How to fix an iPhone that keeps asking for Apple ID password

Is your iPhone asking over for your Apple ID password over and over and over again? You aren’t alone. It’s a known bug that pops up from time to time, sometimes following a iOS update, sometimes due issues with iCloud, or due to one of the other reasons we’ll discuss in this article. Luckily it’s pretty easy to fix the problem and stop your iPhone repetitively asking for your password – read on to find out how. 

If your iPhone is in a loop of continuously asking for your iCloud login details and password, even after you have entered your password, we have the fix.

Having an iPhone that is stuck in this weird iCloud login loop can be extremely frustrating. Fortunately, help is at hand. In this feature we have five different fixes.

Before we share these fixes it appears that there is an error today: 26 January 2022 that is causing people to see the message “Update Apple ID Settings: Some account services require you to sign in again.” There are user reports indicating that this message is appearing on iPhones and Apple Watches. It may be related to an outage on Apple’s iCloud servers that happened on 25 January 2022.

The Apple System Status page indicates that there were issues with ‌iCloud‌ Backup, ‌iCloud‌ Mail, ‌iCloud‌ Storage Upgrades, iCloud.com, iMessage, and Game Center. However, the System Status page now suggests that “All services are operating normally” and that “6 issues were resolved today”.

A software update ( iOS 15.3) is expected later this week, but that hasn’t landed on iPhones yet so we assume it is not connected. 

While we wait for Apple to fix this particular issue, you can try the following tips to see if they help:

Fix 1: Turn if off and on again

No tutorial would be complete without the stalwart advice “turn it off and on again”. It is often the fix all solution so it’s the best place to start.

How you turn off (or restart) your iPhone (or iPad) will depend on which model you own.

• If your iPhone uses Face ID then you won’t have a Home button. In that case you need to press and hold one of the volume buttons at the same time as the Side button. Eventually the power-off slider will appear. Just drag that from left to right and wait for your iPhone to shut down. To turn it back on press the side button again.
• If your iPhone has a Home button you can shut it down by pressing the Side button until the power off slider appears. Drag it from left to right to shut down. Then restart by pressing the Side button.
• On even older iPhones the button you need to press and hold is on the top of the phone.

Once your iPhone has started up again you may need to enter your iCloud password once, but hopefully that will fix the problem.

What if that doesn’t fix it? Read on…

Fix 2: Update your software

This is a bug that often comes up after major software updates, but those kinds of issues are often quickly addressed by Apple, so the next thing to check is that you are running the latest version of iOS.

1. Go to Settings.
2. General.
3. Software Update.
4. Your iPhone will check for updates and if one is available you will see it here. Click on Download and Install. You will need to be connected to WiFi.

Fix 3: Check your apps and update

It’s also possible that it’s an app that is causing the problem. Perhaps one of your apps has been trying to update but needs your iCloud log in before it can do so.

1. In this case open App Store.
2. Tap on the icon at the top right. This will take you to your Account information where you will find details of your apps.
3. You will see how many apps need to be updated. It’s wise to update them just in case it’s an out of date app that is causing the repetitive login issue. Click on Update All.

If you don’t want to install updates to all your apps consider deleting some of them. You can swipe from right to left on any app in the list that appears to Delete them.

Fix 4: Turn FaceTime and iMessage off and on again

FaceTime and iMessage run via your Apple ID so it could help fix the problem if you sign out of them and then sign back in.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Scroll down to Messages.
3. Tap on the slider beside iMessage so it goes from on to off.
4. Tap again to turn it on (so it’s green).

Follow the same steps with FaceTime.

Fix 5: Sign out of iCloud

If none of the above fixed the problem with your iPhone we advise that you try signing out of iCloud and then back in again. Follow these steps (the process differs slightly depending on the version of iOS your device is running):

1. Open Settings
2. Tap on the area at the top with your name – this will take you to your iCloud settings. (On older iOS versions there was an iCloud heading).
3. Scroll down and tap Sign Out.
4. Enter your Apple ID password to turn off Find My iPhone.
5. Tap Turn Off.
6. Now sign in again.
7. We recommend restarting the iPhone again at this point following the steps in the first suggestion above.

Resetting iCloud may fix the problem, but if that doesn’t work then, move on to our next suggestion.

Fix 6: Check iCloud is working

Before going any further, we suggest that you check that iCloud is working correctly at Apple’s end. It’s possible that the iCloud server has gone down, for example. Go to https://www.apple.com/uk/support/systemstatus/ on your Mac or iPhone and check that all the services are lit up green.

If there is a problem with iCloud at Apple’s end, then it’s best to give Apple a couple of hours to fix it. Read more: Is iCloud working?

Fix 7: Reset your password

If none of the earlier steps have worked, and you’ve checked Apple System Status, then the next thing is to change your Apple ID password. It’s a hassle, but often it fixes the problem. Changing your password is easiest on your Mac (or Windows PC).

1. Open the Safari web browser and go to appleid.apple.com.
2. Click ‘Reset your password’.
3. Enter your Apple ID and click Next.
4. Choose Email authentication or Answer Security Questions and click Next.
5. Click Reset Password in the email, or enter the security questions.
6. Enter a new password in the New Password and Confirm Password fields.
7. Click Reset Password.

Now try entering the new password on your iPhone when it asks. This should be accepted by the iPhone and fix the problem. If you have any problems with this, we have more information here: How to reset Apple ID.

Fix 7: Back up and restore

If your iPhone is still constantly asking for the iCloud password, and you’ve tried power cycling the iPhone and changing your password, then the next thing to try is to back up and restore your iPhone.

Normally we would recommend backing up using iCloud, but because you can’t rely on iCloud at the moment you will need to back up to a Mac (or PC).

You will need a USB cable to connect your iPhone to your Mac – this could be a problem if your Mac has USB-C and your cable is USB-A. In that case you will need an adapter.

How you back up will depend on the operating system on your computer.

Back up iPhone in Catalina or later

1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac using the cable.
2. You may see a Trust This Computer message on your iPhone, enter your passcode.
3. Open the Finder.
4. Under Locations find your iPhone and click on it.
5. Wait for the information to load. The General tab should be selected. scroll to the Backups section.
6. Select the Back up all the data on your iPhone to this Mac option. (Note that you will need enough space on your Mac).
7. Click on Apply. 
8. Click to Sync.
9. Your iPhone will start syncing.

Back up iPhone in Mojave or older (or on a PC)

1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac using the cable.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Click Devices and choose your iPhone.
4. Select Summary.
5. Choose This Computer under Backups.
6. Click Back Up Now.

Wait for the backup process to take place. When it’s finished you can begin the process of restoring your iPhone.

Restore iPhone in Catalina

You will also need to use the Finder to restore your iPhone in Catalina.

1. Open the Finder and go to the General tab.
2. Click on Restore iPhone.
3. You’ll be asked if you need to back up first (you just have).
4. Confirm that everything on your iPhone should be erased (as long as you have a backup!)

Now your iPhone will begin the process of restoring.

Restore iPhone in Mojave or older (or on a PC)

1. Keep your iPhone connected to the Mac.
2. On your iPhone click Settings > iCloud.
3. Tap Find My iPhone.
4. Set Find My iPhone to Off.
5. Enter your Apple ID Password and tap Turn Off.
6. Back in iTunes on your Mac, click Restore iPhone.

Follow the restore process and use the backup you just created.

You will download the latest version of iOS from Apple, and restore your iPhone using the backup. After the phone has been restores it should be just as it was before, but this will hopefully have fixed the problem.

Fix 8: Reset and restore as new

This is our last and most drastic solution. You could reset your phone to factory settings. This will mean you lose all your data (although you may find that this isn’t a problem if you are using iCloud to sync photos, your music is synced via iTunes Match, you sync all your documents and data over the cloud, and all the apps you own can be easily downloaded again from the App Store.)

1. Go to Settings.
2. General.
3. Reset.
4. Choose Reset all Settings.

This will return your iPhone to factory settings.