I am not able to change my login on my Macbook Pro (2016 15" Big Sur).

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Level 1

14 points

I am not able to change my login on my Macbook Pro (2016 15" Big Sur).

I have tried these steps, and I still am not able to change my login password:

1) Users & Groups System - The Users & Groups System tool states that when I try to change the login password that I need to consult the admin. I am the admin account.

2) Reset Password at Login Screen - When I to reset the password at the login screen (w/ AppleID), I receive this message "If you change the password for this user account, you will create a new keychain to store the user's passwords." The new password is not active. I still have to use the old password to login.

3) SAFE MODE - Reset Password at Login Screen - When I to reset the password at the login screen (w/ AppleID), I receive this message "If you change the password for this user account, you will create a new keychain to store the user's passwords." The new password is not active. I still have to use the old password to login.

4) I have also reset the SMC (Shift,Control,Option).

Any other ideas?

Thank you,

Todd

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.3

Posted on May 19, 2021 11:42 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

PRP_53

Level 10

86,335 points

May 20, 2021 9:53 AM in response to harambe

If all else fails restart in Recovery Mode ( Command +r ) immediately at Startup. Top Tool Bar look for Utilities and then Terminal. Type resetpassword as one word and no spaces followed by the Return key. Follow the prompts. Remember the New Password as it will be needed on next restart.

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Answer 2

harambe Author

Level 1

14 points

May 19, 2021 2:25 PM in response to Barney-15E

Does it show "Admin" under you name in the list of Users?

Yes, there is only 1 user listed on my personal MacBook pro.

When does it tell you to consult the admin. When you click the Change Password button or after entering new password?

After entering the new password, a MacOS "system" message (w/ gear icon) pops-up with this statement:

---------------

The password for the account “xxxxxxxxx” was not changed.

Your system administrator may not allow you to change your password or there was some other problem with your password. Contact your system administrator for help.

-----------

Is it managed by a company, school, or connected to an Active Directory domain?

No, this has been my personal MacBook Pro for 5+ years.

I don't know what is going on with these. Maybe whatever is asking to consult the admin is blocking the change.

The error message is MacOS . I have attached an image of the error message.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

113,488 points

May 19, 2021 1:36 PM in response to harambe

1) Users & Groups System - The Users & Groups System tool states that when I try to change the login password that I need to consult the admin. I am the admin account.

Does it show "Admin" under you name in the list of Users?

When does it tell you to consult the admin. When you click the Change Password button or after entering new password?

Is it managed by a company, school, or connected to an Active Directory domain?

2) Reset Password at Login Screen - When I to reset the password at the login screen (w/ AppleID), I receive this message "If you change the password for this user account, you will create a new keychain to store the user's passwords." The new password is not active. I still have to use the old password to login.

3) SAFE MODE - Reset Password at Login Screen - When I to reset the password at the login screen (w/ AppleID), I receive this message "If you change the password for this user account, you will create a new keychain to store the user's passwords." The new password is not active. I still have to use the old password to login.

I don't know what is going on with these. Maybe whatever is asking to consult the admin is blocking the change.

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

113,488 points

May 19, 2021 4:22 PM in response to harambe

Seems that something has corrupted the account such that you cannot change the password.

Just to test it out, create a new user. Log into it and see if you can change that password.

If you make it an Admin capable account, you may be able to force the change from there as long as you are not logged into the old account.

If it changes the login password, you will have to change the login keychain password in Keychain Access. You will have to create a new keychain and set that as default before it will allow you to change the keychain password. Once you change the password, you can set the login keychain as default and delete the temp keychain you created.

How important is it to change the password immediately? Someone else may have some other ideas.

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Answer 5

harambe Author

Level 1

14 points

May 20, 2021 9:45 AM in response to Barney-15E

Just to test it out, create a new user. Log into it and see if you can change that password.

If you make it an Admin capable account, you may be able to force the change from there as long as you are not logged into the old account.

I have followed your instructions and created the new Admin account for my MacBook Pro. I am using the new admin account now to respond to instructions.

I also made sure that the checkbox "Allow user to reset password using Apple ID" was selected for both the new and old admin accounts.

I tried to change the password for the old Admin account while logged in the new admin account. I received a message stating that "Reset password failed."

How important is it to change the password immediately? Someone else may have some other ideas.

Thank you for your assistance.

It bothers me that I cannot change the login password, it most likely means that something is corrupted, and it might result in other issues in the near future.

I can't afford to loose access to my data on my MacBook Pro or in the iCloud.

Do I need to escalate this to a tech?