A reader is having a big password problem: Please advise me what to do when my password is not accepted. I do know my passwords! Also, when I change a password, it still not accepted. My Apple password was not accepted, then when I wanted to change it, Apple was supposed to send me an SMS with the security password, but it never came. I am so confused. Please, can you help me?

There is nothing more frustrating than a password that you know you know doesn’t work. There are a couple of possibilities here. In the vast majority of cases (probably 99.9 percent), if your password is not accepted, you are putting it in wrong. Most of us think that is just not possible, but it happens all the time.

Companies simply don’t randomly change your password—they just don’t. There is nothing in it for them to keep you from your information. It could be that you have forgotten your password for a particular site; this happens to everyone. Or it could be that you are inadvertently inserting an extra space or character. Maybe you forgot to capitalize a letter or left off a character, such as an exclamation point. (I have done that many times.)

If there is an option to see the password you are typing, click on it to double-check that you are entering what you think you are entering. Also, make sure your browser isn’t using autofill to fill in the password for you. It could be inserting an old or incorrectly typed password. This is another error I have seen again and again.

You could just be typing it wrong. Are you pulling it from memory? From a password manager? From a piece of paper? If you are typing it from memory or from a piece of paper, it is very likely that you are just putting it in wrong. If you have the password written in a document on your PC, try copying and pasting it to make sure you are getting it exactly right.

Now let’s talk about the password retrieval problems. First, did you set up a phone number for the SMS messages when you created your account? You would be surprised at how often people just skip that part and don’t arrange for texts to be sent in case of a problem. There is also the possibility that you didn’t enter your phone number correctly. You might try having them send the message again, just in case the text didn’t get through the first time.

Your Apple ID account page should have the option to have an email sent to an account you have selected. Hopefully, you have also selected an alternate email address where you can receive the necessary information to reset your password. Also, do make sure that you are entering the correct Apple ID. It is usually the primary email address for your Apple ID account.

[Editor’s note: If none of these steps work, call Dr. Networking at 541.488.8765 so we can help get you back on track.]

The final possibility is that your account has been compromised. Someone could have hacked your account and changed your username and password.

[Editor’s note: If that is the case, contact Dr. Networking immediately so we can ensure that you are better protected. We can also help to get you back into your account.]

~ Cynthia
Courtesy of Worldstart.com