Q: 2 factor authentication avail in Canada?

@frozen999,

I've read various press reports in the last two weeks (at TUAW and elsewhere) indicating that Apple has rolled out 2-factor authentication in Canada, but like you, I see no evidence of it on the Security page of my AppleID account.  It would seem that the announcements were premature.

Seems it is still not working.

I've had the problem of poor access to SMS 2-factor authentication for Canadian customers of other web companies offering the service, and the answer has almost always been that the Canadian telco companies or the Canadian SMS aggregator companies which control access to SMS services are responsible for the delay due to money considerations and/or corporate bureaucracy intestinal blockage.

It will get sorted out eventually, I hope (e.g. it took at least a year for Yahoo to sort it out vwith Telus/Koodo).

I was told on other forums (not by the companies involved) that the way it works is more or less this: a company like Apple does not want to deal with each and every telco company offering SMS to consumers (and vice-versa), so Apple signs on with one or more "SMS aggregators" that offer wholesale SMS access to grouped telco SMS systems, and implements the necessary machine-to-machine access protocols so that Apple's systems talk to the SMS aggregator systems to send the SMS through to individual consumers.

Anyway, something like that! And it all takes considerable time, money and effort to coordinate, apparently...

It's getting kind of ridiculous, how long is it going to take? How can I trust the icloud keychain thing without 2 factor authentication? I've had 2 factor on my google acount for years now.

I will never buy Apple products again due to the abissmal customer treatment and really their stuff isn't that great, far better alternatives out there.....nice hardware but LOUSY software and services. Still no 2 factor....cavemen.

Should be faster than this to get 2 factor authentication through SMS setup. Apple already has a relationship with all the carriers in Canada. I won't use iCloud Mail for anything important without it.

Any updates to this yet? I haven't seen 2 factor authentication offered in Canada as an option yet but perhaps I am looking in the wrong place.

Unfortunately, there are no updates on this. I chatted with an Apple tech via iCloud Support, but he didn't know anything about two factor authentication and recommended that I call the 1-800 Apple Canada number instead.

I still haven't followed through on that yet, but you're welcome to. Please post back if you do.

I have a couple of AppleIDs. Both have Cdn addresses registered.

One started life as a mac.com account. It got converted to an AppleID when mac.com folded years ago.  It don't use it much. That account has the two-factor authorization available. i haven't enabled the feature, but it is available to me on the Password and Security page.

The second is my primary AppleID account. Two-factor authorization option  is not visible on that account.

The lack of 2Factor on Canadian accounts has nothing to do with difficulties in dealing with the wireless carriers or SMS aggregators, as suggested by mjdl above. It's purely an Apple administrative issue.

I think the evidence of the differing treatment of your mac.com and other Apple ID probably does point to Apple administrative issues, especially as Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, Twitter, etc., all seem to have SMS authentication for Canadian area code numbers.