Enter Password for Other MacBook Air -- multiple accounts, WHICH password?

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Level 1

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Enter Password for Other MacBook Air -- multiple accounts, WHICH password?

When setting up a new computer, I routinely get this endless problem.

backup old computer with time machine
use migration assistant to move accountS (plural) from old machine to new machine
try to log into iCloud on new machine (irrelevant which account)
macOS says "Enter Password for Other MacBook Air"
When you don't get the password right, macOS says:

"Enter the password you use to unlock the Mac "[Mac name here]"

This password protects your Apple ID, saved passwords, and other data stored in iCloud. Your password is encrypted and cannot be read by Apple."

Great. No problem. But LITERALLY no password works. I have 3 accounts on the other computer. Only one is an admin account. Naturally I try that one first. It fails. The other 2 fail too. I've tried multiple times to ensure I'm typing them correctly. They all fail. ALWAYS.

But Apple gives NO indication of what account it is talking about. Any of the accounts can "unlock" the other Mac.

It doesn't seem to matter if it's the "same" account on the old and new computer, if it's the admin acct, etc. It's just a never ending "nope, that's not right" message.

WHICH account password does macOS want?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.5

Posted on Jul 1, 2024 4:29 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

157,142 points

Jul 1, 2024 5:06 PM in response to trevorbsmith

It has been my experience that the login password being solicited is for the User Account associated with its accompanying Apple ID. In other words you log in to your Mac as John, its password is Pwd123 and it has an Apple ID whose name and password might be different than those. When asked for that password to unlock that Mac, it wants Pwd123.

That Mac can have multiple User Accounts and each one might be associated with a different Apple ID, but the point is they have to coincide with one another.

That's a simple explanation but I understand that's not working for you. If for example you have a Mac with multiple User Accounts each of which is sharing a single Apple ID, that may complicate matters but it shouldn't be a show-stopper. From what you describe you tried every possible combination, and they always fail.

Clearly it's not supposed to be like that. It should be as simple as I just described. Since it clearly isn't I suppose you will need to contact Apple and put them to work on that problem. It's difficult to fix a problem using the hypothetical examples I just did, and you obviously don't want to divulge specific details on this site.

Start here: Official Apple Support

If they have any particularly enlightening insight I'd appreciate a follow-up.

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Enter Password for Other MacBook Air -- multiple accounts, WHICH password?

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