We once had to shed our phone number when we changed wireless providers or moved–sometimes even moving from one part of a town to another. One of the great changes in mobile phones since their introduction decades ago was the introduction about 20 years ago of number portability.
However, portability and the ease of signing up for a new mobile contract can lead you to have phone numbers that linger on after you’re no longer using them. If you’ve associated a phone number with your Apple Account and no longer have access to receive calls or texts at the number, you might feel stymied. However, while it was once hard to sever the link, that’s no longer the case.
Apple uses phone numbers in several ways for your Apple Account and for iCloud services, and you can remove them similarly in various places corresponding to those uses.
Warning: Before doing any of the following, check if the iPhone the phone number was associated with still appears in the list of hardware connected to your Apple Account. If it is, remove it from your account. In Settings, tap your name. A list of the devices associated with your Apple Account appears near the bottom of the screen. To remove a device, tap it, then tap Remove from Account.
Remove number available for Apple Account sign-ins
Apple made a change that lets you use any email address or phone number associated with an Apple Account as the login identity. To remove an associated phone number available for this, follow these steps:
- Go to account.apple.com and log in.
- In Sign-In and Security, click Email and Phone Numbers.
- With at least two numbers in place (if not, see below) click the – (minus) icon and click Remove to confirm.
If you don’t have a second number, you can click the + (plus) icon next to “1 phone number” and follow the steps to add one via a text message or automated voice call. After confirming at least one additional number, you can delete the number you wanted to remove.
Remove from calls, Messages, and FaceTime
You can remove a phone number from use with incoming voice phone calls, Messages, and FaceTime on a Mac. Just change the Apple Account password. This makes all phone numbers inaccessible from all those devices; you’ll have to add back any number you want to provide access to for calls or texts.
You can’t remove the number from voice calls, Messages, and FaceTime from an iPhone, as the iPhone with that number is something you don’t possess. However, if the number is still available from another iPhone you’re using, make sure to remove the number as one trusted by your account.
Remove as a trusted phone number (Stolen Device Protection off)
With two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled for an Apple Account, Apple treats every logged-in iPhone or Mac as a trusted device. It also requires at least one trusted phone number. If your former number appears in the list of trusted numbers, go to Settings, tap your name, then tap Sign-In & Security. Tap Two-Factor Authentication, tap the Delete button next to the phone number, then tap Done.
You may have to follow a different process with Stolen Device Protection enabled.
Remove as a trusted phone number (Stolen Device Protection on)
Apple added Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3 to help remove a way that a criminal could observe your iPhone passcode or coerce it out of you, then use it to reset your Apple Account. If you have enabled that feature from your current iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max, you won’t be able to remove a trusted phone number via the Apple Account site or other devices and you may face an intentional delay in completing the removal.
Instead, you have to start with your iPhone:
- Go to Settings > [your name] > Sign-In & Security > Two-Factor Authentication.
- Tap the Delete button next to the phone number.
- When you’re finished making changes, tap Done.
Stolen Device Protection kicks in at steps 2 and 3 if you’re not at what your iPhone 18 Pro Max has decided is a “familiar location,” typically your home or place of work. If that’s the case you’ll be prompted for Face ID when you attempt to remove the number. After showing your face, a one-hour timer starts. After that time elapses, you can authenticate again via Face ID, and then complete the steps to remove the unwanted number.
