1. Resetting Password For Macbook - Ask Different
  2. Macbook Pro - Reset Admin Password For MacOS Mojave - Ask ...
  3. Reset Administrator Password Macbook Pro 15
  4. Reset Administrator Password Macbook Pro Factory
  5. Reset Admin Password Macbook Air

Apple’s new operating system put a high emphasis on information protection, so it comes with added security measures. Password, being the heart of macOS security, makes it difficult for anyone to access your precious sensitive data. Such that, forgetting it can be a real disaster because it will lock out of your computer.

Many would agree that getting locked out of your Mac is not always a fun experience. It will prevent you from installing apps, making changes in System Preferences, accessing your files, and sometimes, deleting key files on your Mac. So, what do you do if you forgot the password for Mac?

What to Do If You’re Locked Out of Your Mac?

So you forgot your Mac’s password? There is no need to panic. Sometimes, it happens without your wish – for instance, if you have been using your Apple Watch or iPhone to unlock your Mac, or if you bought your computer secondhand and you have no clue about the old password. And in any case, you can still regain access to your Mac.

Thankfully, macOS comes with built-in tools to help you reset your password in Mac when you are in a situation like this. In this post, we will share tips on how to reset your password in Mac.

Setup Assistant will now ask you to enter your ‘Full Name’ and ‘Password’ to create an Administrator account on your MacBook Pro. Enter the name ‘Test’ and password ‘test12345’ to. Or, if you have a different account on the Mac that you know the password to, you can recover your Mac admin password by following these steps: Click on the Apple logo in the top left of the tools bar and click Log Out. Select the alternative account and enter the password. Open System Preferences Users & Groups. One way to reset your password is using set Password assistant (FileVault must be on). If FileVault is on, follow these steps to reset your password: Wait up to a minute at the login screen, until you see a message saying that you can use the power button on your Mac to shut down and start up again in Recovery OS.

Reset Administrator Password Macbook Pro

Some of these tips require preventive measures to be taken beforehand, while others may only apply if you have linked your Apple ID to your admin account. Regardless of your situation, just know that there is a way to get back into your Mac.

Click here for a much simpler way Sorry about the recording quality, it was one of my earlier videos and I didn't know much abou.

But before we look into that, you need to tidy up your computer. Forgotten passwords are usually a consequence of using a cluttered Mac. For this reason, you need to clean up your Mac to allow the new password to log you into a tidy and organized system. Use a robust tool like TweakBit MacRepair to organize your digital folders, remove junk on your Mac, and improve your memory.

How to Reset Your Mac User Account Password?

To regain access to your Mac, use any of the following methods to reset your password:

Method #1: Get a Password Hint

Before attempting any password recovery trick, check if the password hint can ignite your memory. In this case, the password hint is a phrase relating to your password that you entered when you first set it up.

To trigger the hint, make three incorrect attempts:

  1. Go to System Preferences.
  2. Select Users & Groups.
  3. Tap on the Lock icon in the bottom-left corner.
  4. Now, press the Return key three times.
  5. After the third attempt, your password hint will appear below the Password field. Hopefully, it will create a eureka moment, making you recall the forgotten password.

Note that the hint may not show up. The reason is that your computer wasn’t set up to display password hints in the Login Options. But this issue should not bother you too much since there are other ways to reset your password.

Method #2: Use Another Admin Account to Reset the Password

If you have more than one admin account set up on your Mac – for instance, if you share your Mac with another person – you can use one of them to reset your password. Here is how to do it:

  1. Log into your other admin account.
  2. Now, open System Preferences and select Users & Groups.
  3. Click on the Lock icon to change the settings.
  4. Enter your username and password once again.
  5. In the left sidebar, choose the admin account you are locked out of, and then tap on the Reset Password button.
  6. Enter your new password twice. You should also create a hint because it will come in handy if you ever forget the password.
  7. Click Change password.
  8. That’s it. You can now log out of your other admin account and then log back into your Mac using the newly created password.

Method #3: Use Recovery Mode to Reset the Password

If you haven’t enabled the FileVault feature, there is even a more straightforward way to reset your password on your Mac: use Recovery Mode. Here is the process:

  1. Turn off your Mac.
  2. Press the Power button to turn it on back, then press the Command + R shortcut.
  3. Hold down the keys until the Apple logo appears. The process may take a while, but you will see a progress bar informing you that your device is booting into Recovery Mode.
  4. With your Mac in Recovery Mode, head to the menu bar and click Utilities > Terminal.
  5. Now, run the following command to launch the Reset Password Utility: resetpassword.
  6. After that, close the Terminal window to access the Reset Password tool.
  7. Choose the account you want to reset from the list of user accounts. To reset the password for your account, you need to create a new password for all users.
  8. Now, enter your new password plus a password hint.
  9. Click Save > OK.
  10. Restart your Mac and log in using the new password.

Method #4: Use Your Apple ID

After entering a wrong password a couple of times, macOS usually gives you an option to reset your password using your Apple ID. Alternatively, you can also tap on the question mark icon beside the password field to trigger the same process.

After keying in your Apple ID and password, you will get an alert letting you know that a new keychain that has your password will be generated. When the alert pops up, click OK and follow the rest of the prompts to create a new password. While your old keychain will remain locked, it will still be saved on your computer. So, you can unlock it if you ever remember the old password.

Note that this trick will only work if you have linked your user account with your Apple ID. Also, you shouldn’t have FileVault enabled.

Method #5: Use Target Disk Mode

If you can’t use any of the above password-resetting methods, your other alternative is to use Target Disk Mode. It will recover some data from your problematic Mac. In other words, you can access the hard disk of your Mac from another Mac.

To activate Target Disk Mode, follow the steps below:

  1. Shut down your computer.
  2. Now, connect the Mac to another Mac via a Thunderbolt cable. Sadly, this trick doesn’t work with USB.
  3. Turn on your Mac and hold down the T key as it boots.
  4. With your Mac in Target Disk Mode, you should be able to access it as a hard drive on your other Mac.

Last-Ditch Effort: Reinstall macOS

If you have FileVault enabled, and you can’t regain access to your account, your only remaining option is to reinstall macOS because you will not have access to any file on your computer. Hopefully, you have backup copies of these files because you cannot access without your password.

Reduce Incidences of Lost Password

Before you get locked out of your Mac, set up an Apple ID. This way, you have a backup way of getting into your Mac if you ever forget your account password. If possible, create more than one user account on your Mac. Also, change your user account password to something unique, but easy to remember.

On a related note, you can also manage all your passwords using the built-in password manager – Keychain Access. This way, you don’t have to remember them every time you log into your Mac. But, like in the case with passwords, you may also fail to access your Keychain due to various reasons. If that is the case, consult this guide to resolve the issue.

Summing Up

In this era of digital information, data protection is no longer a luxury. Some Mac users may prefer working without the need to log in, but this situation may put you in trouble, especially when you are required to maintain strict confidentiality. This security measure is inevitable for organizations these days, but not so good if you forgot the password for Mac.

Of course, it is always a good idea to remember your passwords and PIN codes. But if you find yourself locked out of your Mac, you don’t have to fret because you now know how to get back in. You can use any of the above methods to regain access to your Mac. But if all else fails, consider reporting the incident to Apple.

Resetting Password For Macbook - Ask Different

Do you have other worries about resetting or changing your Mac’s password? Share them in the comments.

If you’re running into errors and your system is suspiciously slow, your computer needs some maintenance work. Download Outbyte PC Repair for Windows, Outbyte Antivirus for Windows, or Outbyte MacRepair for macOS to resolve common computer performance issues. Fix computer troubles by downloading the compatible tool for your device.
See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.

Macbook Pro - Reset Admin Password For MacOS Mojave - Ask ...

The password of your macOS user account is also known as your login password. It's the password that you use to log in to your Mac and make certain changes, such as installing software.

Change your password

Reset Administrator Password Macbook Pro 15

If you know your password and can use it to log in to your account, you can change your password in Users & Groups preferences:

  1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Users & Groups.
  2. Select your user name from the list of users.
  3. Click the Change Password button, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Reset your password

If you don't remember your password, or it isn't working, you might be able to reset it using one of the methods described below. But first try these simpler solutions:

  • Make sure that you're typing the correct uppercase or lowercase characters. If your keyboard has Caps Lock turned on, the password field shows a Caps Lock symbol .
  • If the password field shows a question mark, click it to display a password hint that might help you to remember.
  • Try to log in without a password. If that works, you can then add a password by following the steps to change your password.
  • Try to log in with the Apple ID password that you use for iCloud. If you just changed that password and the new password isn't working, try the old password first. If that works, you should be able to use the new password from then on.

Reset using your Apple ID

In some macOS versions, you can use your Apple ID to reset your login password. At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using Apple ID. If you don't see the message after three attempts, your account isn't set up to allow resetting with Apple ID.

  1. Click next to the Apple ID message, then follow the onscreen instructions to enter your Apple ID and create a new password. You'll be asked to restart when done.
  2. Log in with your new password.
  3. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

Reset Administrator Password Macbook Pro Factory

Password

Reset using another admin account

If you know the name and password of an admin account on your Mac, you can use that account to reset the password.

Reset Admin Password Macbook Air

  1. Log in with the name and password of the other admin account.
  2. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Users & Groups.
  3. Click , then enter the admin name and password again.
  4. Select your user name from the list of users.
  5. Click the Reset Password button, then follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password:
  6. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
  7. Log in to your account using your new password.
  8. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

Reset using the Reset Password assistant (FileVault must be on)

If FileVault is turned on, you might be able to reset your password using the Reset Password assistant:

  1. Wait up to a minute at the login screen, until you see a message saying that you can use the power button on your Mac to shut down and start up again in Recovery OS. If you don't see this message, FileVault isn't on.
  2. Press and hold the power button until your Mac turns off.
  3. Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.
  4. When the Reset Password window appears, follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password.
    If you need to connect to Wi-Fi, move your pointer to the top of the screen and use the Wi-Fi menu to connect. To exit without resetting your password, choose Apple menu > Restart.
  5. When done, click Restart.
  6. If you were able to reset your password with the Reset Password assistant, log in to your account using your new password.
  7. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

Reset using your Recovery Key (FileVault must be on)

If FileVault is turned on and you have a FileVault Recovery Key, you can use that key to reset your password.

  1. At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using your Recovery Key. If you don't see the message after three attempts, FileVault isn't on.
  2. Click next to the message. The password field changes to a Recovery Key field.
  3. Enter your Recovery Key. Use uppercase characters, and include the hyphens.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password, then click Reset Password when done.
  5. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

If you can't log in with your new password after restarting your Mac, take these additional steps:

  1. Restart again, then immediately hold down Command-R or one of the other macOS Recovery key combinations until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
  2. When you see the macOS Utilities window, choose Utilities > Terminal from the menu bar.
  3. In the Terminal window, type resetpassword, then press Return to open the Reset Password assistant pictured above.
  4. Select ”My password doesn't work when logging in,” then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions for your user account.

Create a new login keychain, if necessary

After resetting your password and logging back in to your account, you might see an alert that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. This is expected, because the passwords for your user account and login keychain no longer match. Just click the Create New Keychain button in the alert.

If you didn't see an alert about your login keychain, or you see other messages asking for your old password, reset your keychain manually:

  1. Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  2. Choose Preferences from the Keychain Access menu, then click the Reset My Default Keychain button in the preferences window. After you enter your new password, Keychain Access creates an empty login keychain with no password. Click OK to confirm.
    If you don't see a Reset My Default keychain button, close the preferences window and select the “login” keychain from the left side of the Keychain Access window. Press the Delete key, then click Delete References.
  3. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu to return to the login screen.
  4. Log in to your account using your new password. Your account password and login keychain password now match again.

If you still can't log in

If you still can't log in with your password, contact Apple Support for help.