Apple Password Reset: How to Reset Your Apple ID or Device PW
Reset an Apple ID password, now called an Apple Account password, from a trusted Apple device or Apple’s password-reset page. If you forgot the passcode that unlocks an iPhone or iPad, you must follow the device-reset process instead, which may erase the device.
Before starting an Apple PW reset, have your Apple Account email address or phone number, a trusted device, and access to your trusted phone number if possible.
What Apple password are you trying to reset?
Apple uses several passwords and passcodes for different purposes. Choose the one that matches where you are stuck:
Apple Account password: This signs you in to iCloud, the App Store, and other Apple services. Older instructions call it an Apple ID password.
Device passcode: This is the numeric or alphanumeric code that unlocks an iPhone or iPad. Resetting the Apple Account password does not change it. If the device is unavailable because you forgot this passcode, the normal recovery process erases the device before you set it up again and restore an available backup.
Screen Time passcode: This controls Screen Time settings and restrictions. On your device, open Settings, select Screen Time, then Change Screen Time Passcode. Use the Apple Account that was entered when Screen Time passcode recovery was configured. For a child managed through Family Sharing, the family organizer resets the code from the organizer’s device.
How do you reset your Apple ID password online?
Apple ID is now named Apple Account, but the same email address or phone number still identifies the account. To complete an Apple PW reset online:
Open {site} and find the option for a forgotten password or password reset.
Enter the email address or phone number associated with your Apple Account.
Complete the identity checks shown on the screen. Apple may send a prompt to a trusted device or a verification code to a trusted phone number.
Enter the requested code or approve the request on the trusted device.
Create a new password and confirm it.
If Apple redirects the browser to a trusted device, continue there. Do not approve an unexpected reset prompt or give a verification code to anyone. Email may contain status information or security notices, but follow only the instructions displayed during the reset you started.
How do you reset your Apple ID password from an iPhone or iPad?
If the iPhone or iPad is already signed in to your Apple Account, the device can verify your identity. The device must also have its own passcode set up.
Open Settings.
Tap your name.
Tap Sign-In & Security.
Tap Change Password.
Enter the passcode used to unlock the device.
Follow the prompts to create and confirm a new Apple Account password.
This changes the account password, not the passcode used to unlock the iPhone or iPad. If your name does not appear in Settings because the device is signed out, select the manual sign-in option and then the forgotten-password option.
How do you reset an Apple password using a trusted device or recovery key?
A trusted device is an Apple device already signed in to your Apple Account with two-factor authentication. Apple can display an approval prompt or verification code on that device when you reset the password or sign in elsewhere.
Keep the trusted device nearby, unlocked, and connected.
Start the password reset on that device or through Apple’s password-reset process.
Approve the request and enter any verification information shown.
Set the new password when Apple confirms your identity.
A recovery key is a long code that replaces Apple’s standard account-recovery option when that security feature has been enabled. If your account uses a recovery key, enter it only when Apple’s reset process requests it. You generally need the recovery key plus access to a trusted device or trusted phone number. Apple Support cannot replace a lost recovery key or bypass these identity checks.
What should you do if the verification code never arrives?
If an Apple verification code does not arrive, first confirm that the trusted phone number shown on screen is one you can access. Check whether a signed-in trusted Apple device displays a sign-in alert, and use the option to resend a code or choose another trusted number when Apple offers it.
If you no longer control the old number and cannot use a trusted device, choose the option saying that you cannot access the number or cannot use the available methods. Follow the prompts to begin account recovery.
Account recovery is Apple’s identity-verification process for people who cannot reset a password through their trusted devices or numbers. Apple determines the waiting period after reviewing the request; it can take several days or longer, and Apple Support cannot shorten it. Follow Apple’s instructions about device use during recovery because activity on devices signed in to the account may cancel or delay the request.
What should you do after resetting your Apple password?
After you learn how to reset an Apple PW, finish these steps so every device uses the new password:
Sign in again wherever Apple asks for the updated Apple Account password, including iCloud services, the App Store, Messages, or FaceTime.
Update the saved password in your password manager.
Review the trusted phone numbers and devices listed under Sign-In & Security.
Remove only devices that you do not recognize or no longer control.
Check for security notifications about changes you did not make.
Some devices may continue working without another prompt, while others may ask for the new password. Never share a verification code or device passcode with a caller or message sender.
When should you contact Apple Support if you are still locked out?
Contact Apple Support when the reset page cannot identify your account, the account is locked or inactive, a trusted device fails to show the expected options, or account recovery does not progress as Apple’s status message indicates.
Open {site} and choose the support path for Apple Account access. Before contacting support, prepare the email address or phone number associated with the account, the exact message shown on screen, the device model, and any recovery-request status information. Apple Support can explain the available process, but it cannot disclose your password, provide a verification code, bypass two-factor authentication, or shorten the security waiting period.