How can I recover an old Apple ID when I no longer have the trusted phone number?
Asked by
MellowCedar42
I'm trying to regain access to an old school Apple ID. I still know the account credentials, but I no longer know or have access to the phone number used for verification. It was probably one of my parents' old numbers, and I no longer have contact with them. I've contacted Apple Support several times and offered to verify my identity in person with government-issued identification or other documentation, but they said they can't change the number or bypass the verification process. Is there any legitimate way to recover the account?
Answers
The best option is to start the official recovery process and provide every piece of account information you still have. Since this was a school account, it may also be worth contacting the school’s IT or administration department in case they managed the account. Otherwise, you may need to create a new account and update the recovery phone number and trusted devices immediately.
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Unfortunately, Apple’s account recovery process requires access to a trusted phone number or another recognized recovery method. Apple Support and retail stores generally can’t reveal the number, replace it based only on identification, or bypass that security step. You can still try Apple’s official account recovery process, but if you can’t provide any trusted information, recovery may not be possible. Anyone offering to hack or recover it for payment is almost certainly trying to scam you.
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MellowCedar42: I understand that keeping the account information current was my responsibility, but it’s frustrating that Apple won’t let me verify my identity another way or replace the old number with one I can access.