How do I recover secure passwords overwritten by iOS 18 update?

Question

How do I recover secure passwords overwritten by iOS 18 update?

Hi y’all,

yet AGAIN, an APPLE update has screwed up my iPhone 13 and my iPad. Two years ago, their update changed ALL my existing secure passwords back to passwords used 10-15 years ago. I was sick of trying to access accounts only to be told my password was incorrect and deny me access. It took me two days to establish what password was in its place, many of which were insecure, and then replace each one with a new secure one.

NOW, the same **** thing has happened all over again with iOS 18. I’m locked out of bank accounts, apps, programs, websites, you name it my secure passwords have all been removed and replaced by ancient insecure ones. Can anyone out there tell me if they’re having the same issues and if anyone can suggest a remedy. I’m furious that an update is overwriting a secure system leaving it vulnerable. I’m NOT HAPPY, APPLE!!!!!

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Yet again, update problems!!!!

iPad, iPadOS 18

Posted on Dec 19, 2025 2:31 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 19, 2025 2:35 PM in response to Updatestresser

I’m sorry this happened, but I have never seen any other posts about this happening, and it certainly hasn’t to my accounts.

How did you update, and do you have iCloud enabled an in iCloud do you have sync passwords enabled? And are you using the Password app, a browser other than Safari such as Chrome or Firefox with it’s own password manager, or a 3rd party password manager?

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Answer 2

Dec 19, 2025 5:05 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Hi again, my browser is Safari and I use Norton Password manager. In my Norton list of passwords, it has (fortunately) all my secure passwords stored, but when I try to access websites etc, somewhere from the ‘ether’ come these old passwords which autofill puts in and then I’m told the passwords don’t match. I’ve been locked out of banking and other accounts because they don’t recognise the old password, so I go in and put the secure one in, only to find the old password overwrites it and I’m locked out of my accounts. I can’t even locate WHERE these old passwords are stored on my systems so that I could go in and manually delete them all completely, so I don’t know where they’re coming from. They just keep overwriting the secure ones. Last time this happened, I had to go through over 200 password issues and implement new secure passwords and now I’m facing the same thing all over again with this latest update. This update should never have been released without thorough testing.

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Answer 3

TheLittles

Level 10

203,031 points

Dec 19, 2025 5:43 PM in response to Updatestresser

"How do I recover secure passwords overwritten by iOS 18 update?: [...]I was sick of trying to access accounts only to be told my password was incorrect and deny me access. It took me two days to establish what password was in its place, many of which were insecure, and then replace each one with a new secure one.[...]"

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Reenable Keychain:

Are these in the Keychain of your Apple Account? If so, turn off Keychain, and then turn it back on. Apple is looking out for you seeing that the password may have been confiscated, and they (Apple) recommend that you change them.

What number do you see here?:

Go to: Settings app
Tap: your name (top)
Tap: iCloud
Tap: See All (in the Saved to iCloud) pane
Tap: Passwords & Keychain

If nothing, toggle on in Keychain. If already toggled on, then toggle it off, and then back on:

Toggle Off: Sync this iPhone
Toggle On: Sync this iPhone

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Answer 4

Dec 19, 2025 5:47 PM in response to Updatestresser

Update iPadOS, remove the Norton Password Manager app, restart, reinstall Norton password manager, and test again.

Some setup info: https://support.norton.com/sp/en/aa/norton-identity-safe/current/solutions/v132319245

If problems persist, contact Norton Support.

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Answer 5

Dec 19, 2025 5:52 PM in response to TheLittles

TheLittles wrote:

"How do I recover secure passwords overwritten by iOS 18 update?: [...]I was sick of trying to access accounts only to be told my password was incorrect and deny me access. It took me two days to establish what password was in its place, many of which were insecure, and then replace each one with a new secure one.[...]"

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Reenable Keychain:

Are these in the Keychain of your Apple Account? If so, turn off Keychain, and then turn it back on. Apple is looking out for you seeing that the password may have been confiscated, and they (Apple) recommend that you change them.

The user has iOS 18. Passwords are no longer saved in Settings. They are in the separate Passwords app.

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Answer 6

TheLittles

Level 10

203,031 points

Dec 19, 2025 6:16 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

"The user has iOS 18. Passwords are no longer saved in Settings. They are in the separate Passwords app."

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Point being...

If you are performing that, then you're referring to the incorrect iOS.

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