Trying to reset password and it says it can't connect to iCloud

This is correct. The error message is a bit missleading but what happens is when the computer tries to connect to iCloud the server will use a certificate to secure the connection, if the date and time on the server, client computer and certificate doesn't match, the connection will fail.

You can set time in terminal (you can use terminal on the recovery partition) with the following command:

date {month}{day}{hour}{minute}{year}

Every bracket should be replaced with a two-digit number. For example, August 9th 2016 14:29 would become the following command:

date 0809142916

So this didn't help me since I have my hard drive encrypted with FileVault (which seems to also be preventing me from just wiping and reinstalling fresh, grrr...), but it seems like it might work for someone who isn't using FileVault.

For reference, I read these steps from here:

http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/what-do-if-youve-forgotten-your-mac-passwor d-3594395/

Use Recovery Mode to recover your Mac password

1. Turn off your Mac (choose Apple > Shut Down).

2. Press the power button while holding down Command-R. The Mac will boot into Recovery mode. When you see the load bar appear you can let go of the keys. It may take a few minutes to load.

3. SKIP THIS STEP - Select Disk Utility and press Continue.

4. Choose Utilities > Terminal.

5. Enter resetpassword (all one word, lowercase letters) and press Return

6. Select the volume containing the account (normally this will be your Main hard drive).

7. Choose the account to change with Select the User Account.

8. Enter a new password and re-enter it into the password fields.

9. Enter a new password hint related to the password.

10. Click Save.

11. A warning will appear that the password has changed, but not the Keychain Password. Click OK.

12. Click Apple > Shut Down.

Hopefully this will help someone with this incredibly aggravating and productivity halting bug with the OS X Reset Password process.

I had the same issue seems if your device Date-Time is incorrect, it will not connect to iCloud.

You can set your time using Terminal:

Date 061120152016

Means 11/Jul/2016 20:15

AWESOME! This worked perfectly after numerous online instructions failed. Thanks guys!

I apologize for not having an answer, but I wanted to say that I'm also having this problem. In my case I am able to fully use the "Forgot Apple ID or password?" link to connect to iCloud and change/recover my id and password without any problems, so clearly the internet connection (wireless) exists and works properly. When I return to the Reset Password dialog however I still get the "Unable to connect to iCloud...".

I've tried connecting to different available networks, turning the Wi-Fi connection on and off, restarting and re-entering the Reset Password process, all with the same results - the Reset Password dialog will not see the internet connection.

This seems like a bug rather than something we are doing wrong. Thanks in advance to anyone who can provide any information for us!

It is a pretty rude behaviour to mess someones question for help up by posting your own problem. Pretty selfish behaviour I observe over and over again. Most times leads to the situation that the person having troubles gets no response, but the 'hijacker' of the topic gets. Well here nobody got help.

Genius, had searched and looked for a solution for hours. Thanks Rasmus.j worked a treat.

I have the same problem. After reading through other answers, I checked the date set on the system. My date after checking from terminal in recovery mode is correct. However the timezone is different. I am unable to change the timezone from terminal. Can that be the issue for the same error?

@Eric: Thanks for replying. How can I access system preferences in recovery mode? Since I am unable to log in, I have been trying to reset my password using my appleId credentials. However I am unable to do so because of the aforementioned error.

I am not seeing anything show up under "volume containing" to click on - I've done this 5 times - any thoughts on this?

Update:

On a whim I entered an incorrect password (truth be told I just sorta banged on my keyboard in frustration and hit return) and was told "Incorrect password" instead of the "Unable to connect..." message. So it seems that the internet connection is detected just fine, but apple/osx isn't showing a sensible error message - more like "For some reason I'm unable to connect to iCloud after having verified your password" Certainly "...verify your internet connection" is an inappropriate error message here.

Did you ever get this resolved? I am having the identical problem. I was on the phone with Apple Support for over an hour, but still didn't get it resolved. Their solution was to take it to an Apple Store.

User Password Reset

You can't access System Preferences in the Recovery Mode.

Since you can't log in, you may want to start a new discussion.

User Password Reset

User Password Reset (2)

Try using System Preferences/Date & Time/Time Zone.