How to Find Apple ID Password (You Reset It Instead)

You cannot find your Apple ID password. Apple does not store it anywhere you can read it back, so every route ends in replacing it. On an iPhone you are already signed in to, open Settings, tap your name, tap Sign-In & Security, tap Change Password, enter your device passcode, then set a new one. With no signed-in device, reset it at iforgot.apple.com.

Apple ID is now called Apple Account. An Apple ID password and an Apple Account password are the same single credential, so older instructions still apply even where the labels have moved on.

The frustrating part is that the answer is not hidden in a settings screen somewhere. There is no reveal button, and looking harder will not produce one. What follows is the fastest supported way to get back in, plus what to do when you have no working device at all.

Why there is no way to find your Apple ID password

Apple's own documentation describes only two things you can do with your Apple ID password: change it, or reset it. Nothing in iOS, macOS or account.apple.com displays the existing one.

It is also not the same thing as the logins kept in the Passwords app. Those are website and app credentials your devices saved for you, and you can read them back on your iPhone whenever you want. Your Apple Account password sits outside that list unless you deliberately typed it in there yourself as a note to self.

So treat the task as a reset rather than a search. On a device that is already signed in, it takes under a minute and does not involve support, email or waiting.

Where the Change Password setting lives

This route works on an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Apple Vision Pro that is already signed in to your Apple Account and has a passcode set. You do not need the old password.

1. Open the Settings app and tap your name at the very top of the list.

2. Tap Sign-In & Security.

3. Under Security, tap Change Password.

4. Enter your device passcode. The iPhone explains why it can accept this instead of the old password: it is signed in to iCloud and has a passcode enabled, which is enough for Apple to treat it as yours.

5. Type a new password, then type it again to confirm. It must be at least eight characters and include a number, an uppercase letter and a lowercase letter.

6. Choose whether to sign out your other devices. Pick Sign Out Other Devices if you think someone else may know the old password; otherwise Don't Sign Out keeps your iPad and Mac signed in.

On a Mac, on the web, or on a brand-new device

On a Mac, choose System Settings from the Apple menu, click your name, click Sign-In & Security, then click Change Password. You enter the password that unlocks the Mac, not the account password.

On the web, account.apple.com will usually bounce you to a trusted device rather than let you change it in the browser. When it does not, sign in and go to Sign-In and Security, then Password. If you are locked out entirely, iforgot.apple.com is the front door.

If you are setting up a new iPhone and cannot sign in, tap "Forgot password or don't have an Apple Account?" on the sign-in screen during setup. If you skipped signing in, open Settings, tap Apple Account, choose Sign in manually, then tap Forgot password?

If you have no Apple device at all

Borrow one from a family member or friend, or use a display device in an Apple Store. On that device, open the Apple Support app, scroll to Support Tools, tap Reset Password, then tap Help Someone Else and enter your own Apple Account email address or phone number. Apple states that nothing you type is stored on the borrowed device.

You will still need access to your trusted phone number to receive the verification code, so this is a route for your own account, not a way into anyone else's.

What resetting the password does not do

It does not change your device passcode, and it does not touch the logins saved in the Passwords app. Those are separate systems that happen to sit near each other in Settings.

It does not delete anything. Your photos, messages and iCloud files are untouched, and the account is the same one you will need the next time you restore an iPhone from a backup.

It also does not sign your other devices out on its own. That only happens if you choose it at step 6. One side effect worth knowing: after you change the password from your iPhone, Apple notes that your devices' locations may not appear on iCloud.com for a while.

Common questions

Why am I being told to wait an hour? That is the Stolen Device Protection security delay. When your iPhone is away from a familiar location such as home or work, changing the Apple Account password needs Face ID or Touch ID, then an hour's wait, then a second biometric check. Apple says the delay may end early once the iPhone recognises that you have arrived somewhere familiar.

Can I do this for my child's account? Yes. On your own iPhone, tap Settings, tap Family, choose the child's account, tap Apple Account & Password, then tap Change [Child's Name] Password.

Will Apple Support just tell me the old one? No. Apple's published guidance covers changing and resetting the password only, and describes no way for anyone to look it up.

If the Change Password option isn't there

If you cannot sign in on any device and the web reset will not verify you, what remains is account recovery, which issues you a new Apple ID password at the end of a wait. Start it from iforgot.apple.com by choosing Reset Password, or from the sign-in attempt in Settings on an iPhone.

Two things make this painful. It can take several days or longer, and Apple states plainly that contacting support will not shorten it. And your account must stay unused while the request is open, so turn off other devices that are signed in, or the recovery is cancelled automatically.

You should get a confirmation email within 72 hours giving the date you can expect access. If you set up a recovery contact before any of this happened, ask them first instead: that path is immediate, and it is the reason recovery contacts are worth setting up while you still can.