Unable to access or factory reset Mac mini M4 due to forgotten password and missing recovery key

Alternatively, use your same Apple Account and use Find My and perform a remote erase.

And as it sometimes arises in this context: neither Find My erase nor Disk Utility will clear Activation Lock.

weeklycod wrote:

it is a local account, so cannot use it.

Whichever Apple Account being used with Activation Lock can be used for the reset here, independent of whatever the login account is a local account or a mobile (network) account.

Local macOS accounts use what amounts to a self-hosted file-based LDAP domain; they're inherently quite similar to a mobile account bound to a directory server.

References to local and mobile accounts are less common around here too, as the vast majority of accounts discussed here are local. Which can be remotely reset, and remotely unlocked, when Find My is enabled. Which is the default.

Microsoft Windows has a similar-but-different “local” account setup distinction that’s more visible to Windows users. Or used to, as local accounts not associated with a Microsoft account are reportedly getting harder to establish. That based on some grumbling I’ve seen around the ‘net.

TL;DR: yeah, remote erase works.

You cannot do anything, as the file vault will restrict everything. Still, you can try using Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon – Apple Support (AU) and m4 were released in 2024. Note everything will be blocked by filevault.

it is a local account, so cannot use it.

MrHoffman wrote:

Alternatively, use your same Apple Account and use Find My and perform a remote erase.

And as it sometimes arises in this context: neither Find My erase nor Disk Utility will clear Activation Lock.