I need help with my MAC. I can't find my password to logon and have tried to go to the store and contact Apple support have had no success. 3rd party vendors have been no use. I tried Drive Saves but $4000 to get the data is highway robbery and not worth it. I need serious help to unlock a machine that works fine. Somebody from apple needs to contact me with a better solution.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: MAC logon
Primedog333 wrote:
All I get is the option to use my lost password or recovery key (which I don't have). I thought I could reset using my apple accout but the machine won't give me that option.
Protect data on your Mac with FileVault - Apple Support
That indicates that when you turned on FileVault, you declined the opportunity to use your "iCloud account and password" as a recovery method, in favor of a "Recovery key" that Apple does not know – and can't help you or anybody else to recover.
As the Mac User Guide warns,
"WARNING: Don’t forget your recovery key. If you turn on FileVault and then forget your login password and can’t reset it, and you also forget your recovery key, you won’t be able to log in, and your files and settings will be lost forever."
Primedog333 wrote:
All I get is the option to use my lost password or recovery key (which I don't have). I thought I could reset using my apple accout but the machine won't give me that option.
Protect data on your Mac with FileVault - Apple Support
That indicates that when you turned on FileVault, you declined the opportunity to use your "iCloud account and password" as a recovery method, in favor of a "Recovery key" that Apple does not know – and can't help you or anybody else to recover.
As the Mac User Guide warns,
"WARNING: Don’t forget your recovery key. If you turn on FileVault and then forget your login password and can’t reset it, and you also forget your recovery key, you won’t be able to log in, and your files and settings will be lost forever."
You are not speaking to Apple on these forums, we are all end users just like you. Apple is the forum's host however they do NOT read or participate in the user to user forums.
You need to take the machine to your local Apple Store for service, not a third party vendor and genuine Apple Store. If the machine is older than a 2019 iMac then you may want to take it to a third party Apple Authorized Service Provider as the machine is considered out-of-date and an Apple Store may not work on it.
Servant of Cats wrote:
Primedog333 wrote:
As the Mac User Guide warns,
"WARNING: Don’t forget your recovery key. If you turn on FileVault and then forget your login password and can’t reset it, and you also forget your recovery key, you won’t be able to log in, and your files and settings will be lost forever."
There it is. You've answered your own question.
Thanks but I tried all that. All I get is the option to use my lost password or recovery key (which I don't have). I thought I could reset using my apple accout but the machine won't give me that option. Also Recovery mode does not give me too many options. Only erase,,,,Yikes.
If you set up a recovery key and no longer have the key and have forgotten your password, I'm afraid your data is gone.
There is no way to recover it.
You are warned about the consequences of losing your recovery key when you set one up.
BTW, the Apple store told me I should join this community site. Again, no help. Thanks to anybody that can pass along a good contact at Corp.
Did you have a recovery key set? If so, and you lost it, no one can help you.
What do you get on screen when you try to boot up? If you can post a photo of it we'll be in a better position to help your if it's possible.
I'll do that next week. The computer is on the way back from Drive Savers. Thanks again
How to recover password for Mac login and unlock a working machine?
