How to Change Password on iPhone (All Three Kinds)
Apple keeps three different passwords on an iPhone and changing one does nothing to the other two. Here is where each setting lives and what it actually affects.
By Daniel ShuttleworthSep 9, 2026There is no single password on an iPhone. To change your Apple Account password, open Settings, tap your name, tap Sign-In & Security, then tap Change Password. To change the code that unlocks the phone, go to Settings, then Face ID & Passcode, then Change Passcode. To change a saved website login, use the Passwords app.
People searching how to change password on iPhone usually want one of those three, and Apple keeps them deliberately apart. They protect different things, they are stored in different places, and changing one does nothing to the other two.
Work out which one you mean before you start, because each way to change a password on iPhone lives somewhere different. If you are being asked for it when you download an app or set up a new device, it is your Apple Account password. If it is the six digits you tap to unlock the screen, it is your passcode. If a website is telling you your password has been leaked, it is a saved login.
How to change password on iPhone: the Apple Account route
This is the password tied to your email address that Apple uses across iCloud, the App Store and everything else. Apple renamed Apple ID to Apple Account, but it is the same login and the same password.
You need two things before this will work: two-factor authentication turned on for the account, and a passcode set on the iPhone. Without both, the option will not complete on the device.
1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top of the list.
2. Tap Sign-In & Security.
3. Scroll to the Security heading and tap Change Password.
4. Enter your iPhone passcode when asked, then type the new password twice. It has to be at least eight characters and include a number, an uppercase letter and a lowercase letter.
5. Decide what happens to your other devices. Apple offers to sign out everything else using the account, which is what you want if you think someone else knew the old password. Choosing Don't Sign Out leaves your iPad and Mac signed in.
You may be told to wait an hour before the change goes through. That is Stolen Device Protection adding a security delay when you are somewhere the iPhone does not recognise, and there is no way to skip it.
Changing the passcode that unlocks your phone
The passcode is a different setting entirely and does not touch your Apple Account. Go to Settings, then Face ID & Passcode on an iPhone X or later. On older models with a Home button it is called Touch ID & Passcode.
Enter your current passcode, scroll down and tap Change Passcode. Enter the old one, then the new one twice. Tapping Passcode Options before you type gives you a four-digit code, a custom numeric code of any length, or a custom alphanumeric code — the last two are the stronger choices.
One thing worth knowing: on iOS 17 and later, your previous passcode still works once for 72 hours after you change it, so that a forgotten new code does not lock you out. If you would rather close that window immediately, tap Expire Previous Passcode Now on the same screen.
Changing a saved website or app password
The Passwords app stores logins for other services. It cannot change them for you, because the password lives on that company's servers, not on your iPhone.
Open Passwords, tap All, tap the account you want, then tap Edit and tap Change Password. That hands you off to the website or app, where you make the actual change. The app then records the new one. If you are just trying to look one up rather than replace it, finding saved passwords on iPhone is a shorter job.
What changing your password does not do
These three settings are independent. A new Apple Account password leaves your unlock passcode exactly as it was, and a new passcode leaves your Apple Account password alone. Neither one alters a single saved login in the Passwords app.
Changing your Apple Account password also does not automatically sign you out anywhere. That only happens if you choose Sign Out Other Devices at the prompt in step 5. Everything still signed in keeps working until you say otherwise.
Common questions
What if I cannot remember the current password? For an Apple Account you reset it rather than change it, which is a different flow with different requirements — we cover it in how to find your Apple ID password. For a passcode there is no reset: a forgotten passcode means erasing the iPhone and restoring it.
Can I change it from a computer instead? On a Mac, open System Settings, click your name, click Sign-In & Security, then Change Password. On the web, account.apple.com will usually redirect you to a trusted device, though it can let you change the password there if you have no trusted device available.
Can I change my child's password? If the child's account is in your Family Sharing group and your iPhone is on a current version of iOS with two-factor authentication on, go to Settings, tap Family, choose the child's account, tap Apple Account & Password, then tap Change Password.
If the option isn't there
A missing Face ID & Passcode row is almost always a restriction rather than a fault. Check Settings, then Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions, and make sure Allow Changes to Passcode is set to Allow.
If Change Password is missing from Sign-In & Security, the account most likely does not have two-factor authentication turned on. Turn it on from the same screen first. If it still will not take after that, Apple Support can verify the account by other means, which is the point at which a phone call saves more time than another hour of tapping.
