Can''t recover account - trusted phone number is invalid
My son has been away for a few months and didn't use his phone for a long time. Now I'm trying to restore it and the system needs to send me a code of some sort after I sign in with his apple ID.
Sadly, the SIM card in this phone was one of those month-to-month, throw-away types that has now expired since it hasn't been used in so long. To keep these SIM cards alive, you need to keep topping them up every month.
I searched for a workaround, and found a post showing how to go into the settings and add a new trusted phone number. Here's that screen:
That +66..........01 number is the current trusted number that has been decommissioned by the carrier. There's no way I can get this number back. I could get a new SIM, but that would come with a new number.
When I tap "add a trusted phone number", I get this:
I guess I tried too many times before realizing the old number is dead. So according to this message, I have three options:
- enter the last code I received
- use one of your devices
- try again later
The first is not an option since I don't have access to that number any more.
What does "use one of your devices" mean? I have plenty of other devices... use them to do what?
Third option: try again later. Okay, how much later? 10 minutes? An hour? Three days? And how will that help since I still won't have access to the trusted phone number later?
By the way, his apple ID is a family account subordinate to mine. He needs approval from me whenever he tries to do anything like download a game. Under this setup, wouldn't it make sense that my apple ID could be used to validate his?
Is there any other way to get him back into his phone?
iPhone SE
