djborden
Level 1 (4 points)
Wireless

Q: iCloud keeps asking for password on iPad, iPhone & Macbook Air

I have an iPad Mini, iPhone 6 and Macbook Air, all of which get continual prompts to enter my iCloud password.  All have fully up to date OS.  On the iPad, I've done a full erase and restore, to no avail.  Since then, I've also signed out of iCloud and signed back in on the iPad,  I haven't tried that yet on the other devices.  My iCloud user name is a @me.com format, so I've made sure that all log in places (FaceTime, iTunes Store, Messaging, etc, use that log in, even though I have an @icloud.com email too.  I disabled 2 factor authentication, and App Specific Passwords for Messages, and FaceTime.

 

It seems to have something to do with email in particular.  On the Macbook Air, using Apple's Mail program, I get a message on the main window that login has failed, and then the iCloud account is taken offline.  I have to re-enter the iCloud password and/or quit and restart mail to get it to work.

 

Another thing pointing to the problem being with email is that I turned off all Push email for the iPad, and the password prompts stopped.  Then, when I manually try to get mail, the prompt pops up again.

 

I'm about out of ideas.  One thing I haven't done is to reset to a new password, or to sign out on all devices, then add them back, one by one.

 

Any help would really be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Dan

Posted on Jul 9, 2016 10:24 AM

by erin_b1,Solvedanswer
erin_b1 erin_b1
Community Specialists
A:

Hello djborden,


Thanks for that info and choosing the Apple Support Communities. I know how important having iCloud working properly on your devices is to you! It sounds like you have tried some normal troubleshooting steps, and when I had a similar issue, I had to sign out of my Apple ID in iCloud on all my devices, change the Apple ID password, restart the devices and sign back into iCloud. The following articles will be helpful in walking you through this process:


1. Sign out of your Apple ID for iCloud services on your devices, then change your Apple ID password:


Change your Apple ID password


2. Restart your devices, as the shut down and start up process is important to keep the software running properly:


Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

How to turn on or turn off your Mac


3. Next you can sign in with your updated Apple ID password and test the issue again:


What to do after you change your Apple ID email address or password


Cheers!

Posted on Jul 10, 2016 11:25 AM

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djborden

Q: iCloud keeps asking for password on iPad, iPhone & Macbook Air

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  • by erin_b1,Solvedanswer

    erin_b1 erin_b1 Jul 10, 2016 11:25 AM in response to djborden
    Community Specialists
    Jul 10, 2016 11:25 AM in response to djborden

    Hello djborden,


    Thanks for that info and choosing the Apple Support Communities. I know how important having iCloud working properly on your devices is to you! It sounds like you have tried some normal troubleshooting steps, and when I had a similar issue, I had to sign out of my Apple ID in iCloud on all my devices, change the Apple ID password, restart the devices and sign back into iCloud. The following articles will be helpful in walking you through this process:


    1. Sign out of your Apple ID for iCloud services on your devices, then change your Apple ID password:


    Change your Apple ID password


    2. Restart your devices, as the shut down and start up process is important to keep the software running properly:


    Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

    How to turn on or turn off your Mac


    3. Next you can sign in with your updated Apple ID password and test the issue again:


    What to do after you change your Apple ID email address or password


    Cheers!

  • by djborden,

    djborden djborden Jul 10, 2016 11:44 AM in response to erin_b1
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Jul 10, 2016 11:44 AM in response to erin_b1

    Thanks for your reply.  Yesterday I did decide to do exactly what you are suggesting, and it worked!  I signed out of iCloud on ALL, devices, and also signed out of services that don't require iCloud log in, such is iMessage, FaceTime, the App Store and iTunes (I don't know if that was necessary, but I was trying to be thorough.).  I then restarted all the devices, and logged on to iCloud.com through a web browser, and changed the password.  Then I logged back in to iCloud on all my devices, and it worked!

     

    One caution:  If you are using iCloud Keychain, be sure you know your iCloud code, which is a 4 digit number you create when you set up iCloud Keychain.  (I'm not sure, but this possibly is only the case if you have 2 factor authentication set up.)  You need either this code, or approval from another device that IS LOGGED IN and using iCloud Keychain to set it up, the latter of which isn't available to you because you've just logged out of all your devices.

     

    I luckily remembered the code after 3 guesses, but if you guess wrong too many times, you have to reset your Keychain, after which you lose all your passwords.

     

    Thanks again so much for taking the time to respond.