The password will then be reset, but there’s a big caveat here. You’re almost done! Type in the new password for the account twice, enter a hint for it if you want to, and click “Change Password.” …and then click on the name of the account with the lost password from the sidebar and choose “Reset Password.” You can technically also do this when you’re logged in with a standard account (using a known admin username and password with the instructions below), but I have found it to easier for folks just to be logged in as an admin before getting started.Īnyway, if you’d like to reset a password after you’re logged in as an admin, start back at System Preferences> Users & Groups, then click the lock in the lower-left corner to unlock the pane.Įnter the password for the admin account you’re logged in to… If you find that you’re not logged in as an admin, though, click on the Apple Menu again, choose “Log Out,” and then log back in as one of your admin users for which you know the password. And since “melissa” is an admin, I can use that account to reset the password for any of the others.

Admin accounts have more privileges and control over the Mac than standard ones do, which means that you can use an admin name/password combo to install software and make system-wide changes. I’ve got three admin users listed there at the top and one standard user, and I’m currently logged in as “melissa” (the one in use is always at the top). …you’ll find all of the accounts that you can log in to on your Mac within the left-hand list. What do I mean by an “admin” or “standard” account, anyway? And how can you tell what you’ve got? Well, if you click on the Apple Menu at the upper-left corner of your screen and choose “System Preferences”… But if you have two admin accounts, for example, or if the password you’ve lost is for a standard user, then you can reset a Mac password easily. If you’ve got several user accounts on your Mac, then there’s an easy way that you can reset the password for any of them-as long as the one you’ve lost isn’t for your only admin account! (If that’s the case, you’ll need to walk through the steps in this Apple support article to do the resetting).

How to Reset a Mac Password Using Another Account

Reset admin password mac from login