Reset admin account password from another admin account

Question

Level 1

8 points

Reset admin account password from another admin account

I have a client who has three users on her 2012 MBA. Two of them are admins. They've forgotten the password to one of those admin accounts, so, no problem, I figured: I'll just log in as the other admin account and reset the password. Went to SysPrefs, opened users, clicked the lock and authenticated. I can reset the password of the non-admin user, but the other admin user is greyed-out. Am I missing something obvious, or is there a rule that an admin account can't be unlocked from a second account?

Posted on Feb 6, 2019 8:56 AM

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Answer 1

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Feb 7, 2019 8:54 AM in response to SHIELD616

Hi SHIELD616,

Thank you for contacting Apple Support Communities. Based on what you stated, it seems like you are trying to reset the password for an administrator account on the computer. It looks like you have already done some troubleshooting to solve this issue. Even though there is a chance that you've tried these steps already, I would recommend you follow every step and let us know if the issue persists:

Change or reset the password of a macOS user account

Please don't hesitate to let us know if the steps resolved your issue or if you need additional assistance.

Cheers.

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Answer 2

CarlAVII

Community Specialist

Feb 7, 2019 7:34 PM in response to SHIELD616

Hey SHIELD616 ,

Thanks for the update. Since you have tried the steps in the article, due to the nature of your issue, you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources.

Contact Apple Support

Take care.

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Answer 3

SHIELD616 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 12, 2019 1:30 PM in response to CarlAVII

"Since you have tried the steps in the article, due to the nature of your issue, you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources."

And there I thought that's what I was doing by posting here. 😂

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Answer 4

SHIELD616 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 7, 2019 9:37 AM in response to Joseph_S.

Hi Joseph,

Yes, I am working through the steps in that article. Where I'm stuck (and what seemed the most natural thing to do) is the step "Reset using another admin account." Because I "know the name and password of an admin account on your Mac," I thought I could "use that account to reset the password." So I "1. Log[ged] in with the name and password of the other admin account," "2. [Chose] System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click[ed] Users & Groups," then "3. Click[ed] [and] , then enter[ed] the admin name and password again," and "4. [Tried to s]elect [the] user name [in question] from the list of users."

But the username in question is greyed out. Is that because it is also an admin account and one admin can't reset another admin's password?

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