If you share your Mac with friends or family members and they forgot their password, odds are you'll be able to reset it for them. The key here is that you need access to an Admin user account. It also has a password generator that helps users to create secure passwords using a combination of characters. If you are looking for a reliable yet free password manager for Mac, then LastPass is a good choice. Another reliable password manager for Mac is KeePassX. It is an open source and free app that comes in two versions.

1. Forgot Password For Mac
2. Forgot Password For Macbook Air Admin

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.

Store passwords on Mac, securely

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.

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.

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

Sign Up

Forgot Password For Mac

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.

How to avoid forgetting passwords?

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

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:

1. Open System Preferences (the app with the cog icon).
2. Select ‘Users & Groups.’
3. Click the Lock icon in the bottom left to make changes.
4. 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:

1. Click on the Apple logo in the top left of the tools bar and click Log Out.
2. Select the alternative account and enter the password.
3. Open System Preferences > Users & Groups.
4. Click the Lock icon in the bottom left.
5. Enter the password again.
6. In the Sidebar, select the account with the missing password.
7. Click change password.
8. Fill in the New Password, Verify and Password Hint fields.
9. 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

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.

1. Turn off your Mac.
2. Press the power button whilst holding Command + R.
3. The Mac will boot into Recovery Mode – when you see the load bar appear you can let go of the keys.
4. Select ‘Disk Utility’ and press Continue.
5. Go to Utilities > Terminal.
6. Enter ‘resetpassword’ and press the Return key.
7. Select the main hard drive.
8. Select the User Account (the account you’d like to change).
9. Enter a new password and create a password hint.
10. Click Save – a warning will appear that the Keychain Password hasn’t changed. Click OK.
11. 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:

1. Choose Apple > System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
2. Click the FileVault tab.
3. Click the Lock icon, and enter Login credentials.
4. 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.

Forgot Password For Macbook Air Admin

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.

1. Shut down the Mac.
2. Connect to another Mac using a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable.
3. Start up your Mac and hold the T key while it loads.
4. 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!

These might also interest you: