How to Reset a Forgotten Mac Login Password (4 Working Ways)

Forgetting your Mac login password feels like a disaster: the login screen shakes its head, the hint does not help, and everything you own sits behind that one password. Do not panic — macOS has several official ways back in, depending on how your Mac is set up. You may be able to reset with your Apple account, with another admin account, with a recovery key, or through macOS Recovery. This guide explains each route, in the order to try them, and what happens to your saved passwords (the keychain) afterwards.

Quick Answer

At the login screen, enter a wrong password three times and, if offered, click the option to reset it using your Apple account (Apple ID), then follow the prompts. If that option does not appear, restart into macOS Recovery (hold Command + R on Intel Macs; hold the power button on Apple Silicon), open Terminal from the Utilities menu, type resetpassword, and use the Reset Password assistant. FileVault Recovery Keys and another admin account are also valid routes. Your files stay intact throughout.

Before You Reset: Three Quick Checks

1. Check Caps Lock and the keyboard layout. The login window shows the current input language at the top; a switched layout turns a correct password into a wrong one.
2. Read the password hint. Click the question mark in the password field (or fail three attempts) to display the hint you set earlier.
3. Try the password slowly, character by character. A surprising number of “forgotten” passwords are simply mistyped ones.

Only when these fail is a reset needed. If you actually remember the password and just want a fresh one, that is a different, simpler job — see our guide on changing your Mac login password when you know the old one.

Method 1: Reset with Your Apple Account

If you previously ticked “Allow user to reset password using Apple Account,” this is the easiest door:

1. At the login screen, enter any (wrong) password up to three times until a message appears offering to reset it using your Apple account. (On some versions: click the question mark in the password field and choose the reset option.)
2. Click the arrow or Reset it using your Apple ID link.
3. Enter your Apple account email and password, and complete any two-factor approval on your iPhone or another trusted device.
4. Create a new login password, verify it, and add a hint.
5. Restart if prompted, then log in with the new password.

No message after three tries means this option was never enabled on your account — move to the next method. Apple’s password reset support page describes the exact prompts for each macOS version.

Method 2: Use Another Admin Account

If the Mac has a second administrator account (a partner’s, a parent’s) and you can sign in to it:

1. Log in to the admin account.
2. Open System Settings, then Users & Groups.
3. Click the info button beside the locked account and choose Reset Password.
4. Set a new password and save.
5. Log out and log in to your own account with the new password.

Your files are untouched. The one side effect is the keychain, explained below.

Method 3: Reset from macOS Recovery (Works on Almost Any Mac)

This is the universal fallback, and it is an official tool — not a hack:

On Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later)

1. Shut the Mac down completely.
2. Press and hold the power button until “Loading startup options” appears.
3. Click Options, then Continue, and select your account if asked.

On Intel Macs

1. Restart and immediately hold Command + R until the Apple logo or a spinning globe appears.
2. Release the keys when the Recovery utilities window loads.

Then, on either type

1. If a screen asks you to select a user and enter a password, look for “Forgot all passwords?” and follow it if shown.
2. Otherwise, from the menu bar choose Utilities, then Terminal.
3. Type resetpassword and press Return. The Reset Password assistant opens.
4. Select your account, enter a new password twice (and a hint), then save.
5. Choose Restart from the Apple menu and log in with the new password.

If FileVault disk encryption is enabled, Recovery may first ask for your Apple account sign-in or your FileVault Recovery Key — a long code you were shown when FileVault was turned on. Enter it exactly as written.

After the Reset: The Keychain Question

Your files survive every method above, but your login keychain — saved Wi-Fi passwords, website logins, app passwords — is encrypted with your old password. After a reset, macOS usually asks how to handle this:

• Update Keychain Password: choose this if you later remember the old password; enter it once and all saved items unlock.
• Create New Keychain: choose this if the old password is truly gone. The Mac starts a fresh, empty keychain; websites and Wi-Fi will ask for passwords again as you use them, and the old keychain file remains on disk (unreadable without the old password).
• Continue Log In: postpones the choice; expect the prompt to return.

This is the one real cost of a forgotten password, and the reason a password manager (which keeps its own vault, independent of the login password) is worth using.

When None of the Methods Work

• FileVault on, no Apple reset option, no recovery key: the data is encrypted by design and cannot be unlocked without one of the keys. This is FileVault doing its job. Your remaining option is erasing the Mac and restoring from a backup.
• The Mac belongs to a school or employer: contact IT — managed Macs often have institutional recovery keys and policies you should not bypass.
• You bought the Mac second-hand and cannot pass Activation Lock: you need the previous owner’s Apple account or the original proof of purchase for Apple Support. There is no legitimate workaround.

Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips

• Rushing to erase. Erasing is the absolute last resort. Recovery’s resetpassword tool saves most people — try every method above first.
• Skipping the new hint or writing a useless one. Future-you will be grateful for a hint that jogs memory without revealing the password.
• Choosing a new password identical to the old. The reset is a chance to pick a stronger, unique passphrase — take it.
• Not saving the FileVault Recovery Key this time. Once you are back in, consider storing the recovery key safely (password manager or sealed envelope) so a future lockout is a five-minute fix.
• Panicking about the keychain prompts. They are normal after resets. Read them calmly and choose Update if you remember the old password, New Keychain if you do not.

Conclusion

A forgotten Mac password is recoverable in most setups: three failed logins may offer an Apple account reset, another admin can reset it in Users & Groups, and macOS Recovery’s resetpassword assistant works on nearly every Mac. Your documents remain safe; only the keychain needs a decision afterwards. Once you are back in, set a memorable new passphrase and store a recovery option — so this never becomes an emergency again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will resetting my password delete my files?

No. All reset methods change only the account password. Your documents, photos, and apps stay exactly as they were. The only casualty can be the old keychain’s saved passwords if you cannot supply the old password to unlock it.

What is the resetpassword tool?

It is Apple’s built-in Reset Password assistant, available inside macOS Recovery. Open Terminal from the Utilities menu in Recovery, type resetpassword, and it guides you through setting a new password for any account.

I see no option to reset with my Apple account. Why?

That option only exists if it was enabled in advance for your account (“Allow user to reset password using Apple Account”). If it was never switched on, use another admin account or the Recovery method instead.

What if FileVault asks for a Recovery Key I do not have?

Try the Apple account route at the login screen first — signing in there can unlock the disk without the key. Without either the key, a working account password, or Apple account reset enabled, the encrypted data cannot be accessed; that is FileVault working as designed.

After resetting, apps keep asking for the keychain password. How do I stop it?

This is the keychain mismatch prompt. Choose “Update Keychain Password” and enter your old password if you remember it. If not, choose “Create New Keychain” — the prompts stop, and you re-enter saved passwords as sites ask for them.