How to approve device

If you lost / damaged the trusted device or phone number associated with your Apple ID

As long as you still have your Recovery Key and remember your Apple ID password, you can sign in and add a new trusted device or phone number to your account. You can also remove any devices you may have lost, sold, or given away.

1. Go to your Apple ID account page and enter your Apple ID and password.
2. On the Verify Your Identity screen, select "Can’t access your trusted devices?"
3. In the pop-up window, enter your Recovery Key.
4. Go to the Security section and click Edit.

Remove the device you no longer wish to use to verify your identity. If you have additional devices with Find My iPhone enabled, you can verify them as trusted devices. You can also add additional trusted phone numbers.

If you lost your Recovery Key

As long as you remember your Apple ID password and still have access to one of your trusted devices, you can sign in and create a new Recovery Key.

1. Go to your Apple ID account page.
2. Sign in with your password and trusted device.
3. In the Security section, click Edit > Replace Lost Key.

Keep your new Recovery Key in a safe place. Your old Recovery Key won't work anymore and you can't use it to reset your password or access your account.

Doing a bit of research it seems that the recovery key was dropped from 2015. Adding a second trusted phone number is the way to go

Can I hijack this thread and ask a question of those with more ex[erience.

I do not have a Replace Lost key option.

I assume this is because I am on two factor authentication on all devices.

Is this correct?

And is the best thing in this situation (the modern situation) to add an alternative phone number to receive codes? (which I have done)

Hi.

If you don’t have a trusted device handy, you can have a verification code sent to your trusted phone number as a text message or phone call.

1. Click Didn't get a verification code on the sign in screen.
2. Choose to have the code sent to your trusted phone number.
3. You'll get a text message or phone call from Apple with your verification code.
4. Enter the code on your other device to complete sign in.

If you can’t sign in, reset your password, or receive verification codes, you can request account recovery to regain access to your account. Account recovery might take a few days or longer, depending on the specific account information you can provide to verify your identity.