How to resolve 'An unknown error occurred' when declining Two-Factor Authentication on Apple Account?

Cancel your password entry. The normal procedure is to click "other options" then again select do not upgrade. Then you can enter your password.

Apple is very persistent about getting you to upgrade and insists upon asking you several times during sign-in. One of the "other options" is to upgrade. :-P

That message can definitely get annoying. Apple has been moving most accounts over to Two-Factor Authentication, especially on newer macOS versions, so the option to stay on the old setup doesn’t always work anymore. That “unknown error” usually just means the system won’t let you skip it.

Turning on 2FA is usually the only way to stop the popup from coming back. If you’d like Apple to change how this works, you can also leave feedback at apple.com/feedback.

Hope that clears it up a bit!

So you clicked the "other options" button? I am surprised that is still showing if you did click it.

To me this is suggesting that the "unknown error" is something else. Of course it isn't very helpful other than saying it is unknown. For unknown error issues I suggest you contact Apple and see if they know.

Incidentally, I do not use two factor and I have Sequoia like you. I have not tried signing out of my account recently just to see what happens (and would prefer not to, I am sure you understand).

Two suggestions: Make sure your using the most recent Sequoia, and also try simply restarting your computer and if that takes care of the issue. I have encountered a bunch of Sequoia issues where restarting an application or even the entire system resolved an issue.

Refer to this page for Apple Support features ➔ Contact - Official Apple Support

Select from the presented options until you find a solution for your issue, or see if there is a chat or phone call contact method offered lower on the page under “Get more help” (you sometimes have to narrow down the options multiple times before this is shown). If you do not see your issue, keep experimenting with any series of selections until you reach one that offers a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.

This support article has various country telephone numbers for contacting Apple for support and service ➔ Contact Apple Support - Apple Support For some countries look under “Other” listing at the end of the list. Not every country has telephone support, and phone numbers may only work when calling from the same country.

Note that Apple probably won't help you with any issues related to security questions at all, but to me this looks like security questions is not the issue here.

barbra294 wrote:

That message can definitely get annoying. Apple has been moving most accounts over to Two-Factor Authentication, especially on newer macOS versions, so the option to stay on the old setup doesn’t always work anymore. That “unknown error” usually just means the system won’t let you skip it.

Apple doesn't one-sidedly "move" accounts over to 2FA. If you open a new account Apple will make setting up 2FA a requirement. You have no option.

If you have an older account, you do still have an option. Apple recommends that you transition, but they do not currently absolutely require you to, or do any one-sided "moving". Certainly 2FA is more secure, but security questions can also be secured. Unfortunately the old presentation of pre-set questions that Apple used meant that it might not require a lot social engineering to find out the answers. If you ignore Apple's actual questions and simply enter a long and meaningless string of things on your keyboard as your high school mascot or anything else you probably posted on social media web site, it can be almost impossible to guess. Of course then you have to remember your answers. ;-) Some systems let you set up your own questions. I doubt anybody know the nonsense name we gave our pet dog 55 years ago.

For 2FA you apparently must set up a telephone number too. And from posts I have been reading on this forum it must be a unique number. Not all families may have unique numbers for each person. I also know I travel places where I only take a single trusted device and my telephone service does not work. I don't want to be trapped in a situation where I am trying to get a verification code on a telephone or computer that is on the other side of the planet.

Just curious why you prefer not to use Two Factor Authentication. Many people are not aware that it provides a big increase in account security and privacy. When you use Two Factor Authentication along with Face ID or Touch ID, your account is much harder for anyone else to access.

The biometric data used for Face ID or Touch ID stays on your device in the Secure Enclave and is never uploaded to iCloud or shared anywhere. Even if someone guesses your password, they still cannot get into your account without the second verification step on a trusted device. It may feel like an extra step, but it does protect your information in a very effective way.

Most large tech. businesses are requiring two-factor authentication. Thank all the hackers and scammers out there and the fact that people don't take online security seriously and to a small degree have brought this on themselves. 30 years ago a compromised account meant all you risked was somebody being able to post on a BBS in your name. Now people can have tens of thousands of dollars, and more, associated with accounts. Not that it has made them any smarter about security, it just exposes them more than 30 years ago having to go into a place and show an ID to get access to money.