Apex Legends account security: EA 2FA, passkeys, linked platforms and scams

Apex has no security menu of its own. Everything happens on your EA Account, and it covers every platform you play on. Once 2FA is on, EA sends a code any time a new device tries to sign in, which is what stops someone holding a leaked password.

EA offers three methods: email, an authenticator app and text message. You can turn on more than one, set a preferred method, and choose another enabled method if you can’t reach your first choice. EA may also ask you to verify before changes to your email, phone number, password, payment methods or backup codes.

Backup codes are the safety net for a lost phone or a dead inbox, so keep the list somewhere other than the phone that generates your codes.

Passkeys are the newer option. EA suggests one if passkeys are available for your account, because a passkey uses your device’s built-in security instead of a password, and it still recommends keeping 2FA on. If you lose the device that holds your passkey, EA says to sign in with your email or EA ID and password, a linked account, or another 2FA method.

Cross Progression only works when every platform account points at the same EA Account. On PlayStation, Xbox or Switch, EA says your accounts should connect automatically if your EA Account and console account share an email. If not, you sign in with your EA Account on the console and confirm with a one-time code sent to your EA email. On Steam you link once through Connected Accounts, with the EA app installed first.

Unlinking is where Apex players lose things. EA says that if you unlink from your EA Account, you lose access to your progress and content, and you can hit Battle Pass leveling and item unlock errors. Relink the same EA Account and it all comes back. Link a different EA Account and the old progress stays out of reach. EA caps link switches at 3 in a rolling year, so treat each one as limited.

Child and other sub-accounts that share an Xbox or PlayStation subscription can’t connect to an EA Account to play online, so check what kind of account a younger player has before you set up Apex for them.

EA is blunt about this one: every Apex account deal with a third-party seller is unsafe and unauthorized. That covers buying or selling accounts, buying Battle Pass levels and tiers, and paying someone to level your account or collect items, which EA calls badge boosting. EA also never asks for your password, verification codes or login details by email, social media, forum message or console message.

Apex gives each EA Account exactly one profile. You can’t create extra profiles or sub-accounts under it, and EA lists smurfing (experienced players making extra accounts to disrupt beginners) as a rule break. A sibling or partner who shares your console should play on an EA Account of their own.

If you played before October 2023, it helps to know what happened when Cross Progression arrived. Several Apex accounts on one EA Account were merged into the profile with the highest account level. Progress spread across several EA Accounts was not merged, and EA can’t combine it now or restore content that was lost in the merge.

Try the self-service routes first: reset the password from EA’s sign-in page, sign in through a linked PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, Apple, Facebook or Google account, or verify your identity on a device you use often, which EA offers to some players. If none of that works, EA can try to recover the account. Have the original email, your EA ID, Xbox Gamertag or PlayStation Network Online ID, and invoice numbers for EA app purchases ready.

Store what EA asks for when something goes wrong, plus what you need on a new console or PC.