Anonymous wrote:I lost years of family photos (which I paid to store on icloud) and a lot of paid-for iTunes content over a similar issues. They really should have been able to verify my identity despite some lost phone and password information through credit card details, security questions, etc. But they couldn't or wouldn't be bothered, and I will never give Apple a dime again.

Op here. I agree. We went through months of this with apple and there were numerous other ways they could have verified the account and they would not. It was only resolved when my child found where he had written down the password. There was no resolution with apple at all. I really want to like them but will not. I will never buy another apple product for my family.

I lost years of family photos (which I paid to store on icloud) and a lot of paid-for iTunes content over a similar issues. They really should have been able to verify my identity despite some lost phone and password information through credit card details, security questions, etc. But they couldn't or wouldn't be bothered, and I will never give Apple a dime again.

I don’t have a store near me and was having issues with iTunes and Apple Music not jiving together and removing songs. Apple Technical Support deleted all my playlists accidentally. Thousands of songs and playlists curated since 2007. Thanks, Apple

Here is the problem. They need to ensure you are not trying to hack into the phone. The problem is not that Apple is being jerks, but that your offspring forgot his password and security questions.

Last year I had an issue with my iPhotos and I called phone support. Everyone was very nice, but I spent almost four hours on the phone over teh course of a week, plus time to download updates. What happened is they kept moving me to different people, until I was finally connected to someone who solved the problem (which ended up being unrelated to the actual iPhoto program). I know it sounds annoying, but could you start over with a new ticket? Sometimes I think it is the person you get, and also the fact that no matter how annoyed and angry I was, I was always super nice and polite to the person on the other line.

I don't think it is worth trying if we have been told this is the only process. They've made it clear there is no other way. This is horrible customer service.

I have no idea if they will help. Its hit or miss but worth trying. We took my laptop in for a keyboard replacement and they said they replaced it. For months it was an issue, went to a different store who said they did not replace it and this store made sure it got replaced so it really depends on the person.

Anonymous wrote:Go into the store.

Would they actually be able to help? Phone support has been very clear that there is nothing else that can be done and if the process fails again, we just have to keep doing it. I've demanded to speak to senior support and have been told that we have the most senior people they have. They refuse to do anything to help and say that there are no humans who can affect change in this automated process and that the automated process is the only way.

I liked apple at one point and had planned to get an iphone but now I will never purchase another apple product of any type. The complete arbitrary nature of when this "recovery window" happens is beyond belief. My kid is in school. One of the 3 hour windows was when he was on a college visit and he never got the notification anyway. Now the three hour window begins at 3am Sunday morning. I will never support a company that treats their customers like this.

Go into the store.

I've never owned an iphone but have been helping my kid navigate the process of account recovery on his phone. He has had a new phone we want to move to but he forgot his applid and we have spent months trying to resolve the issue. He is supposed to get a notification of a time to recover his account and either he never gets the notification or when he goes and clicks the link at the correct time, it starts all over. We have spent days on the phone with apple support and have gotten nowhere. We got talked into going thru another iteration of account recovery and the 3 hour window to get it done begins at 3am Sunday. They say there is nothing they can do at every turn and with every problem we encounter. I will never own one of their pieces of crap and will never buy another for anyone in my family. It is inexplicable that we have been trapped in a dead end hampster wheel and they can do nothing to help. I don't understand how this can happen.