How do i change my apple passcode

How do i change my apple passcode

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Need to change your passcode on iPhone or iPad? Follow along below for a quick guide with images.

If you need to alter your passcode, keep in mind you’ll need to enter your current one before you can change it.

  1. Open Settings
  2. Swipe down and tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode)
  3. Enter your existing passcode
  4. Swipe down, tap Change Passcode

Here’s how the process looks:

How do i change my apple passcode

Swipe down on the Face ID & Passcode screen and tap Change Passcode.

How do i change my apple passcode

You can tap Passcode Options just above the keypad if you’d like to use a custom alphanumeric code or a four-digit code.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:

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Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

Change your iPhone Lock Screen passcode regularly

How do i change my apple passcode

Your face makes for a very good security check, but your passcode remains a weak spot. Here's how to change it to keep your iPhone data safe by changing your lock screen passcode.

People tend to make passcodes that are dangerously easy to guess. Companies that impose passcodes, tend to make them long and convoluted enough that users avoid their phones locking. In either case, you can be open to someone gaining access to your phone — and that can mean to everything you store on your iPhone.

Some opportunist who sees your unlocked iPhone, or guesses that your passcode is your pet's birthday, could have access to your bank accounts, or any retail stores that you have stored information. They'll certainly have access to your email and that means they can log in to any site you use, and choose Change Password.

Although Apple talks most about biometric security, Face ID and Touch ID, you still use a passcode. You'll use that because you're wearing a face mask so Face ID doesn't work, or you're wearing gloves so Touch ID won't.

Or, more commonly, you've let your iOS device's battery run down to nothing. Once you recharge it and start it up, you must enter the passcode before you can enable Face ID or Touch ID.

So you need it quite often and therefore it's handy to make it memorable. But you can change it often to protect yourself, and you can also elect to replace the digits with an alphanumeric mix of numbers and letters.

  1. Open Settings and tap on Face ID & Passcode
  2. When prompted, enter your current six-digit passcode
  3. Scroll down to Change Passcode
  4. Again, enter your old passcode
  5. You'll next be prompted for a new passcode but before you enter it, tap on Passcode Options
  6. Choose from setting up a 4-digit code, or two types of custom passcode

If you have an older iPhone, or an iPad with Touch ID instead of Face ID, the steps are the same. You just choose Touch ID & Passcode at the start.

How do i change my apple passcode

You'll be prompted to enter your current passcode before you can set a new one

Whatever biometric security you have, you do rather undermine it if you elect to use the four-digit passcode option. However, that is simpler and more convenient than the two custom options.

Those let you set up either a Custom Numeric Code, or a Custom Alphanumeric Code. If you want to be the safest you can, choose the latter and enter a new password- or pass-phrase-like code.

As is usual for Apple, the company has provided a middle ground between something being easy to use, and yet secure. Although the custom alphanumeric code is significantly harder to break, and will take more time to penetrate than a straightforward one consisting solely of digits, Apple defaults to recommending the six-digit passcode.

It's done so since iOS 9 in 2015.

You may just have missed that fact if you use a four-digit code and haven't changed it in five years or more. If that's the case, now would be a very good time to pick a new six-digit passcode.

(Pocket-lint) - Apple requires you to set a six-digit passcode as a back up to get into your iPhone, whether you have a Touch ID model or a Face ID model. This used to be a four-digit passcode, though this changed a few years ago. You can change it back to a four-digit code though - or opt for a custom or alphanumeric passcode, which we cover below too.

You'll sometimes be asked for your iPhone passcode if one of the other biometric methods isn't working properly or can't recognise your face or fingerprint, but it also keeps your device secure if it was to get into the wrong hands.

If you think someone might know your passcode and you want to know how to change your iPhone passcode, you're in the right place. We're assuming you know your current password so if you do, here's how to change it.

Follow the steps below to change your iPhone passcode.

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone
  2. Scroll down to 'Face ID & Passcode' or 'Touch ID & Passcode'
  3. Type in your current Passcode
  4. Scroll down to 'Change Passcode'
  5. Type in your current passcode
  6. Enter your new passcode
  7. Re-enter your new passcode

That's it. Be sure to remember your new passcode or you won't be able to unlock your device.

How to change your iPhone passcode back to four-digits or custom code

It is possible to change your iPhone passcode to be four digits, like it was by default until the launch of iOS 13. You can also choose an Alphanumeric passcode or a custom numeric passcode. 

Here are the steps you need to follow:

How do i change my apple passcode

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone
  2. Scroll down to 'Face ID & Passcode' or 'Touch ID & Passcode'
  3. Type in your current Passcode
  4. Scroll down to 'Change Passcode'
  5. Type in your current passcode
  6. Tap on 'Passcode Options'
  7. Select 'Alphanumeric Code', 'Custom Numeric Code' or '4-Digit Numeric Code'
  8. Choose your new passcode
  9. Verify your new passcode
  10. Tap 'Done'

If you choose Alphanumeric, you can choose to have a written password as your iPhone passcode with letters rather than just numbers. It's also worth noting that if you choose to revert back to a four-digit passcode, your phone won't be as secure.

Writing by Britta O'Boyle.