Restart your Mac and see if FileVault accepts the new password. If not, try step 5. Boot Recovery Mode and open Terminal. Execute resetpassword to open the Password Reset Assistant. When prompted, choose 'My password doesn't work when logging in'. Try your new password first; if that doesn't work then try your old password. Jan 08, 2018 If you've been using your iPhone or Apple Watch (or Touch ID on MacBook Pro) to unlock your Mac, it's possible that you might forget what your user account password is. There are a few ways you can change or reset your Mac user account password that you can try to help get you back in. New Mac Hack Can Steal Your Passwords: What to Do Now By Jesus Diaz 06 February 2019 The exploit can't be avoided in any convenient way and it affects computers running macOS Mojave and lower.
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?
Resetting your Password. Apple includes several options for resetting account passwords in OS X. The approaches I outline below depend on how much access to your Mac you currently have. Jun 12, 2020 Tap Create New Apple ID. If you don't see this option, make sure you're signed out of iCloud. Enter your email, password, and choose the country or region that matches the billing address for your payment method. The email address you provide will be your new Apple ID.
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.
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.
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:
- Go to System Preferences.
- Select Users & Groups.
- Tap on the Lock icon in the bottom-left corner.
- Now, press the Return key three times.
- 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:
- Log into your other admin account.
- Now, open System Preferences and select Users & Groups.
- Click on the Lock icon to change the settings.
- Enter your username and password once again.
- In the left sidebar, choose the admin account you are locked out of, and then tap on the Reset Password button.
- Enter your new password twice. You should also create a hint because it will come in handy if you ever forget the password.
- Click Change password.
- 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:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Press the Power button to turn it on back, then press the Command + R shortcut.
- 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.
- With your Mac in Recovery Mode, head to the menu bar and click Utilities > Terminal.
- Now, run the following command to launch the Reset Password Utility: resetpassword.
- After that, close the Terminal window to access the Reset Password tool.
- 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.
- Now, enter your new password plus a password hint.
- Click Save > OK.
- 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:
- Shut down your computer.
- Now, connect the Mac to another Mac via a Thunderbolt cable. Sadly, this trick doesn't work with USB.
- Turn on your Mac and hold down the T key as it boots.
- 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. Mac won t backup to external hard drive. 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.
Do you have other worries about resetting or changing your Mac's password? Share them in the comments.
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Just like Windows, Mac is another operating system that is being used by millions of people around the world. At certain points, it considered better than Windows. However, the fundamental usages on both are quite similar. Just the way of doing things is different. In this article, I am going to explain how to reset your Mac login or admin password if you forgot it by chance.
There are certain ways and methods that you can employ to reset the password of you Mac OS X in case you forgot it. There might be many ways of resetting the Mac password but I am explaining the three ways that I am familiar with.
Method 1: Reset Mac Admin Password Using Your Apple ID
Mac Password Manager
One of the simplest and easiest ways to reset Mac OS X password is resetting by using your Apple ID.Now since you forgot your password, just enter wrong passwords many times on the login screen, and you will see a message just as you can see in the screenshot below that states that you can reset the password using the Apple ID.
There you can also see a small arrow that you have to click to reset the password. Follow the on-screen instruction, and in few minutes you will be able to reset your password. This method is simple and effective! I prefer this one over any other method, and that is the reason, I kept this on the top on my list.
Note: This method will work only if you already have the Apple ID linked to your account. If you're Windows 10 user, don't forgot to check our other guide for Windows 10 password reset.
Method 2: Mac OS X's Password Recovery Utility To Reset Your Password
Mac OS X has inbuilt password recovery utility that you can use to reset the password.
Follow the steps below:
1) Start your Mac computer by pressing the Power button.
2) Press Command + R immediately to boot your Mac computer to recovery drive.
Step 3. Now you will see the recovery utility screen. Select Terminal from Utilities Menu. Then type the command: resetpassword in the Terminal.
Step 4. Press the Enter button, and the Password Recovery Utility will be opened. There you have to select the volume that contains the user account which is by default: Macintosh HD. Enter a new password, and click on save.
Important Note: Keep the Terminal open while doing all this process.
Step 5. Restart your Mac computer, and when it asks the password, enter the password you have just set in step 4, and you will be able to log in.
Method 3: Use Terminal To Reset Your OS X Password
Before you get on to try this method, let me tell you a few things:
1. This method will create a new admin account, and then you can use that account to reset your existing account's password.
2. Though this method is well tested, you must have the backup of your data. And, we don't take any responsibilities of any damage that may happen (in rare cases) while carrying out this method.
3. Try this method only if no other method works for you.
Follow the steps below to carry out the password reset using Terminal:
Step 1. Press power button to turn your Mac On. Ms access odbc driver for mac. And Press and hold Command + S
Follow the steps below:
1) Start your Mac computer by pressing the Power button.
2) Press Command + R immediately to boot your Mac computer to recovery drive.
Step 3. Now you will see the recovery utility screen. Select Terminal from Utilities Menu. Then type the command: resetpassword in the Terminal.
Step 4. Press the Enter button, and the Password Recovery Utility will be opened. There you have to select the volume that contains the user account which is by default: Macintosh HD. Enter a new password, and click on save.
Important Note: Keep the Terminal open while doing all this process.
Step 5. Restart your Mac computer, and when it asks the password, enter the password you have just set in step 4, and you will be able to log in.
Method 3: Use Terminal To Reset Your OS X Password
Before you get on to try this method, let me tell you a few things:
1. This method will create a new admin account, and then you can use that account to reset your existing account's password.
2. Though this method is well tested, you must have the backup of your data. And, we don't take any responsibilities of any damage that may happen (in rare cases) while carrying out this method.
3. Try this method only if no other method works for you.
Follow the steps below to carry out the password reset using Terminal:
Step 1. Press power button to turn your Mac On. Ms access odbc driver for mac. And Press and hold Command + S
Step 2. Microsoft suite for mac free. Doing this will open the Terminal in single user mode. If you see the below screen, you are successfully entered into the single user mode of Terminal.
Step 3. Now, you need to execute a set of commands one by one that I have listed below. Remember, after every command you type, you have to press the enter button to execute that command.
mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown –h
Step 4. After the last command, your Mac will be shut down. Press power button to start again. You will see the Mac startup screen. Follow the steps that are narrated by your Mac to create an admin account.
Apple Mac Password Manager
Step 5. Now, you will be logged in using your new admin account. Go to Users & Groups from System Preferences.
Step 6. Now, Click on the lock icon to authenticate. And enter the admin user and password you have just created.
Step 7. Now you will see all the user accounts that are present on your Mac. You just have to select the account which password you need to reset, and just do it.
Once you are done with the resetting the password of the account, you may log out of the newly created admin account, and log in with the account which password you have just reset using the new password.
Verdict
Mac Password Recovery
These are the three best ways to reset the Mac login password when you forgot it. For better security, note down your password somewhere, and keep that safe! Hope you like these methods.
Best Password Manager For Mac
