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- By Joe Hutsko, Barbara Boyd. If you have many user accounts set up on your Mac and each has a password, you should have a plan if someone forgets his password. By setting up a master password, the administrator of the Mac (probably you), can override any encrypting that the user may have set up and reset the password.
- Mac OS X's Password Assistant If you've never used OS X's Password Assistant, it lets you create a secure password of up to 31 characters in length, either manually or automatically.
- I would like to set password protection for a document created on a Mac with OS 10.13.6 (High Sierra) and using MS Word for Mac v15.22.1. The web advises me to set this under 'Word', 'Preferences'.
Choose an account for automatic login
Ditching the password requirement for your Mac computer can speed things up and make it a little easier to get to work. But before you move forward, it's always important to consider the.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.
- Click the lock , then enter the account password.
If you aren't logged in as an administrator, you're asked to enter an administrator name and password. - Click Login Options in the lower-left corner.
- Choose an account from the “Automatic login” menu, then enter the password of that account.
The account is now set up to log in automatically when your Mac starts up. You might still be asked to log in manually after logging out, switching back from another user account, or locking your screen.
If automatic login is unavailable
When manual login is required, the “Automatic login” menu is dimmed or doesn't show the account name. For example:
- If FileVault is turned on, manual login is required for all accounts. You can turn FileVault off.
- If an account uses an iCloud password to log in, manual login is required for that account. You might also see the message “A user with an encrypted home folder can't log in automatically.” When changing the account password, you can choose not to use the iCloud password.
Log in after sleep or screen saver begins
You might still need to enter your password when your Mac wakes from sleep or stops using the screen saver. You can change this behavior:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Security & Privacy.
- In the General pane, deselect ”Require password after sleep or screen saver begins.” Or leave it selected, but choose a time interval from the pop-up menu:
The password of your macOS user account is also known as your login password. It's the password that you use to log in to your Mac and make certain changes, such as installing software.
Change your password
If you know your password and can use it to log in to your account, you can change your password in Users & Groups preferences:
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Users & Groups.
- Select your user name from the list of users.
- Click the Change Password button, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Reset your password
If you don't remember your password, or it isn't working, you might be able to reset it using one of the methods described below. But first try these simpler solutions:
- Make sure that you're typing the correct uppercase or lowercase characters. If your keyboard has Caps Lock turned on, the password field shows a Caps Lock symbol .
- If the password field shows a question mark, click it to display a password hint that might help you to remember.
- Try to log in without a password. If that works, you can then add a password by following the steps to change your password.
- Try to log in with the Apple ID password that you use for iCloud. If you just changed that password and the new password isn't working, try the old password first. If that works, you should be able to use the new password from then on.
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Reset using your Apple ID
In some macOS versions, you can use your Apple ID to reset your login password. At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using Apple ID. If you don't see the message after three attempts, your account isn't set up to allow resetting with Apple ID.
![Firmware Firmware](/uploads/1/1/9/3/119360808/499236587.jpg)
- Click next to the Apple ID message, then follow the onscreen instructions to enter your Apple ID and create a new password. You'll be asked to restart when done.
- Log in with your new password.
- Determine whether to create a new login keychain.
Reset using another admin account
If you know the name and password of an admin account on your Mac, you can use that account to reset the password.
- Log in with the name and password of the other admin account.
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Users & Groups.
- Click , then enter the admin name and password again.
- Select your user name from the list of users.
- Click the Reset Password button, then follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password:
- Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
- Log in to your account using your new password.
- Determine whether to create a new login keychain.
Reset using the Reset Password assistant (FileVault must be on)
If FileVault is turned on, you might be able to reset your password using the Reset Password assistant:
- Wait up to a minute at the login screen, until you see a message saying that you can use the power button on your Mac to shut down and start up again in Recovery OS. If you don't see this message, FileVault isn't on.
- Press and hold the power button until your Mac turns off.
- Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.
- When the Reset Password window appears, follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password.
If you need to connect to Wi-Fi, move your pointer to the top of the screen and use the Wi-Fi menu to connect. To exit without resetting your password, choose Apple menu > Restart. - When done, click Restart.
- If you were able to reset your password with the Reset Password assistant, log in to your account using your new password.
- Determine whether to create a new login keychain.
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Reset using your Recovery Key (FileVault must be on)
If FileVault is turned on and you have a FileVault Recovery Key, you can use that key to reset your password.
- At the login screen, keep entering a password until you see a message saying that you can reset your password using your Recovery Key. If you don't see the message after three attempts, FileVault isn't on.
- Click next to the message. The password field changes to a Recovery Key field.
- Enter your Recovery Key. Use uppercase characters, and include the hyphens.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password, then click Reset Password when done.
- Determine whether to create a new login keychain.
If you can't log in with your new password after restarting your Mac, take these additional steps:
- Restart again, then immediately hold down Command-R or one of the other macOS Recovery key combinations until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
- When you see the macOS Utilities window, choose Utilities > Terminal from the menu bar.
- In the Terminal window, type
resetpassword
, then press Return to open the Reset Password assistant pictured above. - Select ”My password doesn't work when logging in,” then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions for your user account.
Create a new login keychain, if necessary
After resetting your password and logging back in to your account, you might see an alert that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. This is expected, because the passwords for your user account and login keychain no longer match. Just click the Create New Keychain button in the alert.
![Password Password](/uploads/1/1/9/3/119360808/159596740.jpg)
If you didn't see an alert about your login keychain, or you see other messages asking for your old password, reset your keychain manually:
- Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Choose Preferences from the Keychain Access menu, then click the Reset My Default Keychain button in the preferences window. After you enter your new password, Keychain Access creates an empty login keychain with no password. Click OK to confirm.
If you don't see a Reset My Default keychain button, close the preferences window and select the “login” keychain from the left side of the Keychain Access window. Press the Delete key, then click Delete References. - Choose Log Out from the Apple menu to return to the login screen.
- Log in to your account using your new password. Your account password and login keychain password now match again.
If you still can't log in
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If you still can't log in with your password, contact Apple Support for help.