Apple Security

The new Apple security update means that for those of us who have trouble remembering passwords, we will have more trouble.

When you first created your Apple ID, you were required to give them some personal details to ensure the account was yours in the event of any security issues.

Along with the usual “Recovery Email”, we were given the option to choose three Memorable Questions and Answers that would be used in the event of a Forgotten Password or Locked Account. This method worked really well and kept it simple for many customers. The issue Apple had with this method was it’s potential security risks. If you had chosen the standard three questions, e.g. City of Birth, First Job, First School, then anyone who had access to this knowledge, could also access your Apple account.

As an improved security measure, Apple introduced a way of verifying your identity with your mobile number. This way meant you would receive a text message to your verified phone number and enter the unique code to gain access to your account. This method is slightly more secure as most of us nowadays carry our phones everywhere.

At the same time, Apple implemented a way of verifying your identity through use of another device linked to your Apple ID. This ensured that only your account could verify access on another device. Verification in this way occurs every time you log into your Apple ID onto a new device. This is a lot more secure than the methods above as only a verified device can verify the new device, this needs not only both devices to be easily accessible but also that both have the correct Apple ID and password to be signed in.

The downside to the new security enforced by Apple means that when you upgrade or change device, you must have access to your old one. For many of us, our old devices are no longer fully working, hence the reason for the new device in the first place. So long as you have access to your phone number and recovery email, this device verification can be bypassed.

Unfortunately, if for some reason your Recovery phone number is not your own, but maybe a friend’s or relatives who helped create your account, you must have access to this. If you changed numbers after creating the account or cannot remember the number you put down, there is no way to change this. Apple will not help you. For those that have a recovery phone number linked to the account, the option to use your original three security questions seems to have gone out the window.

At Amixan we try as hard as possible to get your new phone up and running in store. Whenever someone agrees to a new Apple device we do ask that you have your password at the ready. If you have forgotten your password, we will attempt to help you recover your account and reset it. We can only do this provided that you have access to your Recovery email, phone number or other device.

The aim of this article is not to scare or discourage you from having an Apple ID, just to help you realise the importance of keeping your password safe, secure and memorable. All these changes have been made by Apple to help keep your personal details safe, which given that many people now store bank cards on their iPhone, this is very important. The only way to avoid the second device verification is to not agree to “Two-Step Verification” if you have already activated this, you should be able to disable it through Manage Apple ID on the Apple Website.

If you need any help or have any questions about the above then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

How to Erase your old phone

So, I’m sure we have all been here at some point. Wanting to hand over our old phone to someone else, whether it is a family member or selling to someone via eBay or similar. The main concern with this is, How can I make sure all my data is gone before I hand it over?

On any phone, be it Android, Windows or IOS, it is always good practice to remove any accounts before attempting to reset the phone. This is particularly important on iPhones as failure to remove your iCloud account can result in your email still being linked to the device even after erasing.

For your ease we are going to just go over the method of removing accounts from these devices.

We will do this over several posts so stay tuned.

Starting with iPhones,

The two main accounts that have to be removed from an iPhone before you pass it on are your iCloud account and your iTunes account. These are listed in the Settings section of your iPhone.

If you scroll down your Settings list until you find the iCloud section, if you go into this section then scroll towards the bottom. You should see a “Remove Account” button. It may ask you for your iCloud password before you can remove it but once entered the account should be gone from the iPhone.

Once this is done you will want to do the same for your iTunes account. To do this you need to go back to the setting section and just below where you found iCloud, there should be an iTunes section. Once you have found this you should see an iTunes account name at the top of the screen. Select this account and it will pop up asking what you would like to do with it. In this instance we would like to remove it so we choose “Sign Out”.

Once this is done, your iPhone will not be logged into any accounts.

The next step is to erase the iPhone. To do this we need to go back to the Settings list.

This time we want to go into “General” and then scroll right to the bottom of that list.

At the bottom it should say “Reset” click on this and you get to a small menu.

We want to click on “Erase all content and Settings” it will then confirm this is what you would like to do, once you click “Erase” then the phone will delete all personal data.

With this, your iPhone is erased.