Apple Intelligence is now available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac!

📢 Newsroom Update

Apple introduces M4 Pro and M4 Max. Learn more >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Make my MacBook Air user account admin again

I tried to change the admin username on my Mac, but it accidentally changed the account to Standard, how can I get the admin account back? It’s refusing to take the old and the new user name



[Re-Titled by Moderator]


Earlier Mac models

Posted on Jul 12, 2023 1:11 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 13, 2023 1:57 PM

Here is an article written by a respected forum contributor which should allow you to do what @PeterChrisM was suggesting:

Restarting Setup Assistant to create Admin user account - Apple Community


If these instructions don't help to create a new admin user account, then you will need to perform a clean install of macOS as mentioned by @PeterChrisM.


FYI, after creating a new macOS user account, you will then need to fix what you broke on the old admin user account by using the instructions in this Apple article as a guide:

Change the name of your macOS user account and home folder - Apple Support


Keep in mind a clean install of macOS will destroy all data on the drive, so make sure you have a backup of your data. If you don't have a current backup, then you will have to do a lot more work to be able to access the data to back it up now that you don't have a valid admin user anymore. How this can be done may depend on the exact model of Mac involved since it may be impossible to access that data on a 2018+ Mac if you are unable to authenticate when accessing Recovery Mode.




4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 13, 2023 1:57 PM in response to kellylovesk

Here is an article written by a respected forum contributor which should allow you to do what @PeterChrisM was suggesting:

Restarting Setup Assistant to create Admin user account - Apple Community


If these instructions don't help to create a new admin user account, then you will need to perform a clean install of macOS as mentioned by @PeterChrisM.


FYI, after creating a new macOS user account, you will then need to fix what you broke on the old admin user account by using the instructions in this Apple article as a guide:

Change the name of your macOS user account and home folder - Apple Support


Keep in mind a clean install of macOS will destroy all data on the drive, so make sure you have a backup of your data. If you don't have a current backup, then you will have to do a lot more work to be able to access the data to back it up now that you don't have a valid admin user anymore. How this can be done may depend on the exact model of Mac involved since it may be impossible to access that data on a 2018+ Mac if you are unable to authenticate when accessing Recovery Mode.




Jul 12, 2023 2:08 PM in response to kellylovesk



You need to create a new admin user, 


reboot into Single User mode:


Boot to single user mode while powering up  hold down (⌘-S)


Launch Terminal and type exactly


sbin/fsck -fy  and press run or return


/sbin/mount -uw / and press or return


m /var/db/.AppleSetupDone


Restart




Setup Assistant should display and prompt you to create a new user. New user will automatically have admin rights. Should work for you.

Make my MacBook Air user account admin again

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.