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TrenttonY

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 14, 2012
1,218
1,536
So after having some activation issues from going from a physical SIM iPhone to a eSIM-only iPhone, my carrier helped me in-person, and got it all fixed and working.

So now my old iPhone (which I’m still signed in via iCloud) has been completely deactivated from my phone number/cellular carrier.

My question is… can you factory reset an iPhone if it’s your only device? I know with 2-factor authentication it requires a text message code when signing in. Will I still receive this code during the setup process? Or since I’m still signed in with my old iPhone will I receive the verification code from that device? From what I read, any device, regardless of it’s activated with a carrier, as long as it signed in via iCloud, and is connected to WiFi can also authorize sign-in’s on other devices.

I’m pretty proficient with these things, but don’t want the risk of being locked out of my Apple ID…
 
So after having some activation issues from going from a physical SIM iPhone to a eSIM-only iPhone, my carrier helped me in-person, and got it all fixed and working.

So now my old iPhone (which I’m still signed in via iCloud) has been completely deactivated from my phone number/cellular carrier.

My question is… can you factory reset an iPhone if it’s your only device? I know with 2-factor authentication it requires a text message code when signing in. Will I still receive this code during the setup process? Or since I’m still signed in with my old iPhone will I receive the verification code from that device? From what I read, any device, regardless of it’s activated with a carrier, as long as it signed in via iCloud, and is connected to WiFi can also authorize sign-in’s on other devices.

I’m pretty proficient with these things, but don’t want the risk of being locked out of my Apple ID…

As I interpret it you will receive a push to all your trusted devices. If you have no trusted devices you should enter a phone no that can receive the code.


 
Interesting question. I would think Apple doesn’t send text messages for authentication purposes. But I may be wrong.
 
My question is… can you factory reset an iPhone if it’s your only device? I know with 2-factor authentication it requires a text message code when signing in. Will I still receive this code during the setup process? Or since I’m still signed in with my old iPhone will I receive the verification code from that device? From what I read, any device, regardless of it’s activated with a carrier, as long as it signed in via iCloud, and is connected to WiFi can also authorize sign-in’s on other devices.

I’m pretty proficient with these things, but don’t want the risk of being locked out of my Apple ID…
Just did some Googling and here's what I found…

When you go to Erase All Contents and Settings (on the device) you'll be presented with the option to preserve your eSIM. If you select that, then your eSIM will survive the reset.

So…when you get to the point where it's asking about iCloud login and setup, then because the eSIM survived you should get the code or the push notification.


 
Just did some Googling and here's what I found…

When you go to Erase All Contents and Settings (on the device) you'll be presented with the option to preserve your eSIM. If you select that, then your eSIM will survive the reset.

So…when you get to the point where it's asking about iCloud login and setup, then because the eSIM survived you should get the code or the push notification.


That’s what I was thinking too. 👍

Yeah, it would be silly if Apple didn’t allow the verification code to be received directly to the phone during the initial setup process, as the eSIM would still activated the whole time anyways.

But, I’ll guess I’ll wait for more people to give their experience before I take the chance. From the horror stories I’ve read, you can never be too careful, especially when it’s comes to stuff like this…
 
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