Mac: Forgot admin password - now what?
Are you using a Mac or a MacBook and have you forgotten the password for the administrator? This is annoying, but mostly not a reason to panic. You can help yourself with a little effort. You can find out how to do this here.
Reset administrator password using Apple ID
If you forget your password, you can reset it using your Apple ID.
- If you enter your password incorrectly three times when you log in, you will receive a message that you can reset your password with the Apple ID. To do this, click on the gray arrow.
- Now enter your Apple ID and the associated password. Confirm your entry with "Reset password".
- Confirm the "Keychain" message with "OK".
- Now enter your new password and confirm your entry. Alternatively, you can also enter a "reminder" for your password. After you have made all entries, click on "Reset password".
- Now you are logged in to your Mac or Macbook with the new password.
Alternative solutions if you have forgotten your admin password
MacOS X offers other options to reset your password.
- If you use more than one administrator account on your device, you can use the second account to reset your password via the user administration. On private devices, it is rare for multiple users to have an administrator account. Therefore, this option is more useful for corporate accounts.
- If you have "Snow Leopard" or older as the operating system, you must start the operating system DVD or from a USB stick if you do not have an optical drive. You can then reset the password in the recovery options. For details, see Apple: OS X: Change or reset user password
Have you encrypted your home drive with FileVault?
In this case, you should take care of your password even better than usual: The data encrypted on the disk can be lost forever if you absolutely do not remember the password. You can find more about this at Apple: Mac OS X 10.6: You forgot the password for your account protected with FileVault
Exclusive CHIP special: remember secure passwords
We'll show you what a secure password should look like and how you can easily remember it. In our CHIP Guide you will find lots of tips and tricks for more security on 20 pages.
- With these tips you will never forget your access data! Plus: New technologies make the password superfluous.
- In the CHIP kiosk you can download the CHIP guide as a PDF
Another practical tip reads how you can check the warranty status of your Apple device.