while i sent my macbook air for battery checking and replacement, the service centre asked for my password. Is it required to share the password ? I wanted to use the drop the macbook air service - which ideally should be done without opening the macbook air
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.2
No, Apple no longer asks for a user's password for any reason. This applies to Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP) as well. If you take your device to Apple or an AASP and the tech needs to do something which requires access to your device, the may ask you to enter your password to unlock the device, but they must allow you to watch everything they do while the device is unlocked so you know they are not doing any nefarious.
Now if you are using an unauthorized repair shop, then they may ask for your password, but you still should not give them your password. If you have 100% faith & trust in the tech, then you could provide them with a password (not your regular password...you should change it first, otherwise you will need to use a different password after the repair....or create an extra temporary macOS user account for the tech to use for testing). Keep in mind even giving anyone a macOS admin user account password gives that person full access to your complete device with them even being able to access data within another macOS user account.
I can say not having a macOS admin user account password can greatly restrict the ability of a repair tech to troubleshoot the device since many times even booting from an external USB test drive now requires an admin user account password to authenticate to the system security enclave chip. I have a bootable external USB drive filled with test software in order to troubleshoot & even fix some system issues since such a drive is so very handy for a tech as it can immediately confirm if the problem is due to a hardware issue or software issue.
To reiterate, Apple or an AASP should never ask for your password these days, although they may ask you to unlock the device yourself, however, an official Apple authorized & certified tech is required to do everything in front of you while the device is unlocked.
People should never give out any of their passwords to any account or service to anyone. Once someone has your password, you should immediately stop using that password and change it to something else. If you use that password for other things (you really should not), then you must change the password for all those other accounts as well.
Edit: Somewhat related....you also should not give anyone any 2FA (aka Two Factor Authentication) codes or other security related codes used to enhance the protection of your accounts.
No, Apple no longer asks for a user's password for any reason. This applies to Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP) as well. If you take your device to Apple or an AASP and the tech needs to do something which requires access to your device, the may ask you to enter your password to unlock the device, but they must allow you to watch everything they do while the device is unlocked so you know they are not doing any nefarious.
Now if you are using an unauthorized repair shop, then they may ask for your password, but you still should not give them your password. If you have 100% faith & trust in the tech, then you could provide them with a password (not your regular password...you should change it first, otherwise you will need to use a different password after the repair....or create an extra temporary macOS user account for the tech to use for testing). Keep in mind even giving anyone a macOS admin user account password gives that person full access to your complete device with them even being able to access data within another macOS user account.
I can say not having a macOS admin user account password can greatly restrict the ability of a repair tech to troubleshoot the device since many times even booting from an external USB test drive now requires an admin user account password to authenticate to the system security enclave chip. I have a bootable external USB drive filled with test software in order to troubleshoot & even fix some system issues since such a drive is so very handy for a tech as it can immediately confirm if the problem is due to a hardware issue or software issue.
To reiterate, Apple or an AASP should never ask for your password these days, although they may ask you to unlock the device yourself, however, an official Apple authorized & certified tech is required to do everything in front of you while the device is unlocked.
People should never give out any of their passwords to any account or service to anyone. Once someone has your password, you should immediately stop using that password and change it to something else. If you use that password for other things (you really should not), then you must change the password for all those other accounts as well.
Edit: Somewhat related....you also should not give anyone any 2FA (aka Two Factor Authentication) codes or other security related codes used to enhance the protection of your accounts.
Password is not required for battery replacement but it might be required for testing
Battery replacement
