Devangbose
Level 1 (18 points)
iCloud

Q: Two-Factor Authentication Not Available

Hello.  When I go to set up two-factor authentication, it says that this is not available on my device.  All of my devices are fully up to date.  Does anyone know why this would be happening?

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 9.2

Posted on Dec 23, 2015 12:57 PM

by FoxFifth,Solvedanswer
FoxFifth FoxFifth
Level 7 (25,932 points)
iPhone
A:

It is being rolled out slowly -- apparently very slowly. It isn't available to me yet either and I meet all of the criteria. See the quote below from Availability of two-factor authentication in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan - Apple Support

With hundreds of millions of users in the Apple ecosystem using a variety of devices and software versions, this will take time. To ensure the best experience possible, we'll roll out two-factor authentication gradually starting this fall.

Two-factor authentication will be made available to users who meet the system requirements below on all the devices they use with their Apple ID.

  • iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 9
  • Mac with OS X El Capitan and iTunes 12.3
  • Apple Watch with watchOS 2
  • Apple TV (4th generation) with tvOS
  • Windows PC with iCloud for Windows v.5 and iTunes 12.3

Other criteria will also be used to determine availability. So even if you meet all the system requirements, you might not be offered two-factor authentication right away. We'll increase availability over time, until we can offer the feature to everyone.

Posted on Dec 23, 2015 1:41 PM

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Devangbose

Q: Two-Factor Authentication Not Available

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  • Helpful answers

  • by FoxFifth,Solvedanswer

    FoxFifth FoxFifth Dec 23, 2015 1:41 PM in response to Devangbose
    Level 7 (25,932 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 23, 2015 1:41 PM in response to Devangbose

    It is being rolled out slowly -- apparently very slowly. It isn't available to me yet either and I meet all of the criteria. See the quote below from Availability of two-factor authentication in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan - Apple Support

    With hundreds of millions of users in the Apple ecosystem using a variety of devices and software versions, this will take time. To ensure the best experience possible, we'll roll out two-factor authentication gradually starting this fall.

    Two-factor authentication will be made available to users who meet the system requirements below on all the devices they use with their Apple ID.

    • iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 9
    • Mac with OS X El Capitan and iTunes 12.3
    • Apple Watch with watchOS 2
    • Apple TV (4th generation) with tvOS
    • Windows PC with iCloud for Windows v.5 and iTunes 12.3

    Other criteria will also be used to determine availability. So even if you meet all the system requirements, you might not be offered two-factor authentication right away. We'll increase availability over time, until we can offer the feature to everyone.

  • by Devangbose,

    Devangbose Devangbose Dec 23, 2015 6:18 PM in response to FoxFifth
    Level 1 (18 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 23, 2015 6:18 PM in response to FoxFifth

    Ok.  Thank you for the reply.  I too meet all the requirements.  I wish Apple wasn't so vague but I guess this isn't a super pressing issue to I should be fine. 

  • by jag2015 ,

    jag2015 jag2015 Dec 28, 2015 7:29 PM in response to Devangbose
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 7:29 PM in response to Devangbose

    I am a little skeptical, why Apple is so much behind two factor authentication when Google provide this for years. This should be a pressing issue for Apple, and in my opinion, for Apple, two-factor-authentication does not hold much of ground in security world. If it did, it should have been rolled out by now.

  • by zinacef,

    zinacef zinacef Dec 28, 2015 7:33 PM in response to jag2015
    Level 4 (3,320 points)
    Applications
    Dec 28, 2015 7:33 PM in response to jag2015

    It has rolled albeit slowly and is being pushed to accounts.  Some folks have already reported having it, while others like myself, are still waiting.  And the same two-factor authentication that Apple has adopted already meets, if not, exceeds industry standards.

     

    http://www.cnet.com/news/two-factor-authentication-what-you-need-to-know-faq/

  • by FoxFifth,

    FoxFifth FoxFifth Dec 29, 2015 7:05 AM in response to jag2015
    Level 7 (25,932 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 29, 2015 7:05 AM in response to jag2015

    jag2015 wrote:

     

    I am a little skeptical, why Apple is so much behind two factor authentication when Google provide this for years. This should be a pressing issue for Apple, and in my opinion, for Apple, two-factor-authentication does not hold much of ground in security world. If it did, it should have been rolled out by now.

    Apple has offered "two-step verification" for years and it is still available and works very well. I use both Google and Apple and use two-step verification on both: Frequently asked questions about two-step verification for Apple ID - Apple Support

     

    The topic of this thread is "Two-Step Authentication" which is confusingly similar and is supposed to be an improvement that is built directly into the operating system. Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support