How to restore a deleted user on my Mac?

After an operating system update, the only Administrator account on the computer was deleted. It does not show in any of the Time Machine backups. Is there any way to create a new Administrator account on a machine without an Administrator Account?

Larry V.


[Edited by Moderator]




Posted on Mar 22, 2023 10:48 AM

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1 reply

Mar 22, 2023 11:23 AM in response to cedar311

We've been seeing reports that the main admin user account has been changed to a Standard user account.


You can use the instructions in this article written by a respected forum contributor to attempt to trick macOS into thinking you have a new OS so that it will run Setup Assistant again to create a new macOS admin user account (don't bother associating it with an AppleID). Once you log in with this new admin user account, check to see if your main account is still there in the "Users & Groups" System Preferences/Settings app.

Restarting Setup Assistant to create Admin user account - Apple Community


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How to restore a deleted user on my Mac?

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