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Apple Sued Over Not Letting Customers Disable Two-Factor Authentication After 2 Weeks

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Can Apple be both a "nanny" and looking out for our safety?

Actually, they don't want people screwing things up, that they (Apple) will be sued over.
 
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Been searching for a while on how to disable notifications from this safety measure. Is there a way? I have it disabled on everything, and NEVER want to EVER use it again! How can I get the notification to go away from my system icon? It's incredibly annoying!
 
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Been searching for a while on how to disable notifications from this safety measure. Is there a way? I have it disabled on everything, and NEVER want to EVER use it again! How can I get the notification to go away from my system icon? It's incredibly annoying!

In my case it's also entirely pointless as the code is displayed on the device I'm using as well as my phone.
 
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Everyone seems to agree that Apple can improve the way that 2FA works. Now if only Apple would just listen!
 

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Been searching for a while on how to disable notifications from this safety measure. Is there a way? I have it disabled on everything, and NEVER want to EVER use it again! How can I get the notification to go away from my system icon? It's incredibly annoying!
The 2FA alerts go to all devices associated with that AppleID. So if you don't want the alert on your iPhone, for example, just dis-associate the iPhone from the AppleID and you won't get the alerts. Ditto for any Mac. Just disassociate from the AppleID. Now I admit I'm not sure that's what you are asking because I don't understand, "How can I get the notification to go away from my system icon?" I don't know what icon you are talking about there.
 
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Everyone seems to agree that Apple can improve the way that 2FA works. Now if only Apple would just listen!
Usually, when Apple improves something to suit some customers, other customers are not happy.

I have no issues with 2FA, it works the way it is supposed to work.

If someone tried to access your account, you would get a notification on all your devices.
 
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The 2FA alerts go to all devices associated with that AppleID. So if you don't want the alert on your iPhone, for example, just dis-associate the iPhone from the AppleID and you won't get the alerts. Ditto for any Mac. Just disassociate from the AppleID. Now I admit I'm not sure that's what you are asking because I don't understand, "How can I get the notification to go away from my system icon?" I don't know what icon you are talking about there.

This issue I'm asking about relates to Apple computers. The System Preferences icon always shows an alert linked to the 2FA. It's like this on all my Macs, and really annoying. I want that notification to permanently be removed. And dissociating my Apple ID from my Macs is not an option. I also don't use iphones.
 
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Everyone seems to agree that Apple can improve the way that 2FA works. Now if only Apple would just listen!

Pardon??


Ian




Say what???


BTW: I went looking for some reliable answers as to whether the 2FA could even be disabled a few days ago and gave up and I couldn't even find an answer at Apple's support site!!! Pretty sad! Or do they not even know for sure???



- Patrick
======
 
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I want that notification to permanently be removed.
Then sign up for 2FA. You basically have two options--sign up for 2FA and the notification will go away or don't and live with the notification. Apple isn't going to ever let it be said that you didn't know that you didn't have 2FA. Again, I suspect a lawyer told them to make absolutely sure that no user ever gets to say "I didn't know." PITA for the rest of us, but in this litigious society, it's what we got. I suppose if you don't like it on the Dock, you could aways drag System Preferences off the Dock and not have to see it all the time.
 

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Iggybar, I take it you have found yourself in one of those catch 22 situations where you couldnt verify something because you needed to verify your identity but the device needed to verify your ID was the device you were trying to verify.
Apple and others assume that things will be set up and used in the correct order and under ideal situations.
Really 2SV works extremely well and is a good safety measure to secure your personal data but sometimes it works against us.
My wife has a Google gMail account she set up in Bali (with two step verification) she forgot the password when setting up her new iPhone. After several attempts she tried to reset her password but google required ID verification. It gave her only one option, a code sent by SMS to her phone. But Google didnt know she had a new iPhone because the number she had used at setup was an Indonesian number on her old iPhone 7. We were in Melbourne Australia so unable to access that number. So she had to wait till we returned to Bali to change the password.
Now all that sounds like a PITA and it was but the whole problem was caused by her forgetting her password. This is often the sort of thing that causes people to hate 2FA or 2SV. They made a simple mistake and found themselves in a world of pain because it couldnt be easily fixed.
This is the whole point of course, if it were easily fixed it would be easily hacked.
 
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BTW: I went looking for some reliable answers as to whether the 2FA could even be disabled a few days ago and gave up and I couldn't even find an answer at Apple's support site!!! Pretty sad! Or do they not even know for sure???

It can only be disabled within a certain amount of time according to Apple. (within two weeks) After that, you're stuck with it. Read the original thread title above and Link.

And, it appears that new users creating an Apple ID have it implemented automatically. Also, if you wish to sync your iMessages between all the devices you own, 2FA must be turned on.
 
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...but surely the 2FA alerts should go to a device OTHER than the one you are trying to access? Otherwise what is the point? I someone steals my mac they get unfettered access to my apple account. 2FA does nothing to help...but it should!
 
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Iggybar, I take it you have found yourself in one of those catch 22 situations where you couldnt verify something because you needed to verify your identity but the device needed to verify your ID was the device you were trying to verify.
Apple and others assume that things will be set up and used in the correct order and under ideal situations.
Really 2SV works extremely well and is a good safety measure to secure your personal data but sometimes it works against us.
My wife has a Google gMail account she set up in Bali (with two step verification) she forgot the password when setting up her new iPhone. After several attempts she tried to reset her password but google required ID verification. It gave her only one option, a code sent by SMS to her phone. But Google didnt know she had a new iPhone because the number she had used at setup was an Indonesian number on her old iPhone 7. We were in Melbourne Australia so unable to access that number. So she had to wait till we returned to Bali to change the password.
Now all that sounds like a PITA and it was but the whole problem was caused by her forgetting her password. This is often the sort of thing that causes people to hate 2FA or 2SV. They made a simple mistake and found themselves in a world of pain because it couldnt be easily fixed.
This is the whole point of course, if it were easily fixed it would be easily hacked.

Exactly! It happened last year when I sold my iphone and changed numbers at the same time. I forgot the exact details now, but I was unable to verify even though I knew my Apple account password and was able to log into my iCloud account. The situation was REALLY stupid!

Just turn it on is not a solution. LOL! That's ridiculous! These notifications are as dumb as Windows alerting you a million time about antivirus. Just let it be my choice and be done with it!
 
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...but surely the 2FA alerts should go to a device OTHER than the one you are trying to access? Otherwise what is the point? I someone steals my mac they get unfettered access to my apple account. 2FA does nothing to help...but it should!
That makes no sense.

Any device that is an “approved” device, which you enabled, will receive the notification. If you only had one device enabled (desktop Mac), then you would not be able to access your Apple ID, while you were away from home. It’s your responsibility to make sure your Mac is properly secured, and that they don’t have access to your login information. So disable “automatic login”, and make sure you need to login after screen saver activates. Many more security measures available to secure your Mac.

2FA, is also to notify you when someone else is trying to access your “Apple/iCloud ID” account info.
 

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I have read carefully the discussion so far and find sympathy with both sides of the argument as far as Apple 2FA is concerned.

However, I think that there may be, in a few cases, a slight misunderstanding. Rather than providing a link which some may/may not venture to read, here is an abbreviated explanation of how Apple's 2FA works. Any underlining or bold is mine.

How it works

With two-factor authentication, your account can only be accessed on devices you trust, like your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. When you want to sign in to a new device for the first time, you'll need to provide two pieces of information—your password and the six-digit verification code that's automatically displayed on your trusted devices***. By entering the code, you're verifying that you trust the new device.

###For example, if you have an iPhone and are signing into your account for the first time on a newly purchased Mac, you'll be prompted to enter your password and the verification code that's automatically displayed on your iPhone.###
Because your password alone is no longer enough to access your account, two-factor authentication dramatically improves the security of your Apple ID and all the personal information you store with Apple.

Once signed in, you won’t be asked for a verification code on that device again unless you sign out completely, erase the device, or need to change your password for security reasons. When you sign in on the web, you can choose to trust your browser, so you won’t be asked for a verification code the next time you sign in from that computer.

Trusted devices
A trusted device is an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 9 and later, or a Mac with OS X El Capitan and later that you've already signed in to using two-factor authentication. It’s a device we know is yours and that can be used to verify your identity by displaying a verification code from Apple when you sign in on a different device or browser.

Trusted phone numbers
A trusted phone number is a number that can be used to receive verification codes by text message or automated phone call. You must verify at least one trusted phone number to enroll in two-factor authentication.
You should also consider verifying an additional phone number you can access, such as a home phone, or a number used by a family member or close friend. You can use this number if you temporarily can't access your primary number or your own devices.

My understanding - could be wrong!

If I purchase a new iMac, when I sign in to my Apple ID, the 2FA Verification Code will ONLY be sent to my iPhone (not my iPad; nor the other devices linked to my Apple ID which include my wife's iPhone and iPad; nor to another iMac or MacBook if I had these).

The confusion is in Apple's explanation - see *** above. It uses the plural - trusted "devices". But then implies that only your iPhone will get the code - see ### above.

In a case series of one (me), I seem only to get a 2FA Verification Code on my iPhone when I purchase a new Device. What I used to get was a message sent to all trusted devices asking me to "trust" the new Device.

Ian
 
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...but surely the 2FA alerts should go to a device OTHER than the one you are trying to access? Otherwise what is the point? I someone steals my mac they get unfettered access to my apple account. 2FA does nothing to help...but it should!
The alerts go to all devices associated with the AppleID. Given that Apple has pretty good security available on iPhones, whether by fingerprint or facial recognition, the design of the system is that if someone from some OTHER device tries to log into your AppleID account the alert will be sent to your iPhone, which you can see because YOU can unlock it while nobody else can. As for just opening the phone, I've never had to provide an AppleID to do that, just my fingerprint or face. So no 2FA goes to the device to let me log into it, only when I use it, or some other device, to access a function that DOES require AppleID.

To address the exact scenario of someone stealing your Mac, when they try to log in they won't be able to because of your login password. (You do have a password, right?) So they cannot get to your Apple ID or the associated account because they cannot get into your Mac. When you lock down your Mac through your AppleID (assuming you do that) they won't be able to see the code because all they can see is the login screen. Now, if you are so unlucky that they steal your Mac before it locks down for inactivity AND you have your AppleID stored on the Mac, AND you don't notice in time before they try to change your AppleID password, and they do that before the timer for locking down the screen occurs, the first indicator of an issue for you will be the message on your other devices associated with the AppleID that "your" attempt to change the password requires 2FA, which is an alert that something is amiss. But those circumstances can easily be avoided by having a fairly short setting for how long before the password is required. I have mine set for 5 minutes when I'm at home, move it to even shorter when I travel with it. Basically, if I turn my back and a thief grabs the MBP from in front of me, the miscreant has less than a minute to get into it before it locks.

Now, you might wonder about what if someone steals your iPhone? Well, if you have taken the routine security steps to have a passcode, fingerprint, facial recognition set up then that thief cannot get into your iPhone. If you now use a different device to lock down that iPhone, or use Find My Phone, they might see the code on the lock screen (I'm not sure about that) but even so, they can't use it because they can't open the iPhone itself.

So, the point you raise is not really an issue, mostly because the 2FA is not protecting the device itself, but the AppleID account. The device is protected by your login and security settings on the device. The combination of the two provides pretty good security, if you use it.

Lately, when the text comes in with the 2FA code, it's been automatically filling in the code, if I am using it, because I unlocked it with the proper security, so having 2FA is even easier to use.
 
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Ian, you said
In a case series of one (me), I seem only to get a 2FA Verification Code on my iPhone when I purchase a new Device. What I used to get was a message sent to all trusted devices asking me to "trust" the new Device.
What I have observed is that when I first access any AppleID protected service from a "new" device, I get that "trust" message on all of the other devices already "trusted" for that AppleID, and the code to unlock shows up on all devices running Messages. So, I get it on my iPad, iPhone and on my MBP because I run Messages there as well. If I had not activated Messages on the MBP and logged into my AppleID for that service, I would not get the code on the MBP. It's hand on the MBP for when I want to do something with the AppleID and am working on the MBP because the code pops up in the Messages window and is really easy to use there.
 
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OK. I do have a mac login. So what exactly is 2FA achieving on my mac other than to pee me off?
 

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