automatically login to iMac without password

Question

automatically login to iMac without password

recently brought iMac in for software upgrade.

now 10.10.1

after i got home, i realized that the iMac now always asks me to login with my password (which i do).

but i would prefer not to have to login/put in password every time. just want my iMac to open as it always had.

i assume i go to system preferences/users & groups. i see i am the current user/administrator.

when i click "change password" it says:

"*** is using an iCloud password to log in and unlock the screen.

do you want to change your iCloud password or stop using your iCloud password to unlock this mac AND CREATE A SEPARATE PASSWORD?"

don't want separate or any passwords.

do i just want to click the "change iCloud password" button?

i just want to log in without a password.

how do i do that?

thanks

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 2.9 Ghz Intel Core i7 8GB 1600 MHz

Posted on Dec 5, 2014 8:53 AM

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Answer 1

lkrupp

Level 6

16,821 points

Dec 5, 2014 9:24 AM in response to anthonyitaliano

System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> Login Options (lower left, under user accounts) -> Set Automatic login to ON

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Answer 2

Dec 5, 2014 10:50 AM in response to anthonyitaliano

In addition to what lkrupp stated, you must first unlock to padlock in order to make password changes.

In Yosemite, there is no "Set Automatic login to ON" option, only OFF. You must select the account that you want auto login on.

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Answer 3

lkrupp

Level 6

16,821 points

Dec 5, 2014 1:48 PM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Thanks for the correction. Yes, choose the account you want to auto login to.

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Answer 4

Dec 5, 2014 2:28 PM in response to lkrupp

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Answer 5

Dec 6, 2014 10:37 AM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

sorry.

call me stupid. i do apologize.

i really need step by step instructions.

so after i unlock the padlock, i click the login options?

do i actually need to click the "change password in iCloud" button first to be able to automatically logon? do i unlock padlock first and then proceed to "change password in iCloud". is the "change password in iCloud" even a step i need to perform?

i don't want to go messing around changing passwords/doing something wrong, and then not having access to my iMac. clearly, i'm the dullest I.T. tool in the shed.

so again, do i have to click the "change password in iCloud" button first?

please accept my apology.

can u provided step by step instructions?

i'm sorry.

thanks,

anthony

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Answer 6

lkrupp

Level 6

16,821 points

Dec 6, 2014 5:47 PM in response to anthonyitaliano

No, you DO NOT need to change any passwords. You simply unlock the padlock icon with your admin password, select Login Options, then select the account you want to automatically login when booting or restarting the machine. Don’t go anywhere near the “change password” for anything. The next time you boot or restart your machine it will automatically login to the account you selected.

In your original post you stated you didn’t want to have to enter a password every time you start the machine. If that’s the case the above instructions accomplish that. If you want to change your password that’s a different subject all together.

What do you actually want to do?

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Answer 7

feallen

Level 1

9 points

Jan 10, 2015 6:14 PM in response to anthonyitaliano

I had this problem and finally figured out with the help of Apple Support that you can't do auto login if you use your iCloud password as your computer's admin password. Change your admin password to something other than your iCloud password and you'll be able to choose logging in without entering a password.

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Answer 8

Feb 24, 2015 9:10 AM in response to feallen

i think this might be the case, because in automatic login: off (i don't have the option to choose the account i want, i.e. current user).

argh.

thanks to all.

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Answer 9

Feb 6, 2016 8:35 AM in response to anthonyitaliano

Alright. I've looked around, and saw all the posts on this and people seem to be successful. I can successfully do as you guys have said, re: automatic login. Mine is set appropriately, but the Mac just keeps asking me to login. It's making me crazy especially with screen savers and the sleep feature. Can anyone explain why this would NOT work?

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Answer 10

Eric Root

Level 10

684,603 points

Feb 6, 2016 10:25 AM in response to lubylubyluby

Do you have FileVault enabled? If so, you can't set up automatic log in.

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Answer 11

diana222

Level 1

20 points

May 24, 2016 12:45 AM in response to lubylubyluby

Go to Security & Privacy > General

uncheck Disable automatic login

if you can uncheck, unlock in the lower left hand corner. I had no password entered (blank) and I could not unlock until i used the button 'Set Password', entered a password, unlocked the screen to make changes, then unchecked Disable automatic login, then back to Set password to delete the password.

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Answer 12

Sep 20, 2017 5:52 PM in response to diana222

Finally! Someone with the ANSWER! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!

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