I'm new to the Apple ecosystem and want to understand the sign-in process. If I buy a MacBook and use Touch ID with a passkey as my only form of two-factor authentication, how would I sign in to my Apple account for the first time on a new iPhone or MacBook? Likewise, if my existing iPhone uses Face ID or Touch ID for passkeys, what allows me to sign in on a replacement device before it is connected to iCloud? For example, could I set up a new iPhone using access to my MacBook even if I no longer had the old iPhone, and then sync or restore my passkeys?
1 Answer
You would initially sign in with your Apple account email address and password. Apple would then send a two-factor authentication code or approval request to one of your existing trusted devices or phone numbers. Touch ID and Face ID can approve passkey use, but they don’t replace the account password and recovery options during first-time setup. It’s a good idea to keep at least one trusted device available and consider creating a recovery key, stored somewhere safe, in case all trusted devices are lost.
So if I had access to my MacBook but not my old iPhone, I could upgrade to a new iPhone, sign in with my Apple account credentials, and use the MacBook as the trusted device for verification? That would let me set up the new phone without transferring everything directly from the old one, assuming my passkeys are synced to iCloud.