Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Using your Apple ID
• Method 2 of 4: Using recovery mode
• Method 3 of 4: Using a different administrator account
• Method 4 of 4: Change your password if you remember it
• Tips

If you're signed in to your Mac with your Apple ID, you can probably reset your administrator password without any problems. If you are not logged in, you can use recovery mode to access the "Reset Password" utility. You can also reset a password from another administrator account on the same computer. And if you remember your password, you can change it from the "Users and Groups" menu.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Using your Apple ID

1. Enter the wrong password three times. If you activated this security measure when setting up your account, you can use your Apple ID to reset your password. This only works if you have previously activated this option.
   • If you have access to your Mac, you can activate the setting by first clicking on the Apple menu and then "System Preferences". Click on the "Users and Groups" option and select your account. Click the padlock icon to change the settings, then click "Allow user to reset password with Apple ID".
2. Click on the link to reset your password. This link will appear after you have entered a wrong password three times. If this option does not appear, the feature has not been activated for your account, then you will need to use another method from this article.
3. Enter your Apple ID password. To reset your administrator password, you will need to enter your Apple ID password. That should be the Apple ID associated with your Mac's user account.
4. Create a new administrator password. After entering your Apple ID password, you will be prompted to create a new administrator password. You have to enter it twice to create it.
5. Use your new password after restarting. After creating a new administrator password, you will need to restart your computer. After the computer has restarted, enter the new password you created when logging in.
6. Create a new keychain. If you log in with your new password, you will probably get a message that there is no access to the keychain. That's because the keychain is protected with the original administrator password, for security reasons, access is not possible with the new password. You will need to create a new keychain for your passwords.

Method 2 of 4: Using recovery mode

1. Restart your computer. If you cannot change your password with your Apple ID, you can use recovery mode to reset it. Recovery mode can be activated during the startup of your computer.
2. Press the key combination.⌘ Command+R.when you hear the startup chime. Keep holding the keys until you see the loading bar appear. Now your Mac will boot into recovery mode. It may take a while for the computer to start up.
3. Click the "Tools" menu and select "Terminal". The "Utilities" menu is located in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
4. Type.resetpasswordand press⏎ Return. Now the "Reset Password" utility will open.
5. Select your hard drive. If there are multiple drives in your Mac, you will need to select the drive that contains your operating system. In most cases this disc will be called "Macintosh HD".
6. Select the user account for which you want to change the password. Use the drop-down menu to select your user account.
7. Create a new administrator password. Enter your new administrator password twice to create it.
8. Enter an optional prompt for the password. This prompt may be displayed if you have forgotten your password.
9. Click on "Change password" to save your new password. It takes effect the moment you restart your computer.
10. Click the Apple menu and select "OS X Utilities" → "Exit OS X Utilities". Confirm that you want to restart your Mac. Now the system will reboot and your new password will be applied.
11. Log in with your new password. After restarting, select your user account and log in with your new password.

Method 3 of 4: Using a different administrator account

1. Log in with a secondary administrator account. For this method, you need a second account with administrator privileges on your Mac, and you need to know the password for this second account.
   • If you are logged in with your account, log out and select the other administrator account.
2. Click on the Apple menu and select "System Preferences". Now the System Preferences window will open.
3. Select "Users and Groups". All users of the computer are listed here.
4. Click on the padlock icon at the bottom of the window. In this way you can change settings at "Users and groups". You must re-enter the administrator password for the account you are using.
5. Select your original account. This is in the menu on the left. Your account settings will now appear.
6. Click the "Reset Password" button. Now you can create a new password for the account.
7. Create a new administrator password for the original account. You must enter the password twice to confirm. Click on "Change password" to save the change.
8. Log out and log back in with the original account and new password. You can now log in with the password you just created.
9. Create a new keychain. When you log in with your new password, you will be notified that you need to update your keychain password or create a new one. Updating is not an option, because you do not remember the old password. So you have to create a new keychain that you can use from now on.

Method 4 of 4: Change your password if you remember it

1. Click on the Apple menu and select "System Preferences". Now the System Preferences window will open. This method only works if you remember the original password. If you have forgotten the password, you can use one of the other methods in this article.
2. Select "Users and Groups". Here you can adjust the settings of the users on your computer.
3. Click on the padlock in the bottom left corner and enter your current password. Now you can change settings.
4. Select your user account and click on "Change password". A new window will open in which you can enter the new password.
5. Enter your old password in the first field. This is the password you are currently using.
6. Create a new password. You have to enter it twice for confirmation. Click on "Change password" to save it.
7. Add a prompt (optional). You can add a prompt that can be displayed if you do not remember your password. This is recommended as this way you don't have to reset your password completely if you forget it.
8. Start using your new password. Your password will be applied immediately, and from now on you can use that password when prompted.

Tips

• Make a note of your password in a safe place (e.g. on the inside cover of your favorite book) to prevent you from losing access to your computer if you have forgotten it.
• If you have "FileVault" enabled, you cannot use the "Reset Password" utility without the recovery key and password provided when you enabled FileVault. If you no longer have this data, your files cannot be recovered.