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Two Factor Authentication and lost phone

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Phoboss

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
97
12
So I'm about to go on a longer trip and the possibility of my phone being lost or stolen is definitely there, so I was thinking about all my accounts and how to get into them if I lose my phone. I use 1password and already turned off 2FA because I used the authy app on my phone, which in hindsight is kinda stupid because I couldn't get back into my account if I lost my phone.
BUT the same is true for my appleid. If I lose my phone I will have no way to get back into my account until I get back to my homecountry and get a new SIM card.
Is there no way around this? What am I supposed to do when I lose my phone on my trip? (And no, I don't have a second apple device).
 
chscag

chscag

macrumors 601
Feb 17, 2008
4,622
1,946
Fort Worth, Texas
Simple solution. Make sure you don't lose your phone. And before you go, pick up an inexpensive older phone to take along with you as backup. Older iPhones like the 5 or 5s are plentiful.
 
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Phoboss

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
97
12
"Make sure you don't lose your phone" is really silly advice to be honest. Usually people don't intend to lose phones or have them stolen. And I think it's a piss poor implementation of two factor authentication if I can't chose other forms of authentication, what the hell is apple thinking binding everything to one device?! And also not letting me opt out of it...
But thanks anyway. I guess I'll buy a cheap iPhone and leave that at home or something.
Could I also add a friends phone number to my account and have a code sent to his phone if I lose mine?
 
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jpn

Cancelled
Feb 9, 2003
1,854
1,988
hi

for myself, i have always wished it were as easy as just borrowing a friend's iPhone and temporarily logging into Find My iPhone with yr appleID. but its not possible.

but from apple's pages here is a start of what to do:
quote .
If you lost the trusted device or phone number associated with your Apple ID
As long as you still have your Recovery Key and remember your Apple ID password, you can sign in and add a new trusted device or phone number to your account. You can also remove any devices you may have lost, sold, or given away.
  1. Go to your Apple ID account page and enter your Apple ID and password.
  2. On the Verify Your Identity screen, select "Can’t access your trusted devices?"
  3. In the pop-up window, enter your Recovery Key.
  4. Go to the Security section and click Edit.
Remove the device you no longer wish to use to verify your identity. If you have additional devices with Find My iPhone enabled, you can verify them as trusted devices. You can also add additional trusted phone numbers.
endquote
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202649

but, after all, i actually think the best, easiest, and easiest to stop it whenever you want is to simply ask a friend or S.O. if you can temporarily use their number as a Trusted phone number. remember, it can be a mobile or even home phone number (!).
this can be completely controlled by you and terminated after you come back from yr trip.
https://www.idownloadblog.com/2018/04/27/how-to-add-trusted-phone-numbers-apple-id/
 
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Phoboss

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
97
12
Sadly, I (had to) stop(ped) reading after "Recovery Key" because that is EXACTLY the piss poor implementation I'm talking about. They removed the option for the recovery key a while ago. It's no longer possible to use that. Which I don't get, because it would've been perfect for exactly this scenario (losing your phone).
Right now, it even says so on the apple support site, you have to go through a different form of identification which can take days or even weeks (stated on the site as well).
Which is totally ridiculous, why not let me chose if I want to opt out of 2FA or give me other options like email or what ever... But noooo apple has to force this upon is without thinking it all the way through...
As of right now, I'm literally screwed if I lose my phone (which of course contains my SIM card).
Btw. you should be able to find your iphone even without access to your 2FA, BUT that doesn't really help you if the device is literally lost or stolen (not just misplaced), because you can find it, but still have no way of logging into your account without getting the device back.
 
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Phoboss

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
97
12
BrianBaughn said:
Instead of a friend's phone get a Google Voice number as an additional "Trusted Phone Number". You can login to the Google Voice website and get the SMS.
Click to expand...
Funny how you "need" to use a Google service in order to continue to use your Apple service ;)
 
adrianlondon

adrianlondon

macrumors 603
Nov 28, 2013
5,537
8,362
Switzerland
There is no "recovery key" any more. Not for 2FA, anyway.

Will you be travelling with someone? If so, add their number (can even be a landline) as a trusted number. Do that now, so that if you lose your only trusted device you can elect to have the 6 digit code sent to their number. Your friend will need to know what's going on as they'll need to acknowledge the add of their device as a new trusted number.
 
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Phoboss

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
97
12
adrianlondon said:
There is no "recovery key" any more. Not for 2FA, anyway.

Will you be travelling with someone? If so, add their number (can even be a landline) as a trusted number. Do that now, so that if you lose your only trusted device you can elect to have the 6 digit code sent to their number. Your friend will need to know what's going on as they'll need to acknowledge the add of their device as a new trusted number.
Click to expand...
No I'll be traveling alone, but I did what you suggested now and added my best friends phone into my account just in case. Still think this is a very poor implementation of 2FA on Apples part.
[doublepost=1539168348][/doublepost]
BrianBaughn said:
Until Apple starts providing cell service you're already relying on a third-party.
Click to expand...
In case you missed it, I was joking, hence the ";)" and the "need".
 
Paco II

Paco II

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2009
2,288
706
Put all your accounts into a 1Password.com account, including OTPS. Everything is then available via 1Password.com.
 
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P

Phoboss

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
97
12
Paco II said:
Put all your accounts into a 1Password.com account, including OTPS. Everything is then available via 1Password.com.
Click to expand...
I have 1 Password, that still doesn't help me when I lose my phone and can't access my appleid without my phone and or SIM card.
[doublepost=1539237980][/doublepost]
Analog Kid said:
Never worried about this until now. Ignorance was bliss...
Click to expand...
Same! A friend lost his phone (not an iPhone) and told me what a horror it was to get everything back in working order and I started thinking about what would happen if I lost mine. I suddenly realized that I would be locked out of my appleid forever, hence this thread.
 
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Paco II

Paco II

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2009
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706
What is it from your Apple ID that you need access to? Mail? Have it forward to a secondary account (Gmail?). What else?

Phoboss said:
I have 1 Password, that still doesn't help me when I lose my phone and can't access my appleid without my phone and or SIM card.
Click to expand...
 
Paco II

Paco II

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2009
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706
I read this thread without doing my own digging. When I go to settings tap my name, password and security, I see the option to enable a recovery key. I have not tried it, but isn't this what you're looking for?

a1422b079c1f4dcd95a4908232fff1b7.png
 
C

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,452
9,321
Phoboss said:
I have 1 Password, that still doesn't help me when I lose my phone and can't access my appleid without my phone and or SIM card.
Click to expand...
Paco II’s point is that all of the important data you keep in 1Password is accessible from a web browser. Keep your iCloud recovery key there too and you can get to all of your iCloud assets through the same web browser.
 
MisterSavage

MisterSavage

macrumors 601
Nov 10, 2018
4,854
5,755
Just add phone numbers of people you trust to "trusted phone numbers" in your two factor settings. If you lose your phone when you're travelling you can have the two factor code sent to them and they can tell you what it is.
 
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