activation Lock legitimately. Anyone claiming otherwise is selling you trouble.
  • Buying used? Make sure the seller signs out and erases the device in front of you, or it may be a paperweight.
  • If the device was bought new from a store, your original receipt can help Apple verify ownership. Dig it out before you call them.

A note on scams

The official recovery process is always free

  • Apple will never call or email you out of the blue or ask for your password or a verification code. Never read a code to anyone.
  • Any site offering to “unlock iCloud” or remove Activation Lock for a fee is a scam. Start only at iforgot.apple.com.

Stuck partway through?

We can’t recover the account for you, but if you’d like someone to sit with you and work through it step by step, bring your device in. We’re happy to help, just note that hands-on time with a technician is billed as a training service.