Apple ID on El Capitan does not work at all

Carolyn,

thank you for your response. The issue is not with the Apple ID. My iPad works completely fine with the Apple ID. I know the password. I know everything I need to know. I can log in at appleid.apple.com. It's just that El Capitan is not accepting the password.

the issue is solely with El Capitan. My apple ID has worked before El Capitan and continues to work with every device that doesn't have El Capitan.

See, my computer is just running really slowly on El Capitan as it usually does after big upgrades (it should adjust within a day or two) so I can't determine whether my freezing is related to the issue at hand or not HOWEVER I have had the issue you are describing no more than once. Because what you are describing isn't a recurring issue for me, its not the same problem as what I am experiencing.

my Mac either tells me

1) the password is INCORRECT when I type in an app specific password

2) there is an a AUTHORIZATION ERROR when I type in my regular password

Please note that I can still sign in everywhere else with my Apple ID normally. it is ONLY El Capitan that is affected.

I believe that you have a different problem. If your Mac constantly FREEZES when you type in your Apple ID, you are likely experiencing a different issue. My mac UNDERSTANDS the password and RESPONDS by saying it is the wrong password (see my previous posts where I explained what the error messages were).

your mac simply freezes. While it could be the same issue, I doubt it.

IN addition to the NVRAM reset and Safe Mode (did you try Safe Mode?) try an SMC reset (Not sure if that's related at all but try it). Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

also- this is a bit severe but you should be OK if you have a backup- you can reinstall El Capitan.

HOWEVER, I have never done this before and am not too sure how to do it safely and effectively. Hopefully someone will pitch in about how to do that and whether or not it is necessary.

if and when you fix the issue, please report back describing how you did so.

as for me, I will likely spend an hour or two on Saturday testing EVERYTHING out: PRAM reset, SMC, safe mode, creating a new account, etc. I will report back here then.

Here's the update:

• I've confirmed the issue is not with the serial number. The serial number shows up in "About this Mac" and System Information, so I don't see an issue there.
• I could not sign into iMessage/FaceTime and iCloud on the regular account. After I figured this out, I went ahead and deleted the test account.
• The problem is, I am "half-signed in" to iCloud, iMessage, and FaceTime. I cannot delete my account from iMessage (the little "-" is greyed out), FaceTime just won't sign in, and I'm scared to death of FULLY signing out of iCloud because my Pages, Keynote, etc. documents might be deleted.

  I have a reason to be scared. A few months ago, I had an unrelated issue when I changed some keychain passwords and my user account password. Suddenly all my iCloud Keychain passwords disappeared. Thank God my iPad had its WiFi turned off at the time and I could manually retype the passwords. Otherwise it would sync the empty keychain and I'd have some fun resetting all of my passwords for the next century. Therefore, I'm afraid to fully sign out by clicking "sign out".

• My iCloud account *partially* works. All of the notes, reminders, etc. sync OK, however, Continuity does not work. This is interesting because at every login, it says "Your iCloud password must be updated," but accepts my iCloud password, without asking for two-step verification.
• AGAIN, I could POSSIBLY fix the issue by fully signing out of iCloud and back in, and, like in the new user account, it MAY ask me for two-step verification which in turn MAY solve the problem, but I need some proof that as soon as I sign out, all of my iCloud files don't suddenly go poof.

  Yes, you're right, I could back up each Pages and Keynote and Numbers file, and every password and note and reminder and calendar event and everything I have on iCloud, but this is ridiculous.

Long story short, is anyone willing to share their prior experience or test this signing out of iCloud and back in for me? Preferably the latter if you're brave and kind enough,

I know I'm asking for a lot. It's like picking up the $10,000 thing on Wheel of Fortune when you're risking some $10,000 already in your bank.

Thank you so much again!

Well that's ironic!

Actually, when I first installed El Capitan on the same Mac, it froze at the 85% mark, approximately, and I had to enter safe mode to fix that. That issue did work out, but as soon as I entered safe mode "setup assistant" told me to enter my Apple ID. IT DIDN'T WORK! I had to click "Skip this step". After I exited safe mode, I still can't enter my password, which is why I created this discussion.

I will try your recommendation of entering safe mode today or tomorrow, whenever I have time. I will definitely get back to you, thank you for the suggestion.

just wondering...

1) do you have two-step verification like I do with my Apple ID? If so, what password do you type in for iCloud, iMessage, and the like? The regular password or an app-specific one?

2) Did you, by any chance, have a problem actually installing El Capitan like I did?

thank you again.

@roccoadc -

I received your response by email, EDIT 4:02PM: Your response does show up. that was a glitch on my end.

anyway- I have neither of those apps. Also, I don't think creating another user will help since iCloud accounts are user-specific. Therefore, if I log in through another account, I will still be logged out through my usual account.

can you please describe the exact error message you received before the issue was fixed? mine was specific - when I typed in my password, it said "authentication error," which makes sense since I should be typing in an app-specific password. When I go to appleid.apple.com and generate one, it just says "wrong password."

disk isk utility shows no problems.

thank you so much again and apologies again for the capitalization errors; my iPad doesn't work so well with this discussion forum.