How to Find Out Your Apple ID Password

Apple never shows you an existing Apple ID password. There is no screen, setting, or Apple tool that reveals it, and Apple Support cannot read it out to you either. Finding out your Apple ID password therefore means replacing it with a new one after Apple confirms you are the account owner.

What you can find out is the Apple ID itself, meaning the email address or phone number used to sign in. Apple now calls this account an Apple Account. Knowing it is the first half of the job; the reset is the second half.

Why can I not just look up my Apple ID password?

Apple stores the password in a form it cannot reverse, which is the same reason a stranger who gets into Apple's systems still cannot read your password. The tradeoff is that nobody can retrieve it, including you and including Apple's own staff.

This matters when you are searching for a shortcut. Any app, site, or service claiming it can find out, decrypt, or display an Apple ID password is either useless or dangerous. There is no legitimate version of that tool.

Saved passwords on your own devices are a separate thing. If your iPhone or Mac saved the password in its password manager, you can view what was saved there after unlocking with your device passcode, face, or fingerprint. That shows you a stored copy, not the account password itself, and it will be out of date if the password was changed elsewhere.

How do I find out what my Apple ID is, not the password?

If you are signed in anywhere, the account name is visible. Check these places in order.

• On an iPhone or iPad you already use, open Settings and look at the name and email address shown at the very top.
• On a Mac, open the system settings and check the account panel at the top of the sidebar.
• In your email, search for messages from Apple about receipts, sign-ins, or account changes. The address they were sent to is very likely your Apple ID.
• If you are in a Family Sharing group, the organizer can see the account addresses of members in their Family Sharing settings.

Try the addresses you actually use before assuming the account is lost. An Apple Account created years ago often sits on an old work or school address.

How do I reset my Apple ID password on an iPhone I still use?

A trusted device is an Apple device already signed in to your account with two-factor authentication turned on. If you have one and you know its unlock passcode, this is the fastest route and needs no verification codes at all.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap your name at the top of the list.
3. Tap Sign-In & Security.
4. Tap Change Password.
5. Enter the passcode you use to unlock this device, not the Apple password you forgot.
6. Type the new password twice and confirm.

If the device asks for the old Apple password instead of the device passcode, the device is not fully trusted or you are signed out. Use the browser route below.

How do I reset my Apple ID password without my own device?

Open the company’s official website in a browser and choose the option for a forgotten Apple Account password. Apple then asks for the account address and walks you through verification.

Before you start, have these within reach:

• The email address or phone number the account uses.
• A trusted device or a trusted phone number that can receive Apple's verification.
• Time, without a queue behind you. Some steps have waiting periods that cannot be shortened.

You can also borrow an iPhone or iPad from someone you trust, open the Apple Support app on it, and choose the option to reset a password for someone else. What you type there is not saved to the borrowed device.

Why does Apple ask for a verification code?

Two-factor authentication means Apple requires two things: your account details plus confirmation from a device or phone number you registered earlier. Without the second part, knowing the email address alone would be enough for anyone to take your account.

The code arrives either as a pop-up on a trusted Apple device or as a text or automated call to a trusted phone number. Type it into the reset screen, then continue setting the new password.

Never read a verification code to another person, no matter what they claim about being from Apple, your bank, or a delivery service. Apple's real process never involves you reading a code aloud to someone.

What if I cannot get the verification code at all?

On the verification screen, look for wording along the lines of not being able to reach your devices, then select the option saying you cannot use the number shown. Apple offers whatever alternatives your account has.

Those alternatives depend on what you set up in advance:

• A recovery contact, a person you nominated earlier who can generate a code for you. This only exists if it was set up before you lost access.
• A recovery key, if you created one and still have it written down.
• Account recovery, Apple's fallback when nothing else is available.

If the trusted number is one you will regain access to shortly, waiting is usually faster than starting account recovery.

What is account recovery and how long does it take?

Account recovery is Apple's process for returning an account when the normal verification methods are unreachable. You request it, Apple gathers what it can confirm about you, and then a waiting period runs before access is returned.

The waiting period exists on purpose and cannot be shortened by contacting support, being polite, or being urgent. Apple Support can explain where a request stands but cannot skip the wait.

While recovery is running, avoid using other devices signed in to the same account unless Apple's instructions tell you otherwise, because unexpected activity can interrupt the process and restart the clock.

What should I never do while trying to find out an Apple ID password?

Do not keep guessing. Repeated wrong entries can lock the account, and then even the right password stops working until the lock clears.

Do not enter your Apple details on a page you reached from a text message or email warning you about your account. That is the most common way Apple accounts are stolen. Start from Apple's own app or by typing the address yourself.