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I have automatic upgrades but when trying to get Monterey, it wants an administrator password and I have no idea where that might be. I've tried a few but need to find the right one.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15
As for Finger Print to Log Into the computer - are you saying from a Cold Boot the finger Print Log in works ?
From what is documented - that Cold Boot would Require at Manual Input of the Password
For security, you need to enter your password when you start your Mac. Sometimes you need to enter your password to continue using Touch ID. For example, users must re-enter their password every 48 hours and after five incorrect fingerprint attempts
Reset Computer Password for the Administrator Account Password
Intel Computer
1 - Restart computer and immediately hold Command + r keys
2 - Top Tool Bar >> Utilities >> Terminal
3 - Type resetpassword as one word and no spaces
4 - Press Return key
5 - Follow the prompts and remember the New Password
Apple Silicon M1 Computer
1 - Choose Apple menu > > Shut Down.
2 - Press and hold the power button on your Mac until you see “Loading startup options.”
3 - Click Options, then click Continue.
4 - Top Tool Bar >> Utilities >> Terminal
5 - Type resetpassword as one word and no spaces
6 - Press Return key
7 - Follow the prompts and remember the New Password
Well in normal consumer retail Mac scenarios you would be logging in with one account that is the administrator. But in business an IT department may have deployed you a Mac that is managed by IT and they do not give out administrative rights.
Another possible scenario would be you share the Mac with others and another user is the administrator. The first time you startup a new Mac you create the first user account and that account is the administrator.
Go to System Preferences -> Users & Groups. In the list of users on the left side one of them should say Admin. That's the account you need to know the password for to permit the Monterey installer to run.
I tried what you suggested but in order to change my password I was asked for my current one, but I get an error message saying it’s an incorrect password. I use my fingerprint to log on and the password I have written down isn’t accepted so I still can’t do the Monterey installation.
@P.Phillips makes a good point, if you shutdown completely (cold boot) and reboot are you able to get into the system? Your TouchID finger print login would stop working at that point and you would have to type the password to login. The password you require is the password you use to boot the Mac.
Entering Recovery Mode could possibly require entering a password to unlock the disk. Newer Intel Mac's w/T2 Security Chip and all M1 Mac's encrypt the SSD's at the factory. Turning on FileVault (highly recommended on T2 / M1 Macs) creates a Recovery Key which is saved in iCloud and if you can authenticate with your iCloud ID/PW, then you will be asked to change your password to unlock the disk. iCloud will handle providing the Recovery Key to macOS automatically after you login with your iCloud credentials. Otherwise, the recovery key is a long alpha-numeric code with hyphens that you either had to write down or save in some other fashion.
Employers who own the Macs they provide their employees would escrow the recovery key on a secure server, if they are following best practices. The Help Desk would be able to retrieve the recovery key from the secure server and provide it to a validated employee. When the Mac is back online it will phone home to the secure server and receive a new recovery key and the server will update the recovery key for that particular Mac in escrow for the next time it may be needed. Randomly rotating the recovery key is done for security reasons.
If you enter Recovery Mode without being required to authenticate with a password, then P.Phillips Terminal based "resetpassword" method will work. However, if it's a newer Mac you will be prompted for an administrator account and its password to unlock an encrypted disk. If you enabled FileVault and saved the Recovery Key in iCloud you will be asked to login with your iCloud credentials after failing to login to the administrator account. If the Recovery Key was not escrowed on iCloud it will prompt you to type in the Recovery Key.
Thanks so much for the detailed response. Unfortunately, it’s a bit overwhelming. I’m nearly 80, unfamiliar with a lot of the terminology, but the only person who has access to my computer. It’s owned by me, not a business. I’m terrified to try things in case I do something that gums it up and renders it useless. I think I have 3 options…call Apple, pay for a service call at a local Apple trained business, or forget about installing Monterey. It’s frustrating because I have it set for automatic upgrades and every other OS has seamlessly appeared.
Okay, let's simplify things a bit.
Can you login to the Mac when you restart it? That would be the password you need to use. The finger print scan only works after you have typed the password and for a limited time as well where it will ask for the password again.
OMG…. Now I have NO access to my computer. Obviously I don’t know the password or it would have worked before. I tried to restart and now I can’t get in at all. My computer was absolutely fine except that I couldn’t load Monterey and now I have nothing. This is exactly the nightmare I predicted.
Oops… I got back in!! There was a password hint that let me remember a different password. I’d been trying to use my Apple ID password. Sorry to sound so hostile when I was panicking….old people panic easily!!🙄😱🤣
Absolutely! And it’s updating as I wrote this. I have also made note of the password that I couldn’t remember!!
Many thanks for your help. I’m pretty good at doing the things I need to on the computer and phone but the technical terms are still confusing. I grew up listening to radio plays and playing Snakes and Ladders and only got a TV when I was 11. Long and winding learning curve!
Apple has been steadily increasing the security over the last several years. I would recommend turning on FileVault in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy and allow it to upload the Recovery Key to iCloud. In the event your do ever forget your login password to the Mac that will let you reset it with the iCloud email address and your iCloud password.
This is especially necessary on the newest M1 Macs. They are already encrypted from the factory and without the recovery code you cannot reset the password nor get into Recovery Mode.
Oh Thank Goodness! Now when you try to update enter that same password you just logged on with and it will work.
Thanks for that! I’ll do that as a backup to my handwritten note.
logged in but need administrator password to upload Monterey
