Apple ID keeps getting locked

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.

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.

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    

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.

The solution to that problem is a password manager, like LastPass. It stores your passwords and allows you to create random ones without you having to remember what they are. 1Password is another option.

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?

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've been having this same issue since Dec '20 and I don't even own an iOS device, only a MacBook Pro. So it's not an iOS issue, it seems that it is a server side issue from Apple and more specifically AppleID services. They are trying to push 2FA hard, but I won't do it because I work in cell phone repair and I constantly see people getting locked out of their account because they don't have access to an old device they forgot to sign out of. And the other half of the time, it's a device in another state or with another family member. 2FA is a nightmare for a lot of people. I'm just thankful I don't have to deal with this bug on my phone, only on my laptop. Either way, it needs to be fixed.

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?

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.

"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.

I'm also not willing to enable 2FA.

Everyone here seems to expierience this since December 2020 or so.

So either Apple's email storage has been hacked, or their iOS has a bug since 12.4.9 that causes this.

Enabling 2FA "might" just solve it on the users end, but there might be a bigger issue with Apple's systems here.

They better investigate.

I am using a home 4G connection for my home internet that might be reporting changing IP addresses and non stable locations for my Apple TV and laptop. Thinking about it, could this be the trigger for Apple to query a log in and check identities? I know from experience (for example) that Google maps sometimes thinks I am in Glasgow or Cambridge or Hulll when I am definitely not! What about others who have the same issue?

I don't think this is Apple's problem but there's only one way to find out...use 2FA. If it really is someone spamming logins at their network, then with 2FA on you should get constant requests for authentication. If not, then it's a bug / amateurish nagware.

I’ve been suffering from this problem since the first of the year, maybe even since December. My record so far is having my Apple ID locked eight times in a single day, necessitating signing in again on multiple devices each time. It varies. And sometimes things get quiet for a week or so, only to start up again.

Under Apple’s security protocols for iCloud the only “fix” is to change one’s Apple ID. But I’ve had this email address since the paid ME.COM days, and I’m loathe to change that.

This built-in denial of service “service” really is unacceptable, and has been exploited for years now. But Apple hasn’t, to my knowledge, even acknowledged the problem, much less set out to correct it. I can only assume it hasn’t reached critical mass for Apple.

I much prefer Gmail’s method of emailing the user, noting the problem, and outlines responses possible. (Mind you, that’s the only thing I like about Gmail.)

I'm not worried about anyone ever guessing my passphrase.

Has anyone heard anything at all from Apple regarding this?