adamr3

Q: iCloud keychain approval from other device not working

SO I have an iPhone 5, and a 13 in. macbook pro with retina display.  I am also part of the public beta so I have sperate partition on my hard drive for yosemite.  They are all synced using my iCloud account, but the keychain isn't working.  They all save passwords, but separately, and it won't sync between devices.  I have tried countless times to approve with other device and nothing happens.  I have tried to "approve with security code" and I get enter my code, and the 6 digit code that I get in a message.  It seems like it goes smoothly and then right when it finishes it says that I need to approve it again. 

     I have tried from my phone and computer, but neither of them work.  And I have searched the internet for other people with this problem but have found nothing. 

any ideas would be appreciated. 

iPhone 5, iOS 8, and os x mavericks / yosemite pb

Posted on Sep 25, 2014 6:01 PM

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Q: iCloud keychain approval from other device not working

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  • by Brett L,

    Brett L Brett L Sep 28, 2014 2:29 PM in response to adamr3
    Community Specialists
    Sep 28, 2014 2:29 PM in response to adamr3

    Hi adamr3,

     

    If you are having issues with syncing iCloud Keychain between multiple devices, I would suggest that you troubleshoot using the steps in this article - 

     

    Get help using iCloud Keychain

     

    Specifically -

    1. Turn off iCloud Keychain on all devices.
    2. Turn on iCloud Keychain on the device that has the most up-to-date keychain items.
    3. Turn on iCloud Keychain on your other devices. They will be updated with your new iCloud Keychain.

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    Best,

     

    Brett L 

  • by adamr3,

    adamr3 adamr3 Sep 28, 2014 11:26 PM in response to Brett L
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 28, 2014 11:26 PM in response to Brett L

    Ok I tried that and when I turned it on again I approved it with the security code and it still says I need to approve it with another device. No  other device is using key chain at the moment. Could it be because I got a new phone recently and it wants me to approve it from the old one? If I use the code to approve it do I still have to approve it with  another device? Is it supposed to be one or the other because I have done both and nothing works. 

  • by adamr3,

    adamr3 adamr3 Sep 28, 2014 11:38 PM in response to adamr3
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 28, 2014 11:38 PM in response to adamr3

    Well it says an approval code had been sent to my other devices but nothing happens. It's something supposed to pop up on the screen or what?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 29, 2014 12:01 AM in response to adamr3
    Level 10 (106,904 points)
    iLife
    Sep 29, 2014 12:01 AM in response to adamr3

    You can only approve from a device that can receive SMS and has been approved.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 29, 2014 1:34 AM in response to léonie
    Level 10 (106,904 points)
    iLife
    Sep 29, 2014 1:34 AM in response to léonie

    You can only approve from a device that can receive SMS and has been approved.

    I meant to write: "You can only approve from a trusted device that can receive SMS, if you have enabled two-step verification." Have you?

     

    Frequently asked questions about two-step verification for Apple ID

  • by hoodie916,

    hoodie916 hoodie916 Sep 29, 2014 4:30 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Sep 29, 2014 4:30 PM in response to léonie

    I have been experiencing the same issue.  I have turned off iCloud from all devices and attempted to approve from other device, but I never receive the request.

    I have attempted to approve via the Use Code option, but again it fails and just suggests "Try restoring iCloud Keychain again."

    Maybe my situation is more difficult to diagnose as I have a Mac Pro, MBP, iPhone and iPad all previously using iCloud and Keychain.

    I have attached the screenshots taken during attempts to resolve.

    9to5 Mac have also just reported that iCloud appears to be done across all iOS & OSX.

    Screen Shot 2014-09-30 at 8.08.00 am.pngScreen Shot 2014-09-30 at 8.08.30 am.pngScreen Shot 2014-09-30 at 8.08.38 am.pngScreen Shot 2014-09-30 at 8.09.17 am.pngScreen Shot 2014-09-30 at 8.09.27 am.png

  • by adamr3,

    adamr3 adamr3 Jul 17, 2015 9:22 AM in response to adamr3
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 17, 2015 9:22 AM in response to adamr3

    ok I think i figured it out.  it was because I had not enabled 2 step verification like léonie said.

    and hoodie916 I am not sure if that is the same error message I got.  Mine didn't have an error message.  immediately after approving it with the code it showed this... just asking me to approve from another device.  but I can't because i don't have 2 step verification enabled.

     

    I hope this helps.  good luck.

     

    <Image Edited by Host to Remove Personal Information>

  • by adamr3,

    adamr3 adamr3 Oct 7, 2014 1:37 PM in response to adamr3
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 7, 2014 1:37 PM in response to adamr3

    ok. I have now set up 2 step verification, but it still does the same thing.  There is no error message when I try to enable keychain.  But if I try to enable it with my other device, it will say that it is waiting for approval from other device, but nothing will pop up on any of my devices.  I can go choose to enable it with my security code, it seems to work and I put in the code and the one that it texts me, but then it still says waiting for approval from other device. 

  • by Brett L,

    Brett L Brett L Oct 7, 2014 2:35 PM in response to adamr3
    Community Specialists
    Oct 7, 2014 2:35 PM in response to adamr3

    Hi adamr3,

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Due to the nature of the issue you described you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action.

     

    Brett L 

  • by Birnando,

    Birnando Birnando Oct 24, 2014 12:49 AM in response to adamr3
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 24, 2014 12:49 AM in response to adamr3

    Exactly the same for me.

    I've turned everything off, then back on again to no avail.

  • by hoodie916,

    hoodie916 hoodie916 Oct 24, 2014 6:02 AM in response to Birnando
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 24, 2014 6:02 AM in response to Birnando

    Mine is still not working.  I have 5 devices and the Verify from another device message never shows up on any of the other devices.  So frustrating....

    So, I still have the iCloud Keychain couldn't blah, blah.. Try restoring blah... which again fails to work.

  • by GadgetGav,

    GadgetGav GadgetGav Apr 2, 2015 4:52 AM in response to Brett L
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 2, 2015 4:52 AM in response to Brett L

    I've been having the same issue for weeks...

    The standard IT answer of "turn it off and on again" is all well and good, but when I try to turn off on my Air, the check box immediately gets rechecked.It's off for about 1 second then it comes back on without me doing anything. I can't follow these steps if MacOS won't even let me complete step 1..!

  • by bob_stan,Helpful

    bob_stan bob_stan Apr 24, 2015 8:15 PM in response to GadgetGav
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 24, 2015 8:15 PM in response to GadgetGav

    I had the same problem and finally got it to work. When you are asked for your 4 digit security code, click forgot code even if you know it. This will take you through steps to re-enter a code and clear the iCloud keychain. I tried this numerous times and always got the "unable to communicate with iCloud" message.  The trick to this (for me anyway) was to do this reset on my iPhone with iOS 8 and NOT from any of my computers. Once I did it on my phone, approve from another device started working.  What a frustrating experience.

  • by GadgetGav,

    GadgetGav GadgetGav Apr 25, 2015 2:25 PM in response to bob_stan
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 25, 2015 2:25 PM in response to bob_stan

    To be honest, I've given up with the whole thing although I did just go and look and the Keychain checkbox is now unchecked on my Air. The phone has stopped complaining that it's still waiting on confirmation too, so that's progress. I'm in no hurry to try turning it all back on though! 1Password is great.

     

    Between this, the Remote app on iOS and Home Sharing from the Mac mini upstairs to the Apple TV downstairs there's so much that doesn't "just work" about Apple software these days. Maybe it's because I've migrated systems over from the days of 10.2 and a clean system would be better, but that's no reward or consolation to a long time user.

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