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Forgot my MacBook password

I don’t actually have a recovery key even if I had how can I know what is my recovery key I need help

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 16, 2019 1:08 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 16, 2019 2:03 PM

Did you setup 2FA?



Alo...


You can create a new administrator account by restarting the Setup Assistant:

1. Boot into Single User Mode: Start/restart your Mac. As soon as you hear the startup tone, press and hold ⌘ + S until you see a black screen with white lettering. (If you end up back on the login screen after a flash of the black screen with white lettering, enter your password and it will return to the black screen.)

2. Check and repair the drive by typing /sbin/fsck -fy then ↩ enter - as directed by the on-screen text.

3. Mount the drive as read-write by typing /sbin/mount -uw / then ↩ enter.

4. Remove the Apple Setup Done file by typing rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone then ↩ enter.

5. Reboot by typing reboot then ↩ enter.

6. Complete the setup process, creating a new admin account.

Be very careful to notice the spaces in those Terminal Commands.

Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!

11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 16, 2019 2:03 PM in response to barzan162

Did you setup 2FA?



Alo...


You can create a new administrator account by restarting the Setup Assistant:

1. Boot into Single User Mode: Start/restart your Mac. As soon as you hear the startup tone, press and hold ⌘ + S until you see a black screen with white lettering. (If you end up back on the login screen after a flash of the black screen with white lettering, enter your password and it will return to the black screen.)

2. Check and repair the drive by typing /sbin/fsck -fy then ↩ enter - as directed by the on-screen text.

3. Mount the drive as read-write by typing /sbin/mount -uw / then ↩ enter.

4. Remove the Apple Setup Done file by typing rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone then ↩ enter.

5. Reboot by typing reboot then ↩ enter.

6. Complete the setup process, creating a new admin account.

Be very careful to notice the spaces in those Terminal Commands.

Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!

Dec 16, 2019 1:41 PM in response to barzan162

The good news is as long as you’re not locked out of your Apple ID, it’s easy to generate a new key for safe keeping. Here’s the steps:


Head over to appleid.apple.com and click “manage my Apple ID”

Log in with your normal Apple ID username and password

Verify your identity using a trusted device or phone number

Choose “security” on the left

Choose “replace recovery key”

Step through the setup process. You’ll be given a new key; make sure to print this out and store it somewhere securely this time. Ideally, not in your wallet or anywhere else that can be stolen.


Forgot my MacBook password

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