Use two-factor authentication for your Apple ID on iPad

Using two-factor authentication helps prevent others from accessing your Apple ID account, even if they know your Apple ID password. When it’s on, you need both your Apple ID password and a six-digit verification code to sign into your Apple ID account. The verification code is sent to the phone number associated with your Apple ID, or displayed on your trusted devices.

Two-factor authentication for Apple ID is available in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, OS X 13, or later.

Note: Certain account types might not support two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication isn’t available in all countries or regions. See the Apple Support article Availability of two-factor authentication for Apple ID.

Turn on two-factor authentication

On your iPad go to Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security.
Tap Turn On Two-Factor Authentication, then tap Continue.
Enter a trusted phone number (the number you’ll use to receive verification codes), then tap Next.
A verification code is sent to your trusted phone number.
Enter the verification code on your iPad.
Two-factor authentication is turned on for your Apple ID, and your iPad is now a trusted device.

Add another trusted device

After you turn on two-factor authentication on your iPad, you can add other trusted devices to your Apple ID account.

On the device you want to add, Sign in with your Apple ID you used to turn on two-factor authentication.
When prompted, enter the six-digit verification code that appears on your iPad, another trusted device, a trusted phone number, or your Mac.
Enter the verification code on the new device.
You won’t be asked for a verification code again unless you sign out completely, erase your device, sign in to your Apple ID account page in a web browser, or need to change your Apple ID password for security reasons.
Note: A trusted device must use iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or OS X 13 (or later).

Add or remove a trusted phone number

Adding trusted phone numbers can be useful if you want to use two-factor authentication but don’t have access to the phone number you added when you turned it on.

Go to Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security.
Tap Edit (above the list of trusted phone numbers), then enter your device passcode when prompted.
Do one of the following:
- Add a number: Tap Add a Trusted Phone Number, then enter the phone number.
- Remove a number: Tap next to the phone number.

Trusted phone numbers don’t automatically receive verification codes. If you can’t access any trusted devices when setting up a new device for two-factor authentication, tap “Didn’t get a verification code?” on the new device, then choose one of your trusted phone numbers to receive the verification code.

View or remove trusted devices

Go to Settings > [your name].
A list of the devices associated with your Apple ID appears near the bottom of the screen.
To remove a device, tap it, then tap Remove from Account.
If you remove a trusted device,[ it can no longer display verification codes and its access to iCloud (and other Apple services on the device) is blocked. To add it back, use two-factor authentication to sign in to your Apple ID again.

Generate a password for an app that signs in to your Apple ID account

To sign in to your Apple ID account from a third-party app or service (such as an email, contacts, or calendar app) using two-factor authentication, you need to generate an app-specific password.

Sign in to your Apple ID account.
Tap App-Specific Passwords, then tap “Generate an app-specific password.”
Follow the onscreen instructions.

After you generate your app-specific password, enter or paste it into the password field of the app as you would normally.

For more information, see the Apple Support article Sign in to apps with your AppleID using app-specific passwords.

Helpful?

iPad User Guide