How to Turn Off Apple Two-Factor Authentication

Apple’s two-factor authentication feature attempts to protect your Apple ID from any unwanted logins by adding extra steps to the login process. However, many people think that these extra steps are only cause for extra frustration and want their Apple ID to be more simple to log into. So how do you turn off Apple’s two-factor authentication?

To turn off two-factor authentication on your Apple device, visit Apple’s website and log into your account. Select “Sign-In and Security” on the left side of the page and then select “Account Security” under your Apple ID. You should now see an option to turn off two-step verification.

Thankfully, Apple allows their security features to be pretty customizable in order to help you have the most user-friendly experience possible. You can also add or change your trusted devices for two-factor authentication on their website. Let’s take a look at Apple’s two-factor authentication feature in more detail to help you get the most out of your devices.

What is Apple’s Two-Factor Authentication?

Two-factor authentication is a feature that works to help keep your Apple account secure. It does this by making it so that you can only log into your Apple ID with the help of a trusted device.

This will prevent unwanted people from logging into your account because they would need access to your trusted device in order to log in.

For example, let’s say you select your iPhone as your trusted device. In order to log into your Apple ID on another device, first you would need to enter your email and password as well as a six digit code that gets sent to your iPhone.

Your password and this six digit code are the two-factors that make up the two-factor authentication.

This feature is also available on other Apple devices, like iPads and Mac computers. So, you don’t necessarily have to choose your iPhone as your trusted device like in our example.

With that said, the iPhone is still the most recommended device to select as your trusted device, because your iPhone is the device you are most likely to have with you when you’re trying to log into your Apple ID on the go.

How Do You Turn Off This Feature?

Two-factor authentication is generally a good thing to have turned on because it keeps away unwanted devices from your Apple ID. However, some people may not want the extra steps involved in logging into their Apple ID.

For newer iPhones, two-factor authentication is on by default, meaning that people who aren’t a fan of the feature will be looking for a way to turn it off.

Thankfully, Apple has included a way to switch off their two-factor authentication. To do this, first open your web browser and visit the Apple ID sign-in page. Use this page to sign into your account.

Once you’ve signed in, select “Sign-In and Security” on the left side of the page, then “Account Security” under your Apple ID. Here, you should be able to select an option that says “Turn Off Two-Step Verification.”

After selecting this option, you may be prompted to answer or create some security questions, but once you’re done with those, your two-factor authentication should be off.

Which iOS Versions Have Two-Factor Authentication?

Two-factor authentication was added as an option for iPhones along with the introduction of iOS 9. Two-factor authentication was also added to iPads and Mac computers with iPadOS 13 and OS X 10.11 respectively.

This means that if you have a device that is running on an OS older than the OS listed above, you may not be able to set up two-factor authentication on that device.

It is also worth noting that if you get an iPhone running on iOS 13.4 or later, two-factor authentication is on by default.

This is also true for iPads on iPadOS 13.4 or later and Mac computers running on macOS 10.15.4 or later. This means that if you do not want two-factor authentication on these devices, you will need to turn it off.

How to Add a Trusted Device

If you want to have multiple trusted devices tied to your Apple ID or you want to manage your trusted devices, Apple’s website has you covered.

To do this, first head to Apple’s account page. Once you’re there, log in and go to the “Devices” section. This should show you a list of every single device logged into your Apple ID.

On this page, select the device you intend to use and you should see a list of information on the device such as its serial number. Below this, you should see an option to make this device a trusted device.

If you select this option, your device will now receive a code every time you want to log into your Apple ID on a new device. You can also remove trusted device status on this page. This is important to do if your trusted device is ever stolen or lost.