Endless password resets and account recovery in both iOS and Mac OS

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Geektastic

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#323446 3-Dec-2025 13:43

In the past six months I have had to crawl through Apple's ludicrous reset/recovery process more times than I have in the decade preceding that.

It is an absolute nightmare to be honest - you can't just reset it like almost anything else. Oh no. You have to wait an undisclosed random number of days before it will permit you to access your own stuff.

I have had to change the password so many times that increasingly I cannot remember what the current one is.

It is further complicated that for purely historical reasons, my App Store account and my Apple account have different emails attached to them. The App Store account was created over 20 years ago before I had any Apple device other than an original iPod and was therefore only used to get music onto the player.

So sometimes it is that account that decides it needs resetting and sometimes it is the main account.

I have no explanation for any of this - it seems to occur entirely at random and entirely without any reason being given.

Has anyone else experienced this madness? So much for 'it just works'!!

fearandloathing

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#3439836 3-Dec-2025 13:59

That sounds like you have two entirely separate apple accounts.
edit: Spelling

lxsw20

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#3439840 3-Dec-2025 14:14

^^ I'd say thats the case. Apple Support is very helpful on the phone, i'd suggest you call and go over the issue. 0800-692-7753

Geektastic

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#3440035 4-Dec-2025 00:08

Well not exactly.

The App Store one has never, ever been used for anything other than downloading stuff from the App Store

The full Apple one has never ever been used in the App Store.

Unless things have changed (possible) there was no way to merge accounts. Thus since the App Store one had history and purchases already (for years) when I needed to create the new ‘full’ account, I couldn’t find a way to transfer all the purchases.

1024kb

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#3440036 4-Dec-2025 01:21

Apple, Google & Microsoft all seem to be suffering from using a legacy security codebase that's been patched & patched & repatched for far too long now. Often patching one vulnerability leads to another being exposed. Lenovo, in their search for perfect BIOS security recently locked down a bypass method, inadvertently re-opening a larger & easier method that existed previously.

Microsoft are also imposing this arbitrary 48-hour wait period (but your computer must remain on & connected to Microsoft) before allowing password recovery lately - although that's a particularly strange case of the password working for initial login then suddenly not when users say check their Outlook mail, for example. Arbitrary wait time is a method which Google used with the very first FRP system for Android - it was a PIA back then too.

Apple's very first FMI security was broken with a $NZ25 Teensy 3.1 & 72 lines of code - that was on Mac hardware, iPhones were yet to appear. Mac FMI locks can still be bypassed, although considerably more code is required & the Teensy replaced by another Mac. I have no idea how much Apple invested in that first FMI implementation, but when it's limited to 4 numerals your keyspace is only 10,000 - you'd have expected them to do better. Mind you, previous password removal was done inside 1 minute with rm /usr/db/.applsetupdone & followed by the classic resetpassword - which did exactly that - reset your password.

Wait for Apple to approve your password request or use a Teensy? Teensy was both quicker & guaranteed to get you in.

Just like car & house door locks are only there to keep regular people out, it's the everyday user of Apple / Google / Microsoft services who has to jump through hoops & follow endless time-wasting protocols (What do you mean you want to make sure I'm not a robot? You're the robot, you go choose photos of bridges & cats yourself!). Technology evolves so quickly, we're never going to have fully secure systems that are easily accessible by authorised users.

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Tinkerisk

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#3440070 4-Dec-2025 08:16

Apple account password (ID) and Apple App Store password are different, if that matters. And as far as I know, you need the Apple account (Apple ID) password to recover an account. So I would prevent everything related to the App Store, recover the account, and ask Apple to map the renegade App Store account to your Apple ID.

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Geektastic

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#3440073 4-Dec-2025 08:38

Tinkerisk:

Apple account password (ID) and Apple App Store password are different, if that matters. And as far as I know, you need the Apple account (Apple ID) password to recover an account. So I would prevent everything related to the App Store, recover the account, and ask Apple to map the renegade App Store account to your Apple ID.

I agree that’s easiest if it can now be done. Previously they wouldn’t or couldn’t do that. I’ll ring them later when I’m more awake!

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fearandloathing

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#3440074 4-Dec-2025 08:42

Not sure, why you are using seperate accounts. The only time you might have a seperate account attached to the App Store is when using apple families to share purchased content.

The family owner account would typically be used by a ‘Parent’

I would recommend picking one account and using that account exclusively.

fearandloathing

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#3440075 4-Dec-2025 08:47

Geektastic:

Tinkerisk:

Apple account password (ID) and Apple App Store password are different, if that matters. And as far as I know, you need the Apple account (Apple ID) password to recover an account. So I would prevent everything related to the App Store, recover the account, and ask Apple to map the renegade App Store account to your Apple ID.

I agree that’s easiest if it can now be done. Previously they wouldn’t or couldn’t do that. I’ll ring them later when I’m more awake!

I don’t believe that is true. Or at least that is the first time I’ve never heard that, I been using Apple accounts for as long decades and never experienced that the App Store uses a seperate password. It would be nice if you have a reference for that.

Tinkerisk

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#3440076 4-Dec-2025 08:56

fearandloathing:

I don’t believe that is true. Or at least that is the first time I’ve never heard that, I been using Apple accounts for as long decades and never experienced that the App Store uses a seperate password. It would be nice if you have a reference for that.

I expressed myself unclearly. It is not the accounts that are different, but the passwords. One is the Apple ID and the other is the device ID that you have to enter when installing from the App Store.

calm

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#3440089 4-Dec-2025 09:57

Geektastic:

Well not exactly.

The App Store one has never, ever been used for anything other than downloading stuff from the App Store

The full Apple one has never ever been used in the App Store.

Unless things have changed (possible) there was no way to merge accounts. Thus since the App Store one had history and purchases already (for years) when I needed to create the new ‘full’ account, I couldn’t find a way to transfer all the purchases.

i am in this same boat with multiple apple accounts then add different countries to the list for different apps

old3eyes

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#3458271 3-Feb-2026 11:32

I have only one Apple account and this morning when I ran up iTunes it asked me to login again. It normally does this every couple of months with no problems. Today when I logged in I got that "my account had been locked for security reasons"

went to iforgot.apple.com and went thru the inputs and get a 2FA SMS to my phone , enter the code and get asked to enter my password which i do and get that the Apple ID or password are wrong. round and round in the loop i went. The last time I got locked out I was able to recover by setting up security questions but this option seems to be gone. The only time I use and apple account is for podcasts on iTunes. If iTunes keeps working for podcast I'll just give it up or create a new account or find another podcast listening app. .

I suspect that someone has tried to login to my account and it has been locked.

Regards,

Old3eyes

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josephhinvest

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#3458413 3-Feb-2026 14:14

Apple have fairly recently introduced a way to migrate purchases from one account to another. You may well be able to migrate the purchases made from your "App Store" account to your main Apple Account.

https://support.apple.com/en-nz/117294

Cheers,
Joseph

old3eyes

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#3459026 5-Feb-2026 11:08

old3eyes:

I have only one Apple account and this morning when I ran up iTunes it asked me to login again. It normally does this every couple of months with no problems. Today when I logged in I got that "my account had been locked for security reasons"

went to iforgot.apple.com and went thru the inputs and get a 2FA SMS to my phone , enter the code and get asked to enter my password which i do and get that the Apple ID or password are wrong. round and round in the loop i went. The last time I got locked out I was able to recover by setting up security questions but this option seems to be gone. The only time I use and apple account is for podcasts on iTunes. If iTunes keeps working for podcast I'll just give it up or create a new account or find another podcast listening app. .

I suspect that someone has tried to login to my account and it has been locked.

Just check my iTunes / Apple account and this morning it logged in OK. Must have been something at their end.

Regards,

Old3eyes