Apple ID keeps getting locked

I'm having the same issue as the others here. About a month ago I bought the iPhone 12 to replace my aging iPhone 6sPlus. On the 6s I was up to iOS 14.2 and never had the constant "please sign in" problem.

When I changed over to the iPhone 12, I restored the phone from my iTunes backup, and then updated it to the latest (as of this writing) version, iOS 14.3. From this point on I am repeatedly asked to sign in (sometimes twice a day) even though I never signed out. Two or three times a week, after the sign-in attempt, the phone tells me my account is locked and then I have to go through my security questions to get the phone unlocked and useable again. After this, a few days will pass before I'm asked to sign-in again, and then another day or two will pass before I am locked out again and have to go through the security question BS all over again. This is freakin MADDENING!

IMHO this is clearly a bug in iOS. Here's what I have tried to remedy this:

1. Sign out then sign back in to my Apple account via my phone
2. Sign out via my Apple account online (via my computer), and then sign back in on my phone
3. Sign out of my account, change my Apple ID password, and then sign back in again
4. Went into Settings > General > Reset and used the "Reset All Settings" option

None of these things have solved the problem. Come on Apple, PLEASE fix whatever bug is hiding in iOS 14.x and help us out here.

The below article is worth a read, and similar to other posts here, the author thinks that due to all the data breaches it may be possible that our accounts are being hit by hackers trying to brute-force the password, causing Apple to lock our accounts. He proposes that you change your Apple ID email address. In the case of some users, you could actually use a + character, meaning your current (soon to be old) email address is no longer a valid Apple ID. If your old address was 'user@gmail.com' it could now be something like 'user+sometag@gmail.com'. Email from Apple will still deliver to your existing 'user@gmail.com' email inbox, but your Apple ID would be considered as 'NEW'.

Link: https://gloutnikov.com/post/2020/prevent-appleid-from-constantly-getting-locked/

And in addition, here is some useful reading on enabling 2FA from Apple, in the event that you are "forced" to go this route.

Link: Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

Looks like you can make it work with only one Apple device and any phone, if you can receive the SMS that is.

Update from my side...

This issue is no longer happening to me, two major factors have changed:

1. I logged into iTunes and then...
2. I updated to Big Sur soon after.

I cannot say for sure whether either is related, but I do keep wondering if there is a link with Keychain - an OS update would probably help to fix any resident Keychain issues. Maybe you guys should try log into another few services like iTunes on your devices and see how it goes.

Someone asked why people don't enable 2FA, from my perspective 2FA is a necessary security measure but in the case of Apple (and I am open to being corrected), you seem to need an iPhone or an alternative device. I don't have an iPhone or another Apple device, so 2FA doesn't feel like an option.

Changing passwords or adding 2FA (which is nothing more than a type of multiple "password" arrangement) will do nothing to stop this. This is totally all about your Apple ID. My guess is that there is only one of two things happening here:

1. There has been a recent systemic bug introduced in apple products using Apple ID services where they are not correctly passing password information when trying to access the services resulting in multiple password fail lockouts.
2. Someone has hacked Apple's (or someone else's) database and obtained their list of patron Apple IDs (i.e., email addresses) and are now systemically walking through and trying to brute force discover the passwords resulting in continuing password fail lockouts for anyone who has an Apple ID.

I've been too lazy to try this yet, but here is a way to determine what's going on. You need to change your Apple ID to an email address that you know doesn't exist anywhere else in the universe. If the problem is from item #2, then this will eliminate it since whoever is hacking the system cannot possibly have that email address (a.k.a. your Apple ID) at this time. Using the modification using the "+" symbol in your email is a good way to do this. The only aggravating thing is that if you have several Apple items (Apple TV, iPhones, iMacs, etc.) you have to reset them all up to use that new "+" type email address.

If this doesn't fix it for you, the problem is a systemic bug in apple's products that only they can fix (item #1). However, my suspicion is that it is likely #2 that is going on.

"it could obviously be someone going at the account, or it could be a problem with the account itself. Or it could be a device I've forgotten about still trying to hammer its way in with an old password"

But then why has it just started happening to everyone in the same way at about the same time? There's a much bigger issue here I think.

Using email addresses for user IDs is about the same as using Social Security numbers. Obtaining a list of legitimate email addresses does not seem to be very hard. If you know an address is legitimate and you know that a given site with a large number of accounts on it insists on using email addresses for account access, it's not a good combination.

Agree with the above. Too many people suddenly started experiencing the same issue at the same time for it to be due to attempts to compromise those accounts, and I haven't gotten any suspicious-looking login attempt alerts. This has to be a bug.

This started happening to me about a month ago, November or December. Happens at least once every two days. I will not do two-factor authentication, fingerprints or face recognition. It is super annoying. I don't change my password each time, I just unlock my account by email. The first time I tried answering security questions and my answers weren't correct. It is happening to too many people and Apple isn't fixing it.

NOT A FAULT - But by design from apple...

I started to get this issue at the same time as upgrade AND continued request to enter in my password for another email account on my phone. (NOT used by apple ID) - Funny kept resetting the password to NULL.. Mmmm!!

I do not use 2 factor authentication - and I'm always being prompted to upgrade. Mmmm!!

I refuse each time even trying to back up messages you need to upgrade.. Mmmm!!

So what can apple do to make us use 2 factor authentication - THAT is to make us believe people are hacking into our accounts and to make us use 2FA..

Other systems from other companies tell you that a failed attempt has been made on the account and sometimes they even tell you where and what attempted it.. Where is this on apple id or on the itune account.

So that's my belief --- as I'm sure all people have not yet gone over to the 2FA..... but then again could be wrong.. :)

I have suspiciously thought the same thing, that it was Apple trying to trick me into 2FA. And it's almost worked. But, like ElfieUK4, I'm worried about having to jump through these hoops with a password AND 2FA recovery methods every time it happens. I envision an eventuality where I lose access to my AppleID altogether thanks to whatever's going on, and I end up getting a suggestion from the sycophants in the support forums that my best and only option is to establish a new AppleID, as if that's a perfectly normal and reasonable thing.

At this point, I'm just trudging along and hoping it just gets resolved. Of course, like so many things Apple, they'd never tell us they fixed anything or that anything was borked to begin with. It'll just be magically fixed.

Same thing here. Same time frame - started in early Dec '20.

It drives me nuts, especially because it disrupts linking desktop messages, calendar, or other apps with the phone apps.

APPLE, can someone get on this??? At least acknowledging the issue??? Hello???

I'm having this same issue. It's happening on ALL devices, including the AppleTV, iPhone, and laptop. Either someone is attempting to hack or there is a glitch on the backend at Apple. We thought the new updates would resolve this issue, but they have not.

Were you able to resolve this with any of the provided solutions?

Someone may be trying to sign into your account and is entering the wrong password too many times.

You can also add 2 Factor Authentication to your account for more security. If the attempts continue, you might want to consider a name change.

Link to contact Apple Support in the article.

Apple ID has been compromised.      

Security and your Apple ID.      

Note the restrictions in the article.

Apple ID Name Change.        

 What to do after you change your Apple ID or password - Apple Support    I suggest doing this before you change your Apple ID or password.

Apple ID -Two-factor authentication          

Two Factor Authentification availability.    

2 Factor Authentication - How to generate a recovery key

Apple ID - Using app-specific passwords.     

Apple ID - Two Step Verifications FAQ    

Exact same problem here on my iPad 2 Air.

I say, it started in Nov or December when the last update was installed.

I'm on 12.4.9 now and get nagged once or twice a day ever since.

What I tried:

• change the password
• reboot device
• check for updates
• verify that iTunes has my credentials (another thread suggested, iTunes might cause the popup)

The super weird part is, that when that popup comes, it will ALWAYS lock my account, even when I 100% enter the correct password.

And I then have to complete the unlock procedure (with the very same password) to unlock.

Never had that problem before. So I say it's a bug in the 12.4.9 iOS.

It's super annoying and I wonder why Apple has not commented on this by now.

I have had the same issue for months

• two factor authentication does not help (you can actually reverse the activation via the email they send you when you activate it, for 2 weeks)
• in my case it is definitely related to an older and specific device, an ipad air that isn‘t able to install iOS 14.x
• wether it‘s the version or just a problem in that device I can‘t say

I don‘t use that device - all is fine, for weeks. I start using it, it takes a day or a few days, and my account is looked. As I have 5 devices on my account and 4 don‘t create the issue, I‘m sure it‘s a software bug and in no way related to any external party trying to log in to my account unsuccessfully, locking it

anyone with similar observations?