Forgetting your Apple ID password or iPhone/iPad passcode can result in losing access to your account entirely. Thankfully, there are effective security measures to protect your Apple ID account, such as two-factor authentication. However, the most important feature that ensures you always have access to your account under any circumstances is the “Recovery Contact” feature. This feature allows users to recover their Apple ID account in case they do not provide enough information to reset their password, with the help of a person who can verify your identity, such as a family member or a close friend. In any case, they will be able to regain access to your account and all your data if it is locked at any time. Let’s explain how to activate this feature as it is disabled by default, and how to use it in detail.
Recovering Your Apple Account When Forgetting Your Password
First: What Is the Recovery Contact Feature?
It is a new security feature that helps iPhone users to recover their Apple ID account if they forget their password. This feature works by assigning one person, or multiple people you trust – up to five people at most – as contacts to be contacted by phone or in person when you forget the password of your Apple ID account or even the passcode of your phone. These contacts will not have access to your account, but will simply serve as a trusted source to provide you with a random six-digit verification code that you will need when trying to recover your account after forgetting the password. Note that the “Recovery Contact” is not the only way to recover your account, as Apple provides other methods as well, but this feature is considered the best, fastest, and easiest way to regain access to your account.
To use this feature, you first need to link all contacts (whom you will rely on) to your Apple ID account by opening the “Settings” app on your iPhone, then tapping on your Apple ID account name at the top. Next, go to the “Password & Security” section and click on “Account Recovery,” then “Add Recovery Contact.”
Once the option “Add Recovery Contact” appears, click on it and you will now be asked to authenticate your identity using Touch ID or Face ID. A screen will appear with an empty box and a plus sign (+), click on it and add the contact(s) you trust to return to them if needed in the future. Once you have finished adding the contact, click on the word “Add” at the top of the page.
You will then need to send them a message to inform them that you want to add them as a recovery contact. A ready-made message will be prepared that you can send immediately by clicking on “Send” or “Edit Message” to write a message of your choice. In general, this message includes an invitation link that the person you specified needs to click on to accept your request, and then you will receive a message confirming their addition as a recovery contact.
It is worth mentioning that the selected contact must have at least an iPhone running iOS 15 or an iPad running iPadOS 15 or later, or a Mac device running macOS Monterey or later, and must be over 13 years old. They must also have enabled two-factor authentication for their Apple ID account. If these conditions are met, they will be eligible to be a recovery contact.
Second: How Does the Recovery Contact Feature Work?
If you forget your Apple ID password in the future or lose access to your account, you can click on the “Forgot Password” link on your iPhone or go to iforgot.apple.com from a browser on another device and click on the option to recover your account with the help of the recovery contact. When you do so, contact the selected recovery contact personally or by phone and ask them to provide you with a six-digit code, which you will then need to enter on your device. After confirming your identity, you can reset your Apple ID password.
In order for the recovery contact to get this code, you should explain these simple steps to them. First, they should open the “Settings” app and tap on the account name, then go to the “Password & Security” section and click on “Account Recovery.” They will then tap on your Apple ID account name under the “Account Recovery for” section and then click on “Get Recovery Code.”
Once you have received this code from the person you sent it to, you can use it as a means to reset your Apple ID account password. By the way, if you think that the recovery contact may access your data in any way, this is not true. Apple states that the “Recovery Contact” function is limited to receiving the recovery code and giving it to you so you can reset your password.
Third: Why You May Not Be Able to Add a Recovery Contact?
If you follow the steps outlined above, you should not encounter any problems. However, if you are unable to add contacts to recover your Apple ID account, there are three possible reasons: either your phone’s operating system is iOS 14 or lower, as this feature works on devices running iOS 15 and above, or the contact’s device (regardless of whether it is an iPhone, Mac, or iPad) is running an older operating system than iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, etc., although this possibility is not a hindrance in all cases.
The third and final possibility is that the contact’s device is not from Apple, so the six-digit code cannot be sent to a phone or tablet running on Android, or any other operating system other than Apple’s known operating systems.
In conclusion, we advise all iPhone users to use this new and essential feature from Apple. Forgetting your Apple ID password means losing a significant part of the value of your phone, and means that you must forget about your data forever if you are unable to recover it. This is why the “Recovery Account” feature is so important, and before that, the importance of paying attention to your passwords and keeping them safe.
