Apple ID Account Bug Locks Some Users Out of Accounts, Forces Password Reset

Apple users are facing an issue that affects their Apple ID, locking them out of their own accounts, according to several reports from users on social media platforms. The issue appears to be affecting some users who say they were logged out from one or more devices and then prompted to change their Apple ID password, while others appear to be unaffected by the bug. Resetting an Apple ID password appears to be working, and affected users are reporting that doing so grants access to their accounts once again.

First reported by 9to5Mac, the Apple ID password reset bug appears to be affecting several users who have posted details of the bug on social media platforms. A Gadgets 360 staff member was also impacted, when his Apple ID was logged out on both his iPhone and iPad, followed by a prompt to reset his account password.

A screenshot of the error posted by a developer
Photo Credit: Mastodon.Social/ Dave Wood (@davewoodx)

Mac software developer Michael Tsai detailed his experience in a blog post, explaining that his iPhone first asked for his Apple ID password, then informed him that his account was locked. The reset process was convoluted as he had Stolen Device Protection enabled, but Tsai managed to reset his password without any delay using his Mac, although he says he experienced a few bugs in the process.

Similarly, developer Dave Wood stated in a Mastodon post that he was alerted that his Apple ID was similarly locked. A screenshot of the pop-up message reveals that account was locked “for security reasons”, with two options Unlock account and Cancel. Like Tsai, he was also asked to wait for an hour as he had Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection feature enabled on his phone. Several other users have also shared their experiences on Threads, X (formerly Twitter), and Mastodon.

At the time of publishing this story, there were no ongoing or recent issues affecting any of Apple’s services — including Apple ID and iCloud Account and Sign In — as per the company’s system status webpage. There’s currently no word from Apple on why this issue is affecting some users — we’ve reached out to the company for comment and will update this story when we receive a response.