May 23, 2019Andrew Miller
Forgot Mac password and couldn’t enter your MacBook or iMac? This post shows 3 simple ways to reset your Mac password with Apple ID, Recovery Mode and another admin account. A powerful Data Recovery is recommended to ensure you get all lost Mac data back with ease.
- Nov 30, 2020 Choose Apple menu System Preferences, then click Apple ID. Click Password & Security. If you're asked to enter your Apple ID password, click 'Forgot Apple ID or password' and follow the onscreen instructions. You can skip the final steps below.
- Using Reset Password Assistant. Press the Power button on your Mac to shut it off. Press the Power button on your Mac to turn it back on. When the Reset Password window appears, tick the box for I forgot my password. Enter a new password. Click on Restart. Enter the new user account password to log in.
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. How To Remove PASSWORD on MacBook Pro All Macs! Unlock Passcode for Pro Air iMac Mac ProHey everyone! Heres an even simpler video on how to log on/reset.
Is there any simple way to bypass Mac password and log into the Mac? I forgot the password of my old Macbook which is running OSX 10.11 El Capitan. Will resetting Mac passcord erase all data on it? Please help!
With so many passwords needed to remember nowadays, it’s quite normal to suddenly forget one. This post will mainly talk about the forgot Mac password issue. You are not allowed to access any data on Mac when you can’t remember its password.
Good thing is, there are still ways to help you bypass and reset Mac password. This post shows 3 best solutions to deal with this situation. If you are happened to forget Mac password, just keep reading to solve the problem.
- Part 1. Reset Mac Password with Apple ID
- Part 2. Reset Mac Password with Recovery Mode
- Part 3. Reset Mac Password with Another Admin Account
- Part 4. Recover Lost Data After Resetting Mac Password
Part 1. Reset Mac Password with Apple ID
When you forgot Mac password, before resetting Mac passcord, you can first try some basic ways to enter the computer. You need to make sure you typed the right password, including uppercase or lowercase characters, Caps Lock and so on. Also, you can rely on the question mark to find the password back. After all these trying, you can take the following guide to reset Mac password.
Click the “question mark” icon which next to the password field when you get to the login screen. Here you can get a prompt message that “If you forgot your password, you can reset it using your Apple ID”. Here you can click the next icon to input your Apple ID and related password.
Note: Here you need to enter a wrong password at least three times to see the reset option. Check this post to learn how to reset Apple ID.
Click “OK” when you see the pop-up window. This operation will create a new keychain to store user’s passwords.
Now you need to enter the new password twice and a password hint. The click the “Reset Password” to confirm the operation.
Part 2. Reset Mac Password with Recovery Mode
You can choose to use Recovery Mode to reset passcord when you forgot Mac password. Below are the detailed steps:
Restart your Mac and keep pressing “Command” + “R” until you see the Apple logo. When you see the progress bar, that means you are entering the Recovery Mode.
![Administrator Administrator](https://cnet1.cbsistatic.com/img/b6ym9TwvaFAXIsjVX_zL-HbItFo=/940x0/2020/11/16/9ea6b00b-808b-4ce7-8772-ea832fb306cc/img-1725-2.jpg)
Click “Utilities” in the menu and then choose “Terminal”. Type “resetpassword” and press “Enter key” when you enter the Terminal.
From the drop-down menu, you can choose the Apple account you forget password. Then you can enter the new password twice and a password hint to reset your Mac password.
Note: Resetting Mac password with Recovery Mode will take your Mac to an earlier OS version. Here are three options offered, forgot your password, Mac password isn’t working, and keyboard isn’t working.
Part 3. Reset Mac Password with Another Admin Account
If you have another Mac admin account, you can reset Mac password with the admin account.
On the Apple account login window, enter another admin account.
When you enter Mac, click “System Preferences” and then click “Users & Groups”.
Click the lock and sign in the admin account again. Then you can choose the Apple account that you forgot Mac password. Click “Reset Password” here.
Enter new password twice and a password hint in case you forget Mac passwords once again. Click “Change Password” to confirm the operation. After that, you can log out of the admin account the sign in with the original one.
Read More: How to Restore a MacBook Pro to Factory Settings
Part 4. Recover Lost Data After Resetting Mac Password
Many solutions on the internet claim that they can help you bypass and reset Mac password. However, some wrong operations will easily lead to important data loss. Here we sincerely recommend a professional Mac data recovering tool, Mac Data Recovery for you to find all lost Mac files back. It enables you to recover any frequently-used data like images, videos, audio, emails, various documents and more.
Free download, install and launch this powerful Mac Data Recovery on your Mac. Click the “Start” button under the Mac Data Recovery feature.
When you enter the main interface, click 'Scan' to start a quick scan on your Mac. It also provides a “Deep Scan” feature.
After scanning, you can click specific data type on the left pane and then check details on the right. Select the data you want to recover and click 'Recover' to directly restore them to your Mac.
Mac Data Recovery has the capability to recover almost all deleted/lost files like photos, documents, emails, audio, videos and more from Mac, hard drive, flash drive, memory card, digital camera, and so on. Data loss due to different reasons like mistakenly deletion, formatted partition, hard drive problem, RAW hard drive, crashed Mac and more can be easily restored. Just free download it and recover your lost Mac files.
This post shows 3 simple ways to help you reset Mac password. When forgot Mac password, you can choose any one of them to access your Mac again. What’s more, we introduce you with a powerful Mac Data Recovery in case some valuable data loss while the password resetting. Leave us a message if you still have any question.
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Keep your passwords safe
Get Secrets, a secure password manager app for Mac.
We all have dozens and even hundreds of passwords to remember. Your Mac password, like a credit card PIN number, is one of the most important, so it can be a nightmare if you forget it. But it’s not the end of the world. There are a few easy ways you can reset your Mac password and make sure you don’t lose it ever again.
How to recover a forgotten Mac password
Secure experience is something you can’t emphasize enough while dealing with Apple devices. Hence the importance of a safe Mac password. While it could be easy to physically steal a computer, there’s little chance someone can mess with your data unless they know the password. So it’s wise to take a few precautionary measures to avoid losing it and make it easier to recover.
Easy way to reset passwords
Setapp has a reset scenario catered for you if you forget Mac login password. Just saying.
Apple wired keyboard and mouse.
Apple wired keyboard and mouse.
Use Recovery Mode
Hope this is just a “what-if” for you, but let’s imagine it happened. You forgot Mac password and can’t access any of your accounts. There are no password hints and you can’t call it to mind, even though you’ve already tried to enter all pet names. For such cases, there’s Apple’s Recovery Mode.
To activate the Recovery Mode:
- Turn off your computer and hold the power button + Command R. Wait for the loading bar to appear on the screen while your Mac boots to Recovery.
- Next, choose Disk Utility > Continue > Utilities Terminal.
- Type “resetpassword” (in one word) and click Return.
- Go to the main hard drive and choose your user account.
- Lastly, change Mac password, create a hint to easily recollect it in future, and click save. You’ll be able to use the new password after a restart.
Reset password with Apple ID
If you have an Apple ID tied to your user account on Mac, you can use it to reset password from the login window. The option should be available by default. Otherwise, you can enable it in System Preferences > Users & Groups > Allows user to reset password using Apple ID.
To make a go of this, click on the question mark next to the password field that you see on the login screen. Agree to the option to reset with Apple ID and enter wrong login credentials three times to be able to create the new password. Once you get to the reset screen, input a new password two times, create a hint, and save.
Change password from another account
Lucky you if you have more than one user account on your Mac. Or, if your mother/brother/girlfriend/dog ever use your computer to log in to their personal accounts (yes, now you owe them a thank you). Here’s how to recover Mac password, using another account you have a password to:
- Log out of your admin user account
- Choose another account and enter the password
- Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Lock icon
- Use the password for the alternative account to unlock
- Reset the password for your admin account (type in a password > verify > create a hint > save).
Good news: You have a new password. Bad news: You still won’t be able to log in to your account if you don’t have the Keychain password and can’t create the new one. The thing is, to unlock all the features that require Mac Password, you should be able to access the Apple’s password management system, Keychain. Unless you remember the access data, you’ll have to create the new password with an admin account. If the account you used isn’t registered as admin, you’ll have to go for the Recovery Mode option.
Get a hint for your password
If you forgot Apple password, you can recover it with a hint. This is, by far, the most painless way to win back your access. Therefore, we encourage you to create hints each time you choose a new password. It takes a few simple actions:
- Access System Preferences > Users & Groups
- Click on the Lock icon > user name
- Select the option to change password and add a phrase/word you associate with a newly created password in “Password hint (recommended).”
One more important thing. To ensure your password hint shows up when you need it, you should allow your Mac to display hints. In the Users $ Groups, click on Login options and check the box next to “Show password hints.” Ready to go.
To see the hint you created, access User Groups in the System Preferences, unlock to make changes, and press Return three times. After the third time, your hint will appear right below the password field. Unless you’ve created the hint ages ago, this should help to refresh your memory.
Resort to Target Disk Mode
Another option is to access the hard drive of your Mac via another computer. Basically, Target Disk Mode allows you to save any data from the your Mac’s hard drive.
To enter the Target Disk Mode
Apple Macbook Pro Forgot Login Password
- Shut down your computer and use FireWire or Thunderbolt cable to connect another Mac.
- Click on the power button while holding the T button and wait for the hard drive to appear on the screen.
That’s it. You can now easily access and recover any data from your Mac.
Always protect your data
Resetting password could make your Mac vulnerable. Particularly, Recovery Mode is kind of a security hole: If someone can get access to your computer, it’s pretty easy to boot into recovery and reset password. To prevent this from happening you should encrypt the data on your hard drive with a built-in FileVault utility. Ensure you unlock Password Reset with Disk Utility and activate FileVault on your Mac.
To activate FileVault in the Apple System
- Go to System Preferences
- Click on Security & Privacy > FileVault
- Unlock to enter your login and password
- Select “Turn on FileVault”
- Save Recovery key and password that you receive upon activating FileVault
Find lost passwords using Keychain Access
In case you’ve lost one of your internet logins or don’t remember the password to your WiFi, it’s very likely that you can recover it using your Mac’s native password manager — Keychain Access. Replacement for apple wired keyboard.
To recover a password with Keychain Access:
- Launch the utility from your Applications folder
- Use the search field in the top-right corner to filter for what you’re looking for
- Double-click on the wanted item
- Check Show Password and enter the Keychain Password to reveal it
Although Keychain Access can be very useful in finding passwords you thought were lost forever, it’s rarely used intentionally due to its clunky interface and messy save-all password behavior. However, using a password manager nowadays in general is a must. And if you have to start somewhere, look no further than Secrets.
Store passwords on Mac, securely
Http www apple com mac compare. Grab Secrets along with your Setapp perks and worry not about privacy.
Store passwords using Secrets
Secrets is a simple but robust password manager that can become your central point of reference when looking for passwords, WiFi passcodes, secure notes, credit card numbers, and other personal information.
The app is supported by the industry-standard PGP encryption so none of your files will ever get exposed. And no, saving your passwords in the Notes app or on paper is not a good idea. Thankfully, Secrets is very easy to use.
- Download and launch Secrets
- Proceed through the setup guide
- To save your first password just click on the plus icon next to the search field and fill out all the necessary information
Additionally, Secrets has an importing feature where you can download all your existing passwords from other managers or even as a simple .csv file. And moving forward, Secrets can be populated through a handy browser extension with a quick built-in password generator.
![Password Password](https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/osx/macbookpro-change-reset-password-login-hero.jpg)
Taking all the necessary measures to stay safe online is a must. This includes having good password hints for your Mac, knowing how to navigate through the Recovery Mode, and of course using a good password manager like Secrets, which is available for a free trial through Setapp, a platform of over 200 best Mac utilities that can help you out in just about any scenario.
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