I lost my iPhone yesterday under what I think was a pretty silly situation—likely left it on my wife's bumper and it fell off while driving. To make matters worse, I had it on airplane mode with Wi-Fi enabled as the battery has been dying, making it tough to track it once it was out of range. I filed an insurance claim and got a replacement quickly, but I can't access iCloud because I'm without my old cell phone number. I have no other Apple devices or trusted numbers to verify my account. I've initiated account recovery and provided my wife's phone number for contact, but I'm really uncertain about how this will all unfold. Is this truly the mandatory process? Everything I rely on is linked to my phone, from work to banking. Would going to the Apple Store help? I still have access to my email linked to the account and my credit card used with Apple Pay. I just feel a bit lost and frustrated about possibly being stuck in this for days or weeks.
2 Answers
Honestly, if you just got your replacement phone, why not contact your carrier? They could reactivate your old phone number on the new device, which would simplify everything. And yes, I've had my number for over 15 years too; seems like many are just changing numbers constantly now.
Visiting Apple doesn't really change much since they can't help with password issues anymore; users have full control over their Apple IDs. You did the right thing by starting the account recovery using your wife's number. Just to clarify, recovery is a two-phase process: First, you wait 24-72 hours (could be shorter or longer) for evaluation. Then, you'll get further info on the waiting time for access to your account. Keep an eye on your email for updates! Once you regain access, remember to add your new phone number and your wife as a recovery contact.
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