Checkbox 'Require password after sleep or screen saver begins' missing

Both my late 2012 iMac and my late 2011 MacBook Pro 13-inch are encrypted with FileVault2. I know this causes some changes in being not able to automatically login etc. It also changes the password requirements at System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General. The strange thing is that on my iMac I can uncheck the 'Require password after sleep or screen saver begins' checkbox, while on my MacBook the checkbox is gone (see screen prints below). On different support communities I saw it's an issue for a while, but I did not find a proper explanation and solution.

Can someone please explain me why the checkbox is gone only on my MacBook and how I can repair it, so I can uncheck this option?

iMac with checkbox

MacBook without checkbox

Posted on May 18, 2013 7:56 AM

17 replies

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

May 19, 2013 10:17 AM in response to Jeroen Kuper

Back up all data.

Boot into Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

Jun 2, 2013 1:39 AM in response to Jeroen Kuper

This may not be a good workaround, but I've sold the problem for myself. I had the exact same issue.

I turned off FileVault and restarted the computer.

The 'require password' checkbox reappeared, as did the 'disable automatic login' checkbox.

Hope this helps you too!

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Checkbox 'Require password after sleep or screen saver begins' missing