I had a panic attack when I read the ordeal Owen Williams of The Next Web had to go through because he lost (or thought he had lost) his recovery key.

In case you are wondering, Recovery Key is the 14-character key that is generated when you set up two-step verification for your Apple ID. 

It allows you to regain access to your account if you ever lose access to your trusted devices or forget your password.

In Owen’s case, things got more complicated as someone had tried to hack into his account, so iCloud’s security mechanism had disabled his account. So while in normal situations, your password and trusted device should be enough to gain access to your account, they can’t be used when your account is disabled. You need your recovery key to enable your account. While Apple highlights the importance of the recovery key during the two-step verification setup process, and recommends taking a print out of the key and storing it in a secure place in your home, office, or other location, it does not say that the recovery key will be required if your account is disabled.

Owen tried to get access to his account by contacting Apple’s customer support, and also using his contacts at Apple but failed as he was told that there was nothing they could do as iForgot page was final, and was asked to create a new Apple ID. Fortunately for Owen, he managed to find his recovery key, and was able to access his account.

Owen’s situation got me really worried, as I couldn’t remember where I had kept my recovery key. I had enabled two-step verification when Apple had launched it in March 2013, so it was a long time back. However, unlike Owen the good thing was my account was not locked so I just created a new Recovery key, and have saved it in a safe place. If you’ve enabled two-step verification and have lost your recovery key then I would strongly recommend you to create the recovery key again. It is very simple. Don’t panic, just follow these steps:

• Go to the Apple ID webpage.

• Click on the Manage your Apple ID button.

• Enter your Apple ID and password, and click on the Sign in button.

• You will be prompted to verifying your identify by sending a code to one of your trusted devices. Select the trusted device and click on the Send button.

• Enter the verification code sent to your device, and click on the Continue button.

• Then click on the Passwords and Security option in the left hand sidebar.

• Here you should see an option to Replace your Recovery Key. Click on the Replace Lost key link.

• Then click on the Next button.

• At this point, it will display the recovery key. Apple will also inform you to “Print or write down your Recovery Key. Keep at least one copy in a safe place. Do not save it on your computer.”

• This time round, don’t forget to take a print out by clicking on the Print Key button or note down the recovery key and keep it in a safe place. You will also need it in the next step to confirm it.

• Click on the Continue button.

• Enter the recovery key from the previous step. If you have entered the correct Recovery key, then you will see a green tick, and the Activate button will be enabled.

• Click on the Activate button.

• You will get a message on the next page informing you that your Recovery Key has been activated.

That’s it, you now have a new recovery key. Don’t forget to save the recovery key in a safe place, so you never get in this situation again, and don’t run the risk of getting locked out of your own account.

Apple should probably figure out an offline way to verify identify of a person, though as we’ve seen in case of Wired’s Mat Honan’s case, it could be used to hijack accounts. It was a little scary to find out your entire digital life depended on the recovery key, which I had forgotten I assumed that I will be able to access my account with my password and trusted device in every situation. I think Apple should clearly highlight that we need the recovery key if our account is disabled in case of a failed hacking attempt (and password and trusted device won’t help), which is why it is extremely important to keep it in a safe place (and not forget about it).

What do you think? Did you know recovery key was so critical for your Apple ID? Did you keep it in a safe place?