How to turn off two factor authentication?

farrjell wrote:

My husband has been asking me to switch to Android- this is my last straw. I have 14 devices currently using iTunes......that will be 14 less by the end of May.

You should definitely do whatever works best for your husband.

Ha!

ASC - Late 2012 Mac mini, macOS 10.14.5; Watch, series 3 cellular, watchOS 5.2.1; iPad Air 2 & iPhone 8+, iOS 12.3; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 12.3;  HomePods, audioOS 12.3 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2

I have 14 devices currently using iTunes......that will be 14 less by the end of May.

And you're threatening me because... ?

I, and everyone else in this community are completely unaffected by your choice of device.

I wasn't threatening you- I didn't realize this would post directly to you. And agreed- it doesn't and shouldn't affect you or anyone else. I forgot it wasn't a place for me to express my frustration at Apple trying to force their process on me. Since it bothered you so much though, that you had to reply, I thought I would reply back to you.

minchin001 wrote:

unbelievable!!! why can't I turn it off??? what if someone stolen my phone and i need to login to icloud on my pc to locate it??? how can i login without the code that was sent to my phone???

I had exactly that situation. But, because I had set up my work phone as a trusted number, I was easily able to get the code called to my work number, log in and find my phone (left it at home, turns out).

If you take the trouble to understand how 2FA and trusted devices/numbers works, you'll find that most of your concerns are resolved.

minchin001 wrote:

Good for you that you have other phone number to setup, others don't (like me). It is frustrating that I cant turn it off.

Yes, the reason I had it set up was because I read the instructions long before I had a problem.

However, what I forgot is that you don't need a 2FA code to get into Find My iPhone. It's one of the few things at iCloud.com that doesn't require it. You just need your user name and passcode.

So, if you haven't already lost your phone, set up your trusted numbers. If you have, you can still log into Find My iPhone.

BTW, you can use any text message enabled or voice enabled telephone number as a backup number. I use a Google Voice number as my backup so I can get codes with that google account in any web browser on any platform. You could also use other VOIP service numbers as well.

If you don’t have a second trusted Apple device, then you should definitely find an alternative telephone to use as a backup if needed.

George Stathakopoulos was hired a couple of years ago as V.P. of Corporate Information Security. He was hired in a newly created position and is supposedly responsible for protecting corporate assets Including Apple held data about customers. There is nothing more directly personally relevant to Apple customers than the data tied to their AppleID.

The press releases when Mr. Stathakopoulos was hired made it seem fairly clear he was being hired to have someone specifically and exclusively overseeing IT security at Apple, regardless of the system. Since Apple uses a unified customer login for all customer services, I cannot imagine the V.P. CIS wasn’t highly involved in the decisions about 2 FA.

Apple, it is absolutely rediculous that customers/users cannot turn off the two factor authentication, this is the reason you are second class, not the leader in consumer technology, 3rd in my household to Microsoft and Android. Fix this crap so that customers choose on these matters, not you!

MarkM_Apple wrote:

Apple, it is absolutely rediculous that customers/users cannot turn off the two factor authentication, this is the reason you are second class, not the leader in consumer technology, 3rd in my household to Microsoft and Android. Fix this crap so that customers choose on these matters, not you!

No on here can "fix" anything for you.

I travel for a living, this feature forced me to move to Android. Way to go Apple, give your customers the choice, forcing me to change technologies because of your whim, way to screw the little guy, Apple used to be about OPTIONS.

Two Factor Authorization is one of the Blaine of my life. I travel a lot but have medical problems to like to travel as light as possible. I don’t always want to have 2 devises with me or I will be using a temporary foreign SIM card.

I only activated this so that that I could turn it off. Another nail in you coffin Apple.

SimonSubsonic wrote:

Two Factor Authorization is one of the Blaine of my life. I travel a lot but have medical problems to like to travel as light as possible. I don’t always want to have 2 devises with me or I will be using a temporary foreign SIM card.

2FA doesn't require that you have two devices with you. It sounds as if you don't quite understand how 2FA works. Start by reading this article:

Two-factor authentication for Apple ID - Apple Support

Under what circumstances are you needing to use 2FA on your device? I haven't had to use 2FA on my iPhone since I set it up originally. If you explain exactly what problems you're having, I'm sure someone can walk you through how to use 2FA properly.

I just created a new apple ID and it already turned on two factor authentication. I've looked at the emails I received from apple and see no link to return to my old security settings as this post suggests. Any suggestions?

What do you mean by a “restricted country”? Are you in Iran, N. Korea, Sudan or Syria? If so, Apple has no business presence at all in those countries and there is no support for any Apple product or service in those countries.

If not in one of those four countries, you will need to explain what you mean.