Forgot Your Mac Password? Here's How to Get Back In

 A forgotten Mac password can be a real cause for panic, especially if you have important documents stored there. But don't worry, there are a few ways to regain access to your Mac, and by using your Apple ID or Recovery Key, you can easily change your password.

First, Try These!

Check the Locked State: If your Mac hasn't been locked since you last turned it on, you should be able to log in without a password. You might be able to use your fingerprint, or you can unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch. However, even if you can log in this way, you still won't be able to change your password without knowing the original password.

Remember Password Hint: Hopefully, you added a password hint when you first set it up. If so, you'll see a question mark next to the password box on the login screen. Click the question mark to see the hint, which might jog your memory.

Try Logging In with Another User

If you have multiple user accounts on your Mac, try logging in with a different account. An account with admin privileges can reset the password for other accounts (but a Standard account cannot).

Here's how:

1. Open System Settings (Pengaturan Sistem) > Users & Groups (Pengguna & Grup).

2. Click the "i" next to the account whose password you want to change.

3. Click the "Reset" button and type in a new password.

Reset Password Using Apple ID

If those options don't work, you can still get access to your Mac by using your Apple ID or Recovery Key for your Apple ID account. The options you'll see on your Mac's login screen might differ depending on how you set up your account, but as long as you know your Apple ID details or Recovery Key, you can regain access to your Mac.

1. Click the question mark icon on the login screen, or type in your password incorrectly a few times if there's no question mark icon.

2. Typically, you can now click "Reset it using your Apple ID (Atur Ulang Menggunakan Apple ID Anda)".

3. A dialog box will open, asking for your Apple ID email and password. Enter that information and click "Reset Password (Atur Ulang Password)".

Keychain Warning:

You might see a warning that you'll lose access to your keychain if you change the password, since the keychain password will remain the same. This is a bit of a hassle, but if you remember the old password, you can regain access to the keychain. Click "OK" to proceed.

Other Options:

You might only see the option to "Restart and show password reset options (Restart dan Tampilkan Opsi Atur Ulang Password)". If so, select that option. In rare cases, you might also have the option to "Reset it using your recovery key (Atur Ulang Menggunakan Recovery Key)".

After Choosing an Option:

No matter which option you choose from the login screen, your Mac will restart and run the Recovery Assistant, displaying the Reset Password screen. Enter your Apple ID details again, followed by verification details if you have two-factor authentication enabled on your account (you should!).

Now, select the user whose password you want to reset. Finally, enter a new password, and make sure to add a hint so you don't forget it again later.

Reset Password from macOS Recovery

As long as your Apple ID is linked to your Mac account, and you can remember the login details, the above steps should get you back into your Mac. But if you're having trouble, there are a few other things you can try.

You can try resetting the password using Mac's special Recovery mode, which you can launch by holding down the power button while turning on an Apple Silicon Mac—or holding Command + R on an Intel Mac—and then following the on-screen instructions.

From macOS Recovery, you can access a hidden password reset tool and use it to change the password of any user account on your Mac. On modern Macs, you'll still need your Apple ID, but you might be able to change the password without it on older computers.

To launch this tool, open Terminal by clicking Utilities (Utilitas) > Terminal in the menu bar.

At the Terminal prompt, type:

resetpassword

Then press Enter to launch the Reset Password tool. On an encrypted Mac, you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID details, but on older unencrypted Macs, you can simply reset your password.