Updated to Ventura, locked out of device

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Updated to Ventura, locked out of device

I’ve got a 2018 Mac Mini and yesterday I updated the OS to Ventura. I remember there being a default for File Vault being ticked and I accepted. Once I was in I changed my device password then shut down as normal. This morning my password doesn’t work and using iCloud to reset it doesn’t work either - I’m presented with a message saying that this iCloud account is unable to lock this volume. I’ve not got any data of value on the machine so I’m happy to factory reset it, but I’ve no idea how to get into it to do that. Any ideas please?

Mac mini, macOS 13.2

Posted on Jan 31, 2023 2:28 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Owl-53

Level 10

122,971 points

Jan 31, 2023 2:38 AM in response to MichaelJohnsonDJ

Reset Computer Password for the Administrator Account Password

Intel Computer

1 - Shutdown the computer

1A - Restart computer and immediately hold the two keyboard combo Command r

1B - Because this is a Headless machine the below 1C is import for this special circumstance

1C - If using a Bluetooth Keyboard with Rechargeable Battery - Cable the Keyboard to computer for this unique purpose. Bluetooth Kernel may not load soon enough to execute the 2 keyboard commands

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

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Answer 2

Jan 31, 2023 3:56 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thank you very much! Since I bought this device second-hand I’m not sure what the initial password would have been but I’m the only admin user on the device now and the passwords I tried for that profile didn’t work - old or new. I’d thought perhaps that the device was using the new password and that the drive was still using the old password (some kind of bug), but who knows 🤷‍♂️

Thank you for the tip though! 😊

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