Due to the robust security within Apple’s new macOS operating system, there is a high emphasis on data protection. Whether you’re simply logging in, downloading new software, or trying to delete files or apps from the hard drive, you will always need to input your Mac password. Here are a few ways you can remember or reset it and get back to using your Mac.
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How to avoid forgetting passwords?
Hey guys, today I am going to be showing you how to reset the password of any account on your MAC device without losing any data!.This method works on all M. To reveal the password, double-click the entry to open it, and then click the “Show password” checkbox, followed by supplying your Mac’s account password when prompted. Alternatively, as with the Safari password list, you can right-click the entry and choose the option to copy the password to the clipboard (or press Shift-Command-C),.
Often when Mac users forget their passwords, it’s the consequence of having a cluttered Mac. With an overload of information to sieve through every day, people have a tendency to forget information. So, first and foremost, you should clean up your Mac to make sure your new password is the one entering you into a tidy and organised computer.
With CleanMyMac X, you can remove large and unwanted files, organising your digital folders and clearing your physical headspace. With its smart, one-click cleaning approach and powerful scanning, you can swiftly dispose of useless documents and apps which may even be slowing your Mac down. With CleanMyMac, you can launch a Smart Scan, removing systems junk, photo and file duplicates, and everything else that will clog up your Mac.
In addition, this amazing tool is free to download, so what are you waiting for?
How to reset a password
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Get a password hint
Before resetting your password, you should always check to see if the password hint jogs your memory. The ‘hint’ is a phrase you entered relating to the password when you first set it up, and is triggered once you make 3 incorrect password attempts:
- Open System Preferences (the app with the cog icon).
- Select ‘Users & Groups.’
- Click the Lock icon in the bottom left to make changes.
- Press the Return key 3 times.
The screen will shake each time you press Return, with the third shake generating the password hint which will appear below the Password field. Hopefully this initiates a Eureka Moment making you remember the Login and brings an end to the password perils.
Sometimes though, the hint doesn’t show up. That’s because the Mac wasn’t set up to show password hints in the Login Options – only modified by logging into your Mac. Fortunately, there are an array of other solutions to finding your password.
Change password from another account
In the event that you happen to share your Mac with another person, and they have their own account, you can use their Login to reset your password. 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.
- Click the Lock icon in the bottom left.
- Enter the password again.
- In the Sidebar, select the account with the missing password.
- Click change password.
- Fill in the New Password, Verify and Password Hint fields.
- Click Change Password.
Now, the password for that account has been changed, allowing you to log in using the new password. However, this doesn’t change the password for the Keychain (macOS’s password management system), and you’ll be asked when you log into the account to update the keychain password. This requires you to enter the old forgotten password, so you’ll have to click ‘Create New Keychain’.
This introduces a further problem, because if the other user isn’t the registered Admin, they won’t be able to change the password for you. Luckily, there is an alternative solution to recovering your password.
Use Recovery Mode
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Apple provides a tool to replace a Mac’s password through bypassing all of the previous steps. This is the best option if you don’t have a password hint, can’t log in via another account and have completely forgotten your password.
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- Turn off your Mac.
- Press the power button whilst holding Command + R.
- The Mac will boot into Recovery Mode – when you see the load bar appear you can let go of the keys.
- Select ‘Disk Utility’ and press Continue.
- Go to Utilities > Terminal.
- Enter ‘resetpassword’ and press the Return key.
- Select the main hard drive.
- Select the User Account (the account you’d like to change).
- Enter a new password and create a password hint.
- Click Save – a warning will appear that the Keychain Password hasn’t changed. Click OK.
- Shut Down your Mac and start it up again. Now you can log in using the new password.
Protect Your Data
Due to the fact Recovery Mode provides a nifty means to resetting the Mac password, you may be wary that anyone can hack your Mac – and once someone accesses your Mac, you’ve usually lost control over it. So, it’s a good job there’s some interventions you can make to prevent this happening.
The best way to protect your data is to active FileVault encryption. This means that the Password Reset option won’t become available unless you unlock it with Disk Utility. To turn it on and set it up:
- Choose Apple > System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
- Click the FileVault tab.
- Click the Lock icon, and enter Login credentials.
- Click Turn on FileVault.
Once done, you will receive a Recovery Key and a password, which you should take note of. If you lose these, your data won’t be able to be recovered and will be lost forever.
Another effective way to protect the data on your Mac is to download tried and tested app CleanMyMac X. With automatic clean-ups and regular system monitors, your data is continuously observed and safeguarded from any piracy or hacking.
Use Target Disk Mode
If all else fails, Target Disk Mode can help you recover whatever you can from the lost Mac. Using another Mac, you can access the hard drive on the lost Mac and save any wanted data.
- Shut down the Mac.
- Connect to another Mac using a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable.
- Start up your Mac and hold the T key while it loads.
- This activates Target Disk Mode.
The hard drive from the lost Mac should now appear, allowing you to recover and save wanted data onto the new Mac.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
Do you have other worries about resetting or changing your Mac’s password? Share them in the comments.
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