Even the finest of us experience it. You have probably lost a password at some time, regardless of how good your memory is. You just need to click a few buttons, provide your email address, and get a link to change your password when it comes to online accounts, such as social media. If you can’t remember your laptop’s password, it’s not that simple. Don’t worry, however; even if you can’t remember your Mac’s password, you can still access it.
You’re not locked out forever, so take a big breath. Apple understands how frustrating a lost password can be for an individual. As a result, the business has included a solution in MacOS for this same situation in addition to its security measures to guard devices from unwanted access.
There are many ways to unlock your Mac without a password, and the approach you take may vary depending on whether you have one of the new M1 Macs or whether you connected your Apple ID to your Mac’s user account during setup. It’s okay if you didn’t connect your Apple ID since you may still change your account password in another way. To begin taking back control of your Mac, follow these steps.
Note: Apple advises that you make sure you’re using the right input source for your language by choosing the Input menu (keyboard icon) in the Menu bar, check Caps Lock, and confirm that you’re using the login password for your Mac rather than the Apple ID password before you begin. By selecting the question mark symbol next to the password field on the login page, you may see whether you have a password hint configured. Before trying recovery, ensure sure the correct account is chosen if you have several user accounts.
To change the password on your Mac, use your Apple ID.
Ideally, when you first set up your Mac, you connected your Apple ID to your user account. This way, you can change your user password with a few clicks.
You will be prompted to restart your computer in order to access the password recovery options after three unsuccessful attempts to input the incorrect user password. After it reboots, you will be prompted to choose which user account you want to change the password for, sign in using your Apple ID, and then enter a new password.
A snapshot of a MacBook displaying the choices for changing the password in the Apple macOS login window
A few alternatives will be shown to you so that you may change your password.
With some Macs, you can get an alternative screen with the option to reset your password using your Apple ID or, if enabled, your recovery key created with FireVault. It has been discussed in further depth at the conclusion of this guide.
A notice that reads, “Your account is locked,” can also appear. Give it another go in [duration]. If so, wait until the specified amount of time has elapsed, restart your Mac, and then repeat the previous procedures.
To unlock your Mac, use a different administrator account.
If a friend or family member you share your Mac with forgets their password, you probably can reset it for them. Here, having access to an admin user account is crucial.
You may verify by login into your account, going to System Preferences > Users & Groups, and looking at the list of user accounts on your Mac. Typically, the person who first set up the Mac has an admin account by default. If “Admin” appears in the account type field, which is just underneath the user name, you may reset user passwords.
You may do this by clicking on the lock on the Users & Groups page and, when requested, entering your admin name and password. After choosing the person for whom you need to reset the password, click the Reset Password option and adhere to the prompts.
circumvent-mac-user-password
When creating new passwords for other Mac users, don’t forget to write them down.
The next best option is Recovery Mode.
You’ll need to start your Mac in Recovery Mode to open the password reset utility if none of those approaches work. I’ve discovered that shutting down your Mac entirely is the simplest method to do it.
The method you use to enter Recovery Mode will then vary based on the kind of Mac you own. push and hold the Command and R buttons on your keyboard, then push the power button for Macs with Intel processors. Holding down Command+R will cause a progress bar to appear underneath the Apple logo. Although you may also restart your Mac and attempt to timing the Command+R keyboard combination to enter Recovery Mode, I’ve found that beginning with your Mac off is the most effective way.
Monterey recovery alternatives for macOS
You must first switch off the computer and then press and hold the power button until an options button appears on the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini that employ Apple’s M1 CPU. After clicking it, choose Recovery. (We go over Recovery Mode on the M1 Macs in further detail.)
Now that your Mac is in Recovery Mode, choose Terminal from the menu bar after selecting Utilities. You will be prompted to enter a command in a new window. Press Return after typing “resetpassword” as a single word without quotations.
The Reset Password tool will appear once you close the Terminal window. Follow the instructions, which involve choosing the user account for which you need to change the password after logging in with your Apple ID.
The 50-inch MacBook Pro 16-inch
There are two ways to change the password for your user account if you utilize FileVault.
You may use your recovery key if your Mac has FileVault enabled.
Encrypting your Mac’s hard disk and all of the data stored on it is possible using FileVault, an optional MacOS feature. It may be enabled later in System Preferences, although it’s usually enabled on first setup.
There are two more ways to reset your user password if you have FileVault enabled. To restart the Mac into Recovery mode, you may wait up to a minute for a prompt to appear on the user login screen telling you to push the power button. A Reset Password box should appear once you restart your computer according to the instructions.
Using the Recovery Key that you need to have noted down when you activated FileVault is the alternative. Although most of us don’t, if you did, you may input the recovery key when prompted to do so after three unsuccessful attempts at logging in. The hyphens must be entered and capitalized letters must be used.
You will see a popup offering other system recovery choices, such as restoring from a time machine, reinstalling MacOS, using Disk Utility, and using Terminal, if you choose not to change your password using your Apple ID or recovery key. To launch the Reset Password helper, select Terminal, input resetpassword, and then click Return. Reinstalling macOS could be a good way to reset your Mac if nothing else works.
If your kid forget their password, any of the techniques we described will work well to get them back into your account. Naturally, anybody with access to your computer can use this to access your Mac if you can. By being more proactive during setup and keeping recovery keys and passwords in mind, you may avoid it from occurring. To lock down your Mac, follow these steps.