If you have been locked out of an old admin account, or if you have recently received a used Mac with other information left behind, knowing how to access the device without passwords is extremely helpful. Show An administrator account on a Mac cannot be accessed without a password. A new admin account may be created without a password, which can be used in place of the old admin account. If the old account needs to be accessed, the password can be reset and certain files can be found on iCloud. While the admin account can’t be accessed without a password, you still have a wealth of options available to you to access your device again. Review the steps below to find which option best suits your circumstances. How to Add a Separate Admin AccountTo add a new administrator account, do the following:
After you have completed the steps above, you will be prompted through several screens where you can set preferences. Click through these screens, filling in any necessary information. It will ask for an Apple ID. You don’t have to connect your Apple ID to your new administrator account, but if you do, you’ll be able to access your files more easily, as they will be saved on iCloud. When setting up your account, choose a password you will remember or write it down so you won’t forget it. Once you’ve created the new account, you can set it as the default account that pops up when you open the computer. Then you can use this account rather than the old one without doing anything to the old account. If you have no use for the other account, you can delete it or manage it in System Preferences. How to Remove an Administrator from Mac
If you don’t want to lose the information on the old account, you may “save the home folder as a disk image” instead of deleting it when prompted to choose. This will remove the account, but save the information that is stored on it. If you want to temporarily hide the folder, click “Don’t change the home folder.” All of the information and users connected to the admin account will remain intact and can be recovered at any time. If you delete the admin account, everything on it will be lost. If the account was connected to an Apple ID and was set up to save files to iCloud, you may be able to access the information from it through another Apple device using your Apple ID. Check out the video below for step-by-step instructions.
How to Reset Password on MacIf you have forgotten your password and want to access your account. You can recover or reset your password and access the admin account again. If you remember your Apple ID credentials, you may reset your password using your Apple ID.
If you didn’t set up your account with an Apple ID, you will need to reset the password on the recovery screen.
Be sure to write down the new password and keep it somewhere safe, so you can always remember it. If you have a second admin account or if you just created one in the steps above, you may use it to change the password for the old account.
Once the password is reset, you may log in to the old account as normal with the password you just set. If you are still having trouble resetting a password, contact Apple Support. How to Factory Reset a MacIf you just received a Mac, and you want to add an admin account and remove the old account and its information, you can do that through a factory reset. The easiest way to do this is to access a new admin account. Once you have created and logged into your new admin account, follow the following steps:
After you’ve chosen to erase everything, your Mac may take time to restart and reconfigure. Ensure that your Mac remains plugged in and undisturbed while it is restarting. Once it has booted up, you will be ushered through the same process of creating an admin account. Contact Apple If you are having trouble with any of the above steps, ensure that you have followed the steps carefully. If you are still experiencing issues, contact Apple Support. |