AKAC
Level 1 (9 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Every day, I have to type in my two-factor authentication

I login to Apple services nearly every day as a developer - bugreporter, developer.apple.com, and sometimes to iCloud.com for other reasons. I have one Mac, and several iDevices. However every single day when I use Safari to login (its the only browser I use), I get the notification that I signed into a new browser and need to re-authenticate. It brings up the dialog about where I am and the 6 digit code to type in.

 

It seems really strange that this is every day - sometimes multiple times a day. From the Apple FAQ, it seems my Mac should be marked as "trusted" after I do this once…("Once signed in, you won’t be asked for a verification code on that device again unless you sign out completely, erase the device, or need to change your password for security reasons. When you sign in on the web, you can choose to trust your browser, so you won’t be asked for a verification code") - but that's obviously not happening to me.

 

I'm not using private mode, or anything that should be losing that information. I'm using Sierra, iOS 10, etc. However this was happening to me under El Cap as well.

MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Oct 7, 2016 11:30 AM

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Q: Every day, I have to type in my two-factor authentication

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  • Helpful answers

  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Oct 8, 2016 12:47 PM in response to AKAC
    Community Specialists
    Oct 8, 2016 12:47 PM in response to AKAC
    Hello AKAC,


    Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities. I know having an issue with two-factor authentication on your Mac is not what you expect. Based on what you stated, it seems you may be having issues with two-factor authentication and your Mac being seen as a trusted device that doesn’t need to be re-authenticated. There is an article has this step that may help resolve your issue:

     

    Check your devices

    You can see if your device is trusted when you sign in to your Apple ID account page and check your device list. If your device isn't trusted yet, you'll see "To use two-factor authentication on this device, follow these instructions” in the detail view for that device.



    Set up your devices to use two-factor authentication


    Cheers!

  • by AKAC,

    AKAC AKAC Oct 8, 2016 12:59 PM in response to alex_h1
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 8, 2016 12:59 PM in response to alex_h1

    My Mac is on the devices list.

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Oct 8, 2016 1:03 PM in response to AKAC
    Level 7 (27,041 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 8, 2016 1:03 PM in response to AKAC

    So, you are not signing out completely, and you have also checked the "Trust this Browser" box on the sign in window when you initially sign in?

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by jdo_apple,

    jdo_apple jdo_apple Oct 8, 2016 1:05 PM in response to AKAC
    Community Specialists
    Oct 8, 2016 1:05 PM in response to AKAC
    Thanks for replying and that additional info, it really helps. If you see a message in the device list next to this Mac that says "To use two-factor authentication on this device, follow these instructions” follow that info. If you're already signed in to iCloud, tap or click your name to access your Apple ID account details. Enter your Apple ID password, then enter the six-digit verification code you get on your devices that are already trusted. If those options don’t resolve your issue, try signing out of your Apple ID at System Preferences > iCloud, restart your Mac and then sign back into your Apple ID.


    Have a great day and thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

  • by AKAC,

    AKAC AKAC Oct 8, 2016 1:15 PM in response to gail from maine
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 8, 2016 1:15 PM in response to gail from maine

    Correct.

  • by AKAC,

    AKAC AKAC Oct 8, 2016 1:20 PM in response to jdo_apple
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 8, 2016 1:20 PM in response to jdo_apple

    I don't see any message like that on any of my devices. I'll try to sign out and back in later then.