breely_renae

Q: how to change my username on OS X Yosemite?

So i just updated to OS X Yosemite and cant work out ow to change my username, I'm talking about the one that shoes up in your login window ust to make it clear, thanks!

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5), Had laptop >6 Months

Posted on Oct 24, 2014 1:59 AM

Close

Q: how to change my username on OS X Yosemite?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 Next
  • by sageonthehill,

    sageonthehill sageonthehill Oct 24, 2014 9:47 PM in response to breely_renae
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 24, 2014 9:47 PM in response to breely_renae

    Same here!

     

    I migrated all files and settings from Time Machine after a clean install (upgrade from Mountain Lion to Yosemite), and I simply could not keep my existing user name (disappointing...).

     

    I believe (I am a rookie, that's why I don't know...) that you can't change the user name once it is set by the system. However, I wonder if it is possible to

    • add a new user in System Preferences > Users & Groups
    • choose your desired user name
    • make the new user Admin (thus they should be able to access all your files)
    • then simply delete the previous user (the one with the undesired user name)

    ?

     

    Would be great if one of the pros could comment on this. Thanks!

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Oct 24, 2014 9:54 PM in response to breely_renae
    Level 7 (26,368 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 24, 2014 9:54 PM in response to breely_renae

    OK, I'm not running Yosemite yet, so this may not be of any help, but if you go to System Preferences>Users & Groups, click on the lock on the bottom of the screen to unlock the window, click on your User ID, click on your "Full Name", you should be able to change it.

     

    Am I off base here?

     

    Cheers,

     

    GB

  • by sageonthehill,

    sageonthehill sageonthehill Oct 24, 2014 10:25 PM in response to gail from maine
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 24, 2014 10:25 PM in response to gail from maine

    I don't see this on my screen (can't click my username)

     

    Screen Shot 2014-10-25 at 12.23.47.png

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Oct 24, 2014 10:38 PM in response to sageonthehill
    Level 7 (26,368 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 24, 2014 10:38 PM in response to sageonthehill

    Yeah, that is different than Mountain Lion.

     

    You can, as you thought, create a new User with the name you wish and give it Admin privileges. I have several other users set up (mostly test users). No reason you can't set up a different one with the name you want.

     

     

    Best of luck!

     

    GB

  • by Kingoftypos,Helpful

    Kingoftypos Kingoftypos Oct 24, 2014 10:44 PM in response to gail from maine
    Level 3 (757 points)
    Oct 24, 2014 10:44 PM in response to gail from maine

    System Preferences--->

    Users&Groups--->

    Unlock the padlock, lower left--->

    Right click on your user--->

    Click on Advance Options--->

    Click on the area next to "Full Name"--->

    Change to desired name--->

    Click "OK" to accept changes and restart.--->

    You are done.

     

    KOT

  • by sageonthehill,

    sageonthehill sageonthehill Oct 25, 2014 12:31 AM in response to Kingoftypos
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 12:31 AM in response to Kingoftypos

    This sounds cool! (I had no idea about the right click on the username)

     

    The warning sounds a bit scary, so I'll try after full back-up. Thanks a lot!

     

    Screen Shot 2014-10-25 at 14.29.04.png

  • by Kingoftypos,

    Kingoftypos Kingoftypos Oct 25, 2014 9:19 AM in response to sageonthehill
    Level 3 (757 points)
    Oct 25, 2014 9:19 AM in response to sageonthehill

    Ironically I didn't "see" that message until I went back to change my name back to what I had it at before. I made the change to see if it worked and what not. So for me, changing the name had no ill-effects. Perhaps that warning is for the other things, such as the home folder and what not.

     

    KOT

  • by Alley_Cat,Solvedanswer

    Alley_Cat Alley_Cat Oct 26, 2014 2:43 AM in response to Kingoftypos
    Level 6 (19,583 points)
    Oct 26, 2014 2:43 AM in response to Kingoftypos

    Kingoftypos wrote:

     

    System Preferences--->

    Users&Groups--->

    Unlock the padlock, lower left--->

    Right click on your user--->

    Click on Advance Options--->

    Click on the area next to "Full Name"--->

    Change to desired name--->

    Click "OK" to accept changes and restart.--->

    You are done.

     

    KOT

    Well spotted - the Yosemite help file suggests it cannot be changed.

     

    Screen Shot 2014-10-26 at 09.29.33.png

     

    That was one place I hadn't tried an option/right click.

  • by breely_renae,

    breely_renae breely_renae Oct 26, 2014 3:19 AM in response to gail from maine
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 26, 2014 3:19 AM in response to gail from maine

    thanks for the help but the problem is the full name option is gone:Yummy 2014-10-26 at 6.17.44 pm.png

  • by Alley_Cat,

    Alley_Cat Alley_Cat Oct 26, 2014 3:21 AM in response to breely_renae
    Level 6 (19,583 points)
    Oct 26, 2014 3:21 AM in response to breely_renae

    Kingoftypos give you the answer above - note there is a warning - DO NOT change any fields you do not understand the consequences of changing if you decide to use this method.

  • by Alley_Cat,

    Alley_Cat Alley_Cat Oct 26, 2014 3:24 AM in response to Alley_Cat
    Level 6 (19,583 points)
    Oct 26, 2014 3:24 AM in response to Alley_Cat

    I think you may have accidentally awarded me a solved here!

     

    Seems easy to award points to the wrong poster here these days - I do so far more frequently than I used to   Accidental trackpad clicks on my part usually.

  • by Nel Houssary,

    Nel Houssary Nel Houssary Nov 26, 2014 4:59 PM in response to breely_renae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 26, 2014 4:59 PM in response to breely_renae

    Thank u so much thats really been very helpful thx worked w/me

  • by dedhipurnama,

    dedhipurnama dedhipurnama Feb 23, 2015 5:55 AM in response to breely_renae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2015 5:55 AM in response to breely_renae

    Look at this video tutorial... Simple instructions, fix!!!!! https://youtu.be/lxAi4J2ytoY

  • by Tedobear,

    Tedobear Tedobear Sep 17, 2015 7:16 PM in response to breely_renae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 17, 2015 7:16 PM in response to breely_renae

    Hello guys,

     

    I successfully changed my account name, full name and directory without losing any data, app & system settings (maybe only the Safari view setting but all my bookmarks were there as I left them, I don't use iTunes but it will probably be ok). It's almost 4 am where I live so I will not include any screenshots or anything like that but try to explain how I did it as simple as possible, you know.. for you guys

     

    FYI: I tried the top suggestion and it worked indeed but I lost my data, setting etc. Basically it created a new empty user folder. I didn't loose the original one but since there was no account pointing to it, it was inaccessible.

     

    Like always backup your system with Time Machine. You won't be needing the backup but just in case you know.

     

    Step 1: Create a temporary admin account.

    Step 2: Log in the new admin account.

    Step 3: Open the User & Groups tab under System Preferences and change the account name, full name and directory of the desired account (no spaces ).

    Step 4: Open the Terminal and gain admin access by typing "sudo su" and than entering your password. Navigate to the users directory (type "cd /Users") and rename your original account directory like you did in Step 3. These 2 name MUST be identical.

    Here it gets a bit tricky but you will be alright.

     

    You have to do one more change in the Terminal. I actually did it after I logged back into my normal account, after I renamed it and it still worked. Maybe you can do it while being in the temporary admin account. I don't know, you can try but here is what you have to do.

    Step 5: Again - Terminal with "sudo su" access: locate this file in your system "/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Library/Preferences/MobileMeAccounts.plist" and rename it ("mv OLDNAME NEWNAME"), don't delete it at first. "YOURUSERNAME" here should be the new one. After that just restart and log back as you would normally do and everything should be there.

    NOTICE: if you log into your normal account before doing Step 5 it may look a bit different but don't scare. Just run the step in the terminal and restart. Afterwards the system will generate a new file and you can delete the old one.

     

    BTW if you wonder where did I found about that file, it's here: http://apple.stackexchange.com/a/151623 <- YOU SHOULD READ THIS ARTICLE!!!

     

    Anyway I hope my words will help you. Sorry if I made any spelling/grammar mistakes.

     

    Cheers!

    Tedobear

Page 1 Next