How can I unlock my Apple ID after multiple attempts?

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Level 1

4 points

How can I unlock my Apple ID after multiple attempts?

My husband is upgrading his iphone to a refurb model 12 mini. He's not good with tech so I am trying to do it for him. I got his info transferred from the old phone to new, got the eSim transferred from our cell provider and was prompted to enter the apple ID password in the new phone. The password he had written down was incorrect, so I tried to change his apple ID password. I went to the "Iforgotpassword" website, followed the prompts, entered the verification code that was sent to his email address, then entered the code sent to his phone number. Then it asked to enter the passcode from the old phone. I entered it (I'm sure I entered the correct code) and a message came up that says "since you can't provide the correct information, you will have to wait to unlock your account." So it locked me out of the account for 4 days. I got an email that said apple would send a text on May 6 at 11:59pm letting me know my account was unlocked. I never got a text. I tried again to reset the password on May 9 and the same exact thing happened. I enter both verification codes correctly, it asks for the old passcode, I enter it, and it says I'm locked out of the account again for not entering the right thing. I can't find any way to contact Apple support--there's no phone number or support chat or contact email that I can find. I have no way to finish setting up the phone.

[Edited by Moderator]

iPhone 12 mini

Posted on May 9, 2025 5:54 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

shoeluvr13

Level 6

18,709 points

May 9, 2025 7:21 PM in response to Eastrother

The only thing Apple can do is walk you through the reset process. they cannot do anything more from their end.

If you don’t receive the text or call, once the period specified in the original email is over, you can still go directly to apple.com/recover. Follow the instructions to regain access to your Apple Account.

During the wait period make sure you are carefully following “After you start account recovery“ at How to use account recovery when you can’t reset your Apple Account password - Apple Support

“If you started your account recovery in Settings, System Settings, or the Apple Support app, you can continue to use that specific device during the account recovery period.
Regardless of how you started the account recovery request, you should turn off all other devices that are currently signed in with your Apple Account until account recovery is complete. If your Apple Account is in use during your request, your account recovery will be cancelled automatically.
If you started your account recovery request with iforgot.apple.com through your device’s browser, you should avoid using that device during this period. If possible, turn that device off. Using that device might cancel account recovery. "

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Answer 2

Eastrother Author

Level 1

4 points

May 11, 2025 12:22 PM in response to shoeluvr13

I did follow the rules. Twice. It kicked me off at the same place both times. I enter the verification codes from email and phone number and it accepts those, but When I enter the iphone's passcode (which I KNOW is correct) it gives me the message "since you can't provide the information your account is locked etc."

Could the problem be that I when I created a passcode for the new phone, I used the same passcode as the old phone? (both old and new phones have the same passcode.)

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How can I unlock my Apple ID after multiple attempts?

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