Like Windows, Apple’s macOS requires an administrator account, so Mac owners can take full control of their device. With an administrator account, you can do everything on your machine, like changing the system settings, installing software, and much more.
An administrator account is extremely important for any Mac owner, so it could a nightmare if you ever forget your Mac’s administrator account password. This prevents you from performing many administrative tasks that standard user accounts are not allowed to perform.
If that’s the type of situation you are in right now, don’t freak out because we have a solution that helps you regain administrator access on your Mac without using any additional software or program.
Resetting a user password is the most effective way to deal with the issue now, as it is safe and fast. There are several ways you can reset your Mac’s administrator password and we will cover two methods in the section below.
In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to reset your Mac’s administrator account password. Before we dive in, note that the below-mentioned solutions may not work on older versions of macOS, so make sure you now have a modern version on your machine.
How to reset your Mac’s administrator account password
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Use a second administrator account
An administrator account is a must on a Mac, so it might be a good idea to have a second administrator account for troubleshooting purposes. In this case, you can use a second administrator account to reset your primary account.
The process is pretty simple and you can follow the steps below (make sure you have the password for your second administrator account on your Mac).
Step one: First off, you need to log in to your second administrator account on your device and then launch System Preferences
Step two: Next up, locate Users and Groups and click on it. Once you are in, click on the lock icon in the bottom left corner to allow changes and then enter your administrator account password
Step three: From the left sidebar, you will see a list of all accounts on your Mac. From here, select the administrator account you want to reset the password for
Step four: Hit the Reset Password button from the right-hand pane and then enter a new password. After that, hit the Reset Password button to complete the task.
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Use Apple ID
If you don’t have a second administrator account, don’t worry because you can use Apple ID to reset your Mac’s administrator account password. If you need help, check out the steps below. Before we begin, make sure that you have already liked your Apple ID to that account.
Step one: Hit the small arrow button next to the “…reset it using your Apple ID” message (you will get the message if you enter the password incorrectly three times. If you don’t see the message, your Apple ID is not associated with your account)
Step two: Next up, supply your Apple ID and password, and then hit the Reset Password button
Step three: Click the OK button from the warning message. After that, enter the new password for your account and then hit the Reset button
Step four: Log in with your new password. Once you are on, you might get a warning message saying that the system was not able to unlock your login keychain. Just simply hit the Create New Keychain button.
Step five: If you don’t get the message, you can reset your keychain manually. To do this, open Keychain Access > Preferences > Reset My Default Keychain > enter your new password > OK
Also read: Personal Hotspot missing on your iPhone? Here is the fix
Got any issues during the process? Let us know in the comments below.
