Reset Password For User Mac



  • An administrator can reset the passwords of other users. On your Mac, choose Apple menu System Preferences, then click Users & Groups. Open Users & Groups preferences for me. Click the lock icon to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password. Select a user, then click Reset Password.
  • You’ve come to the right place to reset a forgotten password. For your security, we’ll ask you a few questions to verify that you’re the owner of this account.

Reset the password of the old account from the Users & Groups preference pane. None of these options resets the password of the login keychain. If FileVault 2 is enabled, you have to enter a password to start up in single user mode, and you can't use Reset Password.app to reset the password of an account. Launch your Mac into the single user mode. First of all prepare to password reset the old accounts.

Reset your password

Use the steps below to reset your password from any trusted iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. You can also use a friend or family member's iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If that doesn't work, you may not be signed into iCloud on an eligible device or have two-factor authentication enabled for your Apple ID. Follow these steps instead.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap [your name] > Password & Security > Change Password.
  3. If you are signed into iCloud and have a passcode enabled, you will be prompted to enter the passcode for your device.
  4. Follow the onscreen steps to update your password.

On your Mac

With macOS Catalina:

  1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Apple ID.
  2. Click Password & Security.
  3. 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.
  4. Click Change Password. Before you can reset your Apple ID password, you'll be required to enter the password you used to unlock your Mac.

With macOS Mojave, High Sierra, or Sierra:

  1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
  2. Choose Account Details.
  3. 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.
  4. Click Security > Reset Password or Change Password. Before you can reset your Apple ID password, you'll be required to enter the password you used to unlock your Mac.

Use a trusted phone number, trusted email, or a recovery key

In some cases, you may be able to reset your password using a trusted phone number and trusted email. If you use a recovery key for account security, you can use it to help reset your password on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Learn more about using a recovery key.

If you can't access any of your devices

You can reset your Apple ID password on a friend or family member's iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using the Apple Support app or the Find My iPhone app.

Use the Apple Support app

To reset your password using the Apple Support app on a friend or family member's iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 12 or later, the device owner will need to download the Apple Support app.

Ask the device owner to open the App Store on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, then search for Apple Support and download the app. Then open the Apple Support app and follow these steps:

  1. Under Topics, tap Passwords & Security.
  2. Tap Reset Apple ID password.
  3. Tap Get Started, then tap 'A different Apple ID.'
  4. Enter the Apple ID that you need to reset the password for.
  5. Tap Next, then follow the steps on your screen until you receive confirmation that your Apple ID password is changed.

Any information that you enter will not be stored on the device.

Use the Find My iPhone app

If your friend or family member uses iOS 9 through 12 and they can't download the Apple Support app, use the Find My iPhone app instead.

  1. Open the Find My iPhone app.
  2. When a Sign In screen appears, make sure the Apple ID field is empty. If you see someone else's user name, erase it.
  3. Tap Forgot Apple ID or Password, then follow the onscreen steps.

Don't see a Sign In screen? Tap Sign Out. After you sign out, make sure the Apple ID field is empty. Then tap Forgot Apple ID or Password, and follow the onscreen steps.

If you tried the previous steps or live in a country or region where Support App is not available, you can still reset your password and regain access to your account with account recovery. In some cases, you might have the option to speed up the account recovery process or reset your password immediately by verifying a six-digit code sent to your primary email address. Learn more about account recovery.

If you can't change or reset your password

If you tried the previous steps and were unable to change or reset your password, you may not be signed into iCloud on an eligible device or have two-factor authentication enabled for your Apple ID. You'll need to try these steps instead.

Accounts with or without security questions

  1. Go to your Apple ID account page and click 'Forgot Apple ID or password.'
  2. Enter your Apple ID. Did you forget your Apple ID?
  3. Select the option to reset your password, then choose Continue.
  4. Choose how to reset your password:
    • If you have an account with security questions set up, you can select 'Answer security questions' and follow the rest of the steps.
    • To get email instead, select 'Get an email.' To reset your password, use the email that we send to your primary or rescue email address. Didn't get the email?
    • If asked for a Recovery Key, use the steps for two-factor authentication or two-step verification instead.

After you reset your password, you'll be asked to sign in again with your new password. You also might need to update your password in Settings on your devices.

Accounts with two-step verification

  1. Go to your Apple ID account page and click 'Forgot Apple ID or password.'
  2. Enter your Apple ID, select the option to reset your password, then choose Continue. Did you forget your Apple ID?
  3. Enter your Recovery Key for two-step verification.*
  4. Choose a trusted device.* We'll send your device a verification code.
  5. Enter the verification code.
  6. Create a new password, then select Reset Password.

After you reset your password, you'll be asked to sign in again with your new password. You also might need to update your password in Settings on your devices.

* If you permanently lost your Recovery Key or access to your trusted device, you can't change your password.

Get more help

  • To reset your password, you need to know the email address for your Apple ID. Don't know the email address for your Apple ID?
  • If you still can't sign in with your Apple ID and password, make sure that you entered the correct Apple ID. In most cases, your Apple ID is also the primary email address of your Apple ID account.
  • In some cases, you might be able to speed up the account recovery process or reset your password immediately by verifying a six-digit code sent to your primary email address.
  • Still need help? Contact Apple Support.
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.

Use Recovery Mode

Mac

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Next, choose Disk Utility > Continue > Utilities Terminal.
  3. Type “resetpassword” (in one word) and click Return.
  4. Go to the main hard drive and choose your user account.
  5. 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:

  1. Log out of your admin user account
  2. Choose another account and enter the password
  3. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Lock icon
  4. Use the password for the alternative account to unlock
  5. 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:

  1. Access System Preferences > Users & Groups
  2. Click on the Lock icon > user name
  3. 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

  1. Shut down your computer and use FireWire or Thunderbolt cable to connect another Mac.
  2. 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

  1. Go to System Preferences
  2. Click on Security & Privacy > FileVault
  3. Unlock to enter your login and password
  4. Select “Turn on FileVault”
  5. 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.

To recover a password with Keychain Access:

  1. Launch the utility from your Applications folder
  2. Use the search field in the top-right corner to filter for what you’re looking for
  3. Double-click on the wanted item
  4. Check Show Password and enter the Keychain Password to reveal it

Reset Password For User Account In Windows 10

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

Grab Secrets along with your Setapp perks and worry not about privacy.

Store passwords using Secrets

Forgot Mac Password

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.

  1. Download and launch Secrets
  2. Proceed through the setup guide
  3. 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.

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 120 best Mac utilities that can help you out in just about any scenario.

Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. Please come back from another device.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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Reset Password For User Account

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