How Do I Activate a Disabled iTunes Account?

Apple locks iTunes accounts when a password has been entered incorrectly too many times or when Apple detects suspicious activity. You have two options to re-activate your disabled iTunes account: the first one is "Email authentication," which lets you verify your iTunes account through your registered email address; the second one is "Answer security questions," which verifies your ID by letting you answer the security question you've set up when you registered your iTunes account.

Reset your password to unlock your iTunes account.

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Activate an iTunes Account by Email Authentication

Step 1

Type your Apple ID in the box.

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Go to Apple iForgot, type your Apple ID in the box and click "Next."

Step 2

Choose "Email authentication."

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Choose "Email authentication" to retrieve your account. Click "Next" to continue. You should receive an email in your registered email address shortly.

Step 3

Open the email and click "Reset now >."

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Go to your registered email address, for instance, Yahoo mail. Open the email you just received from Apple and click "Reset now >" to begin the resetting process.

Step 4

Type the new password and confirm it.

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Type a new password, confirm it and click "Reset Password" to apply the change. This new password will be your log-in password for your iTunes account from now on.

Activate an iTunes Account by Answering Security Questions

Step 1

Type your Apple ID in the box.

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Go to Apple iForgot, type your Apple ID in the box and click "Next."

Step 2

Choose "Answer security questions" and click "Next."

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Choose "Answer security questions" to retrieve your account. Click "Next" to continue.

Step 3

Verify your birthday.

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Click "Month," "Day" and "Year" respectively and select your birthday from the drop-down lists. Click "Next" to continue.

Step 4

Answer the security questions.

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Type the answers to the security questions as shown. For example, "What is your dream job?" These are the questions and answers you selected when you first set up your Apple ID.

Step 5

Reset the password.

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Enter a new password, confirm and click "Reset Password" to apply the change. Remember to use this new password to access your iTunes account in the future.

Tip

Click "Forgot your Apple ID?" if you can't remember your ID. Enter your name and email address to retrieve your ID and reset your password.

Warning

For "Email authentication," you have 3 hours from the time the email is sent to reset your account before the process expires. If you do not reset your account within the allotted time, you will have to redo the "Email authentication" to retrieve your account.