Introduction

Your Apple ID is the center of your identity when it comes to managing Apple accounts and gear. It’s your iCloud login. It lets you prove you own hardware devices. It’s associated with purchases and subscriptions you make at Apple’s various stores. It’s a way to group your family’s accounts and Apple financial transactions. It can also be used to lock a stolen or lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac, protecting your data and turning the device into little more than an expensive doorstop.

But Apple’s security for this important ID is so robust that it can sometimes trip you up. You may run into trouble if you forget a password or your password seemingly stops working; when you lose trusted devices or phone numbers; when a credit-card number expires or a card number is stolen and deactivated; when you can no longer receive email at the main address registered to your Apple ID; or when you move or travel from one country to another.

Additionally, Apple engages in strong automated account security monitoring that alerts it when people try to access your account without proper credentials, like your password. That means that even if you never have a problem entering a password yourself, someone else trying to hijack your account could lock you out.

Unfortunately, when something goes wrong with an Apple ID, you’re often left to flounder. Apple’s online and phone support may provide conflicting or incorrect information, or you may be told there is nothing they can do to help. That’s where this book comes in.

This book covers how to manage an Apple ID on the Apple ID website, and in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows (iCloud and iTunes), and Android (Apple Music). I’ll help you navigate account security, especially working with two-factor authentication. I’ll explain how to manage multiple Apple IDs (and why you might intentionally set more than one up), family sharing, and subscriptions. And you’ll learn a lot about getting out of trouble if any of that lengthy list of issues above ever happens to you.