Your Apple Account, still labeled Apple ID in some menus, is the single login that ties together iCloud, the App Store, iMessage, FaceTime, and every purchase across all your devices. Because one password guards so much, keeping it strong and current genuinely matters, and a weak or reused one puts your photos, messages, and payment details at risk. Changing it is straightforward whether you are updating a password you already know or resetting one you have forgotten. Apple has been gradually renaming Apple ID to Apple Account in recent software, so expect to see either term, and note that exact menu wording may vary depending on how up to date your device is.
This guide walks through changing the password on every kind of device, resetting it when it is forgotten, and locking the account down afterward so a single leaked password can never be enough to break in.
Before you start
A little preparation avoids the frustration of being locked out mid-change. Make sure you are signed in on the device you are using, that you know its passcode or login, and ideally have your other Apple devices nearby, since they may ask you to sign in again with the new password afterward. It also helps to decide on the new password first, ideally one generated and stored by a password manager so it is both strong and easy to retrieve later. Avoid anything guessable such as names, birthdays, or a password you already use on another site.
Change it on iPhone or iPad
This is the most common route and takes under a minute once you know where to look.
- Open Settings and tap your name at the very top of the screen.
- Tap Sign-In and Security.
- Tap Change Password.
- Enter your device passcode when prompted.
- Type your new password, then type it again to confirm, and tap Change.
On older software the path may read Settings, your name, then Password and Security instead. The underlying idea is the same: look for the security section directly under your name. Once changed, the new password takes effect immediately across Apple’s services.
What makes a strong new password
The password is only as useful as it is hard to guess, so it is worth a moment of thought rather than reaching for something familiar. A strong Apple Account password should be at least eight characters, though longer is better, and mix uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers. Crucially, it should be unique, used nowhere else, because if a different website you use suffers a data breach, criminals will try that same email and password combination on Apple and every other major service. That single habit of never reusing passwords blocks one of the most common ways accounts are hijacked. Avoid obvious substitutions like a zero for the letter O in a common word, since attackers’ tools expect those. The easiest way to meet all of these rules without straining your memory is to let a password manager generate a long random password and store it for you, so you never actually have to type or recall it yourself.
Change it on a Mac
The Mac keeps the same controls inside System Settings. Follow these steps.
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click your name, shown as Apple Account, at the top of the sidebar.
- Click Sign-In and Security, then Change Password.
- Enter your Mac’s administrator password if asked.
- Set the new password, confirm it, and save.
On older macOS versions this lived under System Preferences and Apple ID, but the sequence of confirming your identity and entering a new password twice is unchanged. If you also learned to take a screenshot on your Mac, you may find these System Settings panels familiar territory.
Change or reset it on the web
If you are away from your own devices, you can manage the password through Apple’s official account website. Sign in at the Apple Account site, go to the Sign-In and Security section, and choose to change the password. If you cannot sign in because you have forgotten it, use the account recovery link on the same site instead. The web route is also useful on a borrowed computer, though you should always sign out fully afterward and never let the browser save the password, much as you would rely on private browsing to avoid leaving traces on a shared machine. Type the web address yourself rather than following a link from an email, so you know you are on the genuine site.
What to do if you forgot the password
Forgetting the password is extremely common and almost always recoverable. The fastest method uses a device you are already signed in on, since that device can vouch for you.
| Situation | Best method |
|---|---|
| Signed in on your iPhone or iPad | Settings, your name, Sign-In and Security, Change Password |
| Signed in on your Mac | System Settings, your name, Sign-In and Security |
| No access to your devices | Apple Account website, account recovery |
| Locked out entirely | Apple’s account recovery, which may take time |
Account recovery exists as a safety net for when you have no trusted device to confirm your identity, but it can deliberately take several days to complete. That waiting period is a security feature that protects you from impostors trying to seize your account, not a bug. It is also the clearest reason to keep a working password saved somewhere safe, so you rarely have to fall back on it.
Signing back in across your devices
After a password change, expect a short flurry of sign-in requests as each of your devices and services catches up. Your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and any Apple TV all authenticate separately, and services such as iMessage, FaceTime, and the App Store may each ask you to confirm the new password once. This is normal and worth doing promptly, because a device left signed in with the old credentials can stop syncing photos, messages, and files until you update it. Having your devices nearby when you make the change turns this into a two-minute cleanup rather than a scattered series of interruptions over the following days. If a device you no longer own appears in the sign-in prompts, that is a good reason to remove it from your trusted device list, which also tightens your overall security. Once every device shows the account as signed in and syncing again, you can be confident the change is fully in effect everywhere.
Secure your account afterward
Changing the password is the perfect moment to strengthen everything else around the account. Turn on two-factor authentication if it is not already active; it requires a one-time code from a trusted device whenever you sign in somewhere new, so a stolen password alone is never enough to break in. Review the list of trusted devices in the same Sign-In and Security screen and remove any old phones, tablets, or computers you no longer use. Be especially wary of emails, texts, or calls claiming to be from Apple and asking you to confirm your password or a verification code, since these are a classic scam. Treat them with the same doubt you would use to spot fake reviews, and never enter your details through a link someone sent you.
Troubleshooting
If the new password is rejected, it most likely fails Apple’s rules: use at least eight characters with a mix of upper and lower case letters and numbers, and avoid any password you have used on the account recently. If your devices keep asking you to sign in after the change, that is completely expected, so simply enter the new password on each one as the prompts appear. Should you get stuck in a loop of repeated sign-in requests, restarting the device usually clears it. And if you never receive a verification code during a reset, check that your trusted phone number is current in the account settings, because an old number cannot deliver the code. A tidy, secure account is far easier to manage, in the same way that keeping your phone lean by learning to free up storage keeps everything running smoothly. If problems persist despite all of these steps, Apple’s official support channels can verify your identity and help you recover access, but always reach them through the genuine support app or website rather than any phone number or link supplied in an unexpected message.
