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

Question

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

I keep getting this annoying message about "security settings". I choose to NOT "upgrade" my account with the two factor authentication thing. Once I select to NOT upgrade and click on the continue button, I get the incredible "An unknown error occurred". Is this Apple trying to FORCE me to "upgrade" to the two factor authentication, or this is a REAL unknown issue?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: FORCED TO "UPGRADE" TO THE "TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION"

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Dec 5, 2025 2:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Limnos

Level 10

426,677 points

Dec 5, 2025 3:00 PM in response to notechnocracy

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

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Answer 2

Dec 5, 2025 3:00 PM in response to notechnocracy

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!

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