When it comes to protection of your Mac, you can’t afford to be careless. You can stop any unauthorized entry and save your personal information from being pilfered. You have set up Mac password in macOS Sierra, and you forget your password. So how can you access your documents and data? Well, you can now reset Mac admin password in macOS Sierra. Here is a complete guide on how you can reset forgotten mac password running macOS Sierra.
No matter which version of macOS Sierra you are using, this information can surely help you changing or resetting mac login password in macOS Sierra.
How to Reset Mac Password in macOS Sierra
Step #1: First off, restart your Mac; upon hearing ‘boot up chime’, you need to press and hold ‘command + R’ key. Hold the keys until you see Apple logo; this process will start your Mac in recovery mode.
Step #2: Next, click ‘Utilities’ and then hit on ‘Terminal’.
Step #3: When terminal fires up, type in “resetpassword” command and press Enter.
Step #4: This action will launch ‘Reset Password Utility’ window, which will show all accounts on your Mac. Now you should choose an account for which you want to change the password. Click on Next.
Step #5: Mac will prompt you for a new password along with a password hint. Fill these fields and then hit Next.
Step #6: Finally, restart your Mac and sign into your account with newly set up password.
How to Reset Mac Password on Older macOS Versions
If you have not updated your Mac to the latest macOS Sierra, you need to follow a different route to reset password. No worries; the method is easy to follow.
First, you need to remove applesetupdone file.
Step #1: Restart Mac, and press and hold “command + S” keys when you hear the boot up sound.
You will be landed on Single User Mode and you can now use Terminal.
Step #2: On Terminal, enter ‘fsck-fy’ command and press Enter. This action will check the filesystem on Mac; it will also ensure that everything is okay.
Step #3: Now you need to enter the command ‘mount-uw/”. Once you enter this command, it will mount entire hard drive and makes it writeable. The command will also make sure that any changes you make will remain there all the way through the reboot.
Step #4: Next, enter “rm /var/db/.applesetupdone” and press Enter.
This command will eradicate ‘applesetupdone’ file from Mac; in a way, it will keep your Mac under the impression that it hasn’t set up any users.
Create a New User Account on Mac / MacBook Pro / Air
You need to restart your Mac; you will follow all the steps you normally perform to set up a new Mac.
Step #1: You should now create new account on Mac; don’t forget that account name or user name should not match with the account you need to recover password for.
Step #2: Sign in with your user account, i.e. it will be an admin account.
Step #3: Head to System Preferences and then Users & Groups.
Step #4: Choose the account for which you have to reset password; click on Reset Password button.
Step #5: Type in a new password. You have got the access to your original account with this newly set up password.
The above method to reset login password running macOS Sierra is quite easy. But you must have noticed one thing: anybody who has got physical access to your Mac can change or reset your password. This challenges the security of your Mac; you need to take extra care about this security loophole. In this situation, you can use FileVault or Firmware Passwords utilities offered by Mac.
FileVault
It is a default encryption utility that comes with all Macs from Apple. Users can encrypt all the data by using this robust tool, which can protect it with a password and a recovery key. Whenever you access your account, you must unlock the encrypted hard drive by entering FileVault password.
You may be puzzled as how this can protect your data. The answer is that even as someone resets your Mac’s password, they cannot open your hard disk.
Firmware Passwords
If you are not happy with FileVault option, you can lock your Mac with a higher level of security wall – Firmware Passwords. This will create a lock on your Mac at the firmware level. For this, you are required to go into Recovery Mode and select ‘Firmware Password Utility’ from Utilities menu. If your Mac is accessed by an unknown user and the user wants to boot into Recovery Mode, or Single User Mode or tries to use Mac in Target Disk Mode to transfer data, s/he will have to enter your Firmware password. Note that you don’t need to enter Firmware password for log in.
Also remember that you cannot reset your Firmware password easily, and therefore, you should use this utility only when it is essential for you. A word of caution: you need to contact Apple in case you forgot Firmware password.
Also Check
- How to Flush DNS Cache in MacOS Sierra
- How to Disable iPhone Calls on Mac and iPad
- How to Find WiFi Password on Mac
- How to Check Apple Care Warranty Status
- How to Transfer Data from Old to New MacBook
- Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
Hope this information helps you reset Mac password in macOS Sierra. If you have any suggestion or feedback, share with us on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus.