The password of your macOS user account is also known as your login password. It's the password that you use to log in to your Mac and make certain changes, such as installing software.

Change your password

In some macOS versions, you can use your Apple ID to reset your login password. On the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using Apple ID. If you can't see the message after three attempts, your account isn't set up to allow resetting with Apple. This launches the Reset Password screen, which asks you to select an admin user you know the password for. Just click on the 'Forgot all password' link. The next screen will list all user accounts on your Mac. Just click the Set Password button next to the account you want to reset the password for.

If you know your password and can use it to log in to your account, you can change your password in Users & Groups preferences:

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Users & Groups.
2. Select your user name from the list of users.
3. Click the Change Password button, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Reset your password

If you don't remember your password, or it isn't working, you might be able to reset it using one of the methods described below. But first try these simpler solutions:

• Make sure that you're typing the correct uppercase or lowercase characters. If your keyboard has Caps Lock turned on, the password field shows a Caps Lock symbol .
• If the password field shows a question mark, click it to display a password hint that might help you to remember.
• Try to log in without a password. If that works, you can then add a password by following the steps to change your password.
• Try to log in with the Apple ID password that you use for iCloud. If you just changed that password and the new password isn't working, try the old password first. If that works, you should be able to use the new password from then on.

Reset using your Apple ID

In some macOS versions, you can use your Apple ID to reset your login password. At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using Apple ID. If you don't see the message after three attempts, your account isn't set up to allow resetting with Apple ID.

1. Click next to the Apple ID message, then follow the onscreen instructions to enter your Apple ID and create a new password. You'll be asked to restart when done.
2. Log in with your new password.
3. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

Reset using another admin account

If you know the name and password of an admin account on your Mac, you can use that account to reset the password.

1. Log in with the name and password of the other admin account.
2. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Users & Groups.
3. Click , then enter the admin name and password again.
4. Select your user name from the list of users.
5. Click the Reset Password button, then follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password:
   
6. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
7. Log in to your account using your new password.
8. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

Reset using the Reset Password assistant (FileVault must be on)

If FileVault is turned on, you might be able to reset your password using the Reset Password assistant:

1. Wait up to a minute at the login screen, until you see a message saying that you can use the power button on your Mac to shut down and start up again in Recovery OS. If you don't see this message, FileVault isn't on.
2. Press and hold the power button until your Mac turns off.
3. Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.
4. When the Reset Password window appears, follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password.
   If you need to connect to Wi-Fi, move your pointer to the top of the screen and use the Wi-Fi menu to connect. To exit without resetting your password, choose Apple menu > Restart.
   
5. When done, click Restart.
6. If you were able to reset your password with the Reset Password assistant, log in to your account using your new password.
7. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

Reset using your Recovery Key (FileVault must be on)

If FileVault is turned on and you have a FileVault Recovery Key, you can use that key to reset your password.

1. At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using your Recovery Key. If you don't see the message after three attempts, FileVault isn't on.
   
2. Click next to the message. The password field changes to a Recovery Key field.
3. Enter your Recovery Key. Use uppercase characters, and include the hyphens.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password, then click Reset Password when done.
5. Determine whether to create a new login keychain.

If you can't log in with your new password after restarting your Mac, take these additional steps:

1. Restart again, then immediately hold down Command-R or one of the other macOS Recovery key combinations until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
2. When you see the macOS Utilities window, choose Utilities > Terminal from the menu bar.
3. In the Terminal window, type resetpassword, then press Return to open the Reset Password assistant pictured above.
4. Select ”My password doesn't work when logging in,” then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions for your user account.

Create a new login keychain, if necessary

After resetting your password and logging back in to your account, you might see an alert that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. This is expected, because the passwords for your user account and login keychain no longer match. Just click the Create New Keychain button in the alert.

If you didn't see an alert about your login keychain, or you see other messages asking for your old password, reset your keychain manually:

1. Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
2. Choose Preferences from the Keychain Access menu, then click the Reset My Default Keychain button in the preferences window. After you enter your new password, Keychain Access creates an empty login keychain with no password. Click OK to confirm.
   If you don't see a Reset My Default keychain button, close the preferences window and select the “login” keychain from the left side of the Keychain Access window. Press the Delete key, then click Delete References.
   
3. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu to return to the login screen.
4. Log in to your account using your new password. Your account password and login keychain password now match again.

If you still can't log in

If you still can't log in with your password, contact Apple Support for help.

Keep your passwords safe

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

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

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.

Reset Password Mac Terminal

Store passwords on Mac, securely

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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.

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.

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