How do I change the icon in the middle of my lock screen. It's a red rose. I'd like to change it.
Someone said to go to Apple...System Preferences...Users & Groups...and edit the icon next to my name. There is no choice to "edit". I held my cursor over the red rose next to my name and there's no menu, no choice to edit the red rose. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks in advance for your help. 🙂
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 12.6
It's all in the details! You don't hover over the photo, but instead, you click on the user name. I did that before and was not given an option to edit the photo. Just now I happened to move my cursor to the right after clicking on my user name, and voila' the word "edit" appeared. So simple if you do it correctly. Thanks!
It's all in the details! You don't hover over the photo, but instead, you click on the user name. I did that before and was not given an option to edit the photo. Just now I happened to move my cursor to the right after clicking on my user name, and voila' the word "edit" appeared. So simple if you do it correctly. Thanks!
That makes sense. At first, I only hovered over the red rose. Later, I clicked on my account, but the word "edit" didn't appear until I moved my cursor to the right. It was only by chance that I did that. By rights, I think the "edit" should have appeared as soon as I clicked on my account and hovered over it. A situation like this is why technology can be so frustrating.
Thanks for your comments.
It's great that you worked this out.
I am going to guess what happened, and it is a little convoluted.
MacOS is, by definition, a Multiple-User system. There really is no "owner" account, just Accounts with Admin Privileges (like the first or only account) and accounts with no Admin Privileges. If you choose to create only one User Account, MacOS responds exactly the same as if you had created a dozen User Accounts.
when you open a pane like Users&Groups, it COULD show you a dozen User Accounts. [and this is the source of the 'issue'.]
From there, if you only hover over the pane WITHOUT clicking on an account to specify WHICH account, it does not respond, because you have not yet selected any Account to examine/change.
The moment you click on an Account, you have specified which of the (presumed) dozen accounts you wish to examine/change, and all perks up and operates as the Mathematical Thinkers who wrote those articles expected it to. Once an account is selected by clicking, when you hover over, it responds.
barb_st I don't have an explanation for the behaviour regarding the difficulty of editing the login picture. I checked a number of Macs both new and old and none of them exhibit even the slightest delay or latency upon positioning the cursor over the picture. The word "edit" appears immediately. No lag at all.
For reference: Change a user’s login picture on Mac - Apple Support
That leads me to suspect something else may be going on. If you haven't done so already be sure to create a backup of that Mac: Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support, because often the first sign of impending startup disk failure is inexplicably slow reaction to user input. If that were the case I think other actions would be similarly affected, but in any event if you don't back up your Mac it means the prospect of permanently losing all its contents does not concern you.
By any chance are you that Mac's sole owner and its only user, or does someone else also use it? Is it owned or "managed" by an institution such as a company or school?
Does a Profile icon appear in System Preferences? Normally, there will be none.
I am at loss to understand though since even in those cases nothing should prevent you from changing that icon. Even a "standard" or non-Admin user can change it.
To answer your initial question, you're not doing anything wrong. Hovering your cursor over the icon should cause "edit" to appear in it, and clicking it should allow you to choose another icon.
Contact Apple if you don't get anywhere: Official Apple Support. They should be able to figure it out.
I just don't like it when my technology doesn't function the way it's supposed to. It makes me concerned that next time it will be something that matters.
I completely understand and agree with you. I have no explanation for the fact it's not working as expected. It's not supposed to be difficult.
Contact Apple and please let us know what they have to suggest, if anything. If it's affecting other people they would be interested to know, so your report will be useful to them also.
Don't let them off the hook. Get an answer, even if it's "we have no idea what's going on either."
I am the sole owner and only user. It's my personal computer. I had a yellow rose before. I think it changed when I updated my os. I've seen other people say they don't like the red rose and are also having trouble changing it.
It's no big deal. I just don't like it when my technology doesn't function the way it's supposed to. It makes me concerned that next time it will be something that matters.
Thanks for your help.
Yes, and nothing happened.
👍
Are you an Admin User? if not, be sure to click on the lock to unlock the lock on that screen first.
I just tried MacOS 10.9 Mavericks, MacOS 11 Big Sur, and MacOS 12 Monterey, and they ALL work the way John Galt described.
Did you try clicking that icon?
Lock screen icon
