Suddenly I am forced to 2-factor ID? It is awful. I did not turn it on. How do I turn this off?

Hi Jerry Dalton1,

Read the document: "Two-factor authentication for Apple ID" - Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

Two-factor authentication is enabled by default on new Apple IDs and cannot be turned off.

"If you're already using two-factor authentication with your Apple ID, you can't turn it off."

If you have an account where you only very recently activated Two Factor Authentication, note this section of the Apple support article -->

"If you updated to two-factor authentication inadvertently, you can turn it off within two weeks of enrollment. If you do, your account is less secure and you can't use features that require a higher level of security."

By the way, the part actually telling you how to unenroll if you still can is, uh, oddly omitted from the newer version of the support article. Here's what they removed: "Just open your enrollment confirmation email and click the link to return to your previous security settings."

You say you didn't enroll but Apple can be somewhat confusing in its wording of messages at times. For example, if you log in here and use 2FA you are presented with two quasi-"are you sure you don't want to use 2FA?" windows and it very easy to press the wrong button. Likewise on an iPhone and iOS upgrades it used to always ask me "Do you want to upgrade?" and present me with two buttons, "Now" and "Later". I would choose later only to find that that only meant not now – what it did was sneak in an update while I was asleep. You actually had to do some other key sequence to tell it "not until I tell you to".

You can try contacting Apple, but from what others have said, all they will provide help with is you having issues actually with two-factor and not any icky old security systems of a bygone era. They are really pushing 2FA.

You're welcome. :-)