For reasons only known to Apple, you may see a message from time to time or even more frequently that says:
Update Apple ID settings. Some account services require you to sign in again.
McWorld editor Karen Haslam offers a wide-ranging solution to this problem, via an update in January 2022 due to seeing the message during a breakdown of Apple’s iCloud server.
However, outside of the solution to the problem that Apple has identified, readers ask if the message is valid because it is similar to the kind of phishing message they were warned about for many years. The prompt often appears in the middle of another activity and displays a message asking you to enter your password!
This is intentional from Apple, but you can be sure that what you see is a message from Apple through a few tests:
- On iOS / iPadOS, do you see it in any app other than Safari or Mail (or another browser or email app)? Since HTML can be used to ridicule the general appearance of an iOS / iPadOS dialog, I would be skeptical.
- In macOS, do you see it outside the notification area? Does it reappear when you hide and show notifications?
For the highest level of confirmation, open Settings > Your name > iCloud on iOS / iPadOS or System Preferences > Apple ID Or click iCloud MacOS 10.15 Catalina or later. (10.14 Mojave or earlier, go to System Preferences > iCloud.)
You’ll see a line item with similar text, such as “Update Apple ID settings” or a pop-up message between these locations. If so, re-enter your Apple ID password.
This Mac 911 article answers a question submitted by Macworld reader Nathan.
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