How to Reset Your iCloud Mail Password

Your iCloud Mail password is your Apple Account password, so resetting one resets the other. How you do it depends on whether you still have a device that's signed in. Start with the first option that applies to you — each one is faster than the next.

If you know your password and want to change it

• iPhone or iPad: open Settings, tap your name, then Sign-In & Security › Change Password.
• Mac: Apple menu › System Settings, click your name, then Sign-In & Security › Change Password. You'll be asked for the password you use to unlock the Mac.
• On the web: sign in at account.apple.com, choose Sign-In and Security, then Password. If you have a trusted device, the site may send you to it to finish.

Forgot it, but you have a signed-in iPhone, iPad or Mac

This is the quickest route. A device that's already signed in to your Apple Account is a trusted device, and Apple's advice is to change the password there, using the steps above.

Forgot it, using someone else's Apple device

1. On their iPhone or iPad, open the Apple Support app.
2. Scroll to Support Tools, choose Reset Password, then Help Someone Else.
3. Enter your Apple Account details and follow the steps. Apple doesn't store your information on their device.

You can also use the Forgot password? link on an Apple Account sign-in screen.

Forgot it, from a browser

Go to iforgot.apple.com. When possible, Apple sends you to one of your trusted devices to finish the change. Type the address yourself rather than following a link in an email.

If none of that works: account recovery

When you can't reset the password with any of the methods above, you can request account recovery. It's a security waiting period that can take several days or more.

• Don't sign in or change the password from another device while you wait — if you remember the password, or change it from a signed-in device, the request is cancelled.
• If you set up a recovery contact, ask them to be ready: they can give you a six-digit code that helps you back in.
• If you set up a recovery key or a security key, the process is different, and you'll need that key.

After you reset the password

• Apple devices may ask you to enter the new password in Settings or System Settings. Do it on each one so Mail keeps syncing.
• Other email apps (Outlook, Thunderbird, Android apps) stop working, because changing the password revokes every app-specific password. Generate new ones at account.apple.com under Sign-In and Security › App-Specific Passwords — see signing in from other apps.
• Check your trusted phone number and recovery options while you're signed in, so a future reset is quicker.