Recovery of iCloud /email/ password

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Level 1

21 points

Recovery of iCloud /email/ password

Hello, so, I cannot for the life of me remember what my iCloud email password is. Yes, iCloud email, not Apple ID, not iCloud storage.

I have full access to my Apple ID and iCloud storage via my phone (I own a Dell laptop, not a MacBook), but I can't access my iCloud email because I can't remember its password. To clarify:

Apple ID: myname@gmail.com (I remember it perfectly, have access)

Password: example123 (I remember it perfectly, have access)

iCloud: myname@icloud.com (I remember it perfectly)

Password: ??? (no idea)

I tried iForgot. A MONTH AGO. I'm talking early December 2016. It asked me for my trusted phone number, I successfully gave it, I got a code on my phone, I entered it on iForgot, it all seemed to go great. It said that the account recovery could take a few days. It's been a month. Nothing. Nada. This is absolutely ridiculous. I obviously have access to all the other features. I obviously have access to the phone. I just want access to my email. How can it take longer than a month to reset a password? No email in the history of emails has taken longer than a month to reset a password. I don't have an Apple Store close by (not unless I drive for hours and hours). So...???

Any idea on how to solve this? Do I just say bye bye to my iCloud email? I have things set up on it (namely, a twitter account, a facebook account, some work emails).

Thanks.

iPhone 6s, iOS 10.2.1

Posted on Jan 25, 2017 10:59 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Winston Churchill

Level 10

122,487 points

Jan 25, 2017 11:04 AM in response to MariaPaaw

If you are unable to remember your password, security questions, don’t have access to your rescue address or are unable to reset your password for whatever reason, your only option is to contact Apple ID Support, upon speaking to an operator you should explain that your problem is related to your Apple ID, this way you will not be charged for assistance, even if you don’t have an AppleCare plan.

You will need to show patience with the procedure and be prepared to demonstrate without question that the account belongs to you. Don’t expect access to be restored immediately and if you aren’t the owner of the Apple ID registered to the device the account won’t be reset.

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Answer 2

Mar 26, 2017 5:12 PM in response to MariaPaaw

Hi Maria,

You can open your email via https://www.icloud.com/#mail it will require only your Apple ID. I am sure why your question on iCloud email password being referred to Apple ID, that is because your@icloud.com is an alias of your Apple ID email address (on your IOS: setting-iCloud-contact information-your icloud.com mail).

My problem is slightly different. I want to use my icloud.com email account for Mail (& Calendar of Windows 10) application. Best.

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Answer 3

LACAllen

Level 8

43,410 points

Mar 26, 2017 6:17 PM in response to MariaPaaw

At some point when starting to use the 6S, you enabled 2 Factor Authentication. that you don't know this or recall this is moot. The rest of your issue exists because of this.

You turned your phone in to a trusted device, which Apple sends codes to in real time to provide a higher level of account security. This is why Spark no longer allowed your password on its own.

You don't seem to realize this.

you have ALL the security settings up to date.

But you don't. Or you would not need account recovery. If you have control of your trusted device, you can reset your password yourself. To be placed in to account recovery means you don't have the control you feel you have.

What does https://iforgot.apple.com say when you sign in there to check on your account recovery?

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204921

If you continue with 2FA, I highly suggest you add trusted phone numbers as backups to losing your trusted device.

Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

684,027 points

Jul 13, 2017 8:51 AM in response to gerryhunt2

You need to enable 2 Factor Authentication on your Apple ID and create an app specific password to use. If your account won’t allow 2 Factor Authentication, try 2 step verification.

Apple ID -Two-factor authentication

Apple ID - Using app-specific passwords

Apple ID - Two Step Verification App Specific Passwords

Apple ID - Two Step Verifications FAQ

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Answer 5

MariaPaaw Author

Level 1

21 points

Feb 12, 2017 6:42 AM in response to Winston Churchill

I am the rightful owner. I'm literally writing with my Apple ID email here. For some reason, I had two different passwords on my iCloud email/Apple ID. I think it's because iCloud email made me change it at some point, but it was in like May 2015, so forgive me if the details are a bit blurred. I always use a variation of the same password everywhere (it's a randomly generated password and I change a random character of it), and I'm good at remembering them, but I only had to type down my iCloud email's once since May 2015 because I was already logged in and it didn't ask me to enter it every time I wanted to use it. The problem is that I switched phones. I had an iPhone 6 and was gifted an iPhone 6s, so I have to re-enter the password to log in again and that's when the problem came. Since then, I've been trying to recover my iCloud for months, and it keeps saying that I have to wait a few days for it to be generated, despite the fact that I literally proved I own the Apple ID AND the phone. It didn't ask me for security questions and it didn't send an email to any rescue email. I would be able to do both of those things.

I'm from Argentina. There's no Apple ID Support for Argentina in that link, so...? Am I just supposed to say goodbye to that account? How incompetent can Apple BE? People forget their passwords all the time. There's literally no way to recover my email other than taking a 12-hour flight to ******* Mexico?

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Answer 6

MariaPaaw Author

Level 1

21 points

Feb 12, 2017 6:53 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Read my first post, mate. I already checked that. There isn't one near me. The fact that you refuse to understand geography and that not everyone lives in a first-world country exasperates me. I don't have a reasonably close place to go. There isn't one. I'm not being dramatic. There isn't one. Do you have another solution?

I would never have to personally go to a place to get back my AOL, Gmail, Outlook or literally any other server's email. Only Apple would do something like this. Sadly, I didn't know that before creating that email and linking it to important bits of my life, or I would've stayed clear.

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Answer 7

Feb 13, 2017 1:55 AM in response to MariaPaaw

I have no difficulty reading or with geography, you on the other hand, seem to have an issue with the word 'Contact', it's 2018 unless you haven't noticed, we now have computers and other devices that we can use to contact each other, you no longer need to mount your donkey and take enough food for 6 weeks.

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Answer 8

MariaPaaw Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 26, 2017 5:09 PM in response to tcollmar

I have, yes. Sorry I've been so absent. What Fahmi_mac suggested worked. Of course, I could only access through my desktop iCloud. I can't add the address on Spark or any other app that manages several email addresses, but that's better than nothing!

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Answer 9

LACAllen

Level 8

43,410 points

Mar 26, 2017 5:20 PM in response to MariaPaaw

If you have 2 Factor Authentication enabled on your Apple ID, you may need an app specific password for Spark.

Using app-specific passwords - Apple Support

And in most cases, but not all, an iCloud email address and an Apple ID are the same.

If you have an iCloud email address that is not the same as your Apple ID, you actually have 2 Apple IDs as iCloud email addresses function as Apple IDs.

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Answer 10

MariaPaaw Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 26, 2017 5:34 PM in response to LACAllen

Yes, but let me explain the issue again.

In early 2015 I got an iPhone 6. I created my Apple ID with a Gmail email. Let's say it was example123@gmail.com. The password was 123password. Right? Then it gave me the option of creating an iCloud email account, so I did. It was 123example@iCloud.com and the password was, idk password456, right?

Everything worked correctly. I had all my emails working on Spark correctly. In October 2016 I was gifted an iPhone 6S. I sold my iPhone 6 and started to set up the iPhone 6S (please note that I never changed my number). Logged in on my Apple ID with no issues. When I went to enter my iCloud password on Spark, it kept saying it wasn't correct. I tried all the combinations I could think of and it kept saying that it was wrong. So I went on My Apple ID to change the password. I thought it'd work like with any other password in any other email, right? You've forgotten it but you still have access to all the recovery settings, so they'll send a link to your recovery account or a code to your phone or a freaking pigeon messenger to your house idk. Something? Except... they don't.

This is what they say (I just tried it again. Please remember that I tried it the first time in last October, which was six months ago):

Apple ID Account Recovery

Account recovery is a secure and automatic process to help you regain access to your account as quickly as possible while protecting your Apple ID.

Depending on the information you provide, this will take a few days or longer.

'A few days or longer' is already too vague (and too long) to recover a freaking password when you have ALL the security settings up to date. But it's been SIX MONTHS. Nothing. Nada. I don't have an Apple Store close by to check in person. I can't call Apple Service because there isn't one for my country and they won't pay attention to me in the chat. So... I had no access until this lovely person above said I could check it on my iCloud on my laptop. But that's all I can do. I can't get notifications on my phone, so I have to check periodically to see if I've received any important emails, which is annoying and it makes me not want to use Apple any more, but at least I haven't lost access.

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Answer 11

MariaPaaw Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 26, 2017 6:26 PM in response to LACAllen

I had two-factor authentication on my iPhone 6 too and Spark worked anyway. I don't understand what you mean at all. I'm sorry, but it sounds like gibberish to me tbh.

I can't check my account recovery. When I go to iForgot the only way I can 'advance' a screen is submitting all the information again and it treats is as if I hadn't submitted it before.

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Answer 12

LACAllen

Level 8

43,410 points

Mar 26, 2017 6:40 PM in response to MariaPaaw

When I go to iForgot the only way I can 'advance' a screen is submitting all the information again and it treats is as if I hadn't submitted it before.

Then you are not in account recovery at all. Likely your issue there. If you were, you would be updated.

I had two-factor authentication on my iPhone 6 too and Spark worked anyway.

This does not make sense. Not to quibble... but Spark should need an app specific password if 2FA was in place. Not sure how this happened.

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Answer 13

Apr 1, 2017 11:58 AM in response to MariaPaaw

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

I have access to my iCloud email on ONE computer via Apple Mail. I can't remember the 25 character password so I can use Apple Mail to access it on other computers. YES! I l=know I can log in with my Apple ID. I'd like to use a mail client instead of a browser.

Apple could easily remedy this by forcing your email password to match the one used for your Apple ID. But there is no option on iCloud to manage your email password. That's ridiculous!

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Answer 14

LACAllen

Level 8

43,410 points

Apr 1, 2017 12:15 PM in response to salahananse73

Apple could easily remedy this by forcing your email password to match the one used for your Apple ID.

They do. The password for the @icloud email address, when it is also your Apple ID, is the same.

If you can access your iCloud email using the "Apple Mail" client, you should be able to access and change your Apple ID password any number of ways, like at appleid.apple.com or iforgot.apple.com.

This assumes your icloud email address is also your Apple ID.

I can't remember the 25 character password so I can use Apple Mail to access it on other computers.

Do you mean the recovery key for 2 Step Verification?

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Answer 15

Apr 1, 2017 12:22 PM in response to LACAllen

They obviously don't require the iCloud email password to match your Apple ID password or I wouldn't have a problem. I know my Apple ID password & when I plug it in Apple Mail preferences as the password for my iCloud email, IT DOESN'T WORK!

I've read horror stories on other threads on this issue by people who have had to wait a month or more for an Apple ID reset. By the way, I reset my Apple ID this year. It didn't update my iCloud email to match.

Do you mean the recovery key for 2 Step Verification?

No! The password that seems to work is 25 characters & input in Apple Mail on another computer.

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