How do I recover a locked MacBook Air (Model A1932) after multiple failed password attempts?

A family member gave me her macbook air, I think it is the retina model, it sas Model A1932. I tried resetting the laptop. Somehow along the way the process failed. Now I am in recovery assistant it did ask for the username and password and i asked the past owner, she gave me the username and password. But they were wrong after several attempts the laptop locked out. Noow I am stuck in this screen


What should I do next? I am new to this and don't know where to start searching in the forums. Thanks



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Macbook air lockedout

Posted on Jan 24, 2026 9:45 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 25, 2026 2:02 AM

Try this


  1. Start up from macOS Recovery.
  2. While starting up from Recovery, you're asked to select a user you know the password for. Click "Forgot all passwords?".

  3. Follow the onscreen instructions, which vary based on your Mac setup. These instructions might include steps to reset your password.
  4. When done, click Exit to Recovery. 
  5. You're in Recovery when you see options to restore from Time Machine, reinstall macOS, and more.
    • If you were asked to reset your password, you can now choose Restart from the Apple menu , then log in with your new password. 
    • If you were not asked to reset your password, choose Terminal from the Utilities menu in the menu bar. Or press Shift-Command-T to open Terminal.
  1. In the Terminal window that opens, type resetpassword, then press Return. 
  2. In the window that opens, choose a reset option, such as "I forgot my password" or "My password doesn't work when logging in." Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions.

  3. After you provide the information requested, you're asked to create a new password for your account and any other user accounts. You can then restart your Mac and log in with the new password.

If you couldn’t use these steps to reset your password, learn what to do if you can’t reset your login password.



If you forgot your Mac login password - Apple Support


1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 25, 2026 2:02 AM in response to Kamote_rider

Try this


  1. Start up from macOS Recovery.
  2. While starting up from Recovery, you're asked to select a user you know the password for. Click "Forgot all passwords?".

  3. Follow the onscreen instructions, which vary based on your Mac setup. These instructions might include steps to reset your password.
  4. When done, click Exit to Recovery. 
  5. You're in Recovery when you see options to restore from Time Machine, reinstall macOS, and more.
    • If you were asked to reset your password, you can now choose Restart from the Apple menu , then log in with your new password. 
    • If you were not asked to reset your password, choose Terminal from the Utilities menu in the menu bar. Or press Shift-Command-T to open Terminal.
  1. In the Terminal window that opens, type resetpassword, then press Return. 
  2. In the window that opens, choose a reset option, such as "I forgot my password" or "My password doesn't work when logging in." Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions.

  3. After you provide the information requested, you're asked to create a new password for your account and any other user accounts. You can then restart your Mac and log in with the new password.

If you couldn’t use these steps to reset your password, learn what to do if you can’t reset your login password.



If you forgot your Mac login password - Apple Support


How do I recover a locked MacBook Air (Model A1932) after multiple failed password attempts?

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