--Locked out of iCloud account on Mac

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Level 1

3 points

--Locked out of iCloud account on Mac

So one day when I went to unlock my MacBook from sleep mode, it asked for my password (as it should), my Mac OS X account is linked to my iCloud account and doesn't have a separate password, so I enter my iCloud password, and normally it accepts it, not this time however, the login window just shakes and doesn't let me in, so I go and reset my iCloud password, I enter the new password into my MacBook, still won't let me in, even though my other devices have no issue with it, I reboot the computer, thinking that it just hasn't updated yet, unlock the FileVault encrypted drive, and since I forcibly rebooted it, it goes past the main login window and just lets me in without a password, I try to update my iCloud password via the iCloud preferences, it accepts it at first but keeps saying I need to verify it, I verify the password multiple times, does the same thing, I reboot it again, then try to act like I forgot my FileVault password, and reset it when the drive unlock screen comes, thinking that resetting the password this way will make the Mac realize there's a new password, evidently this wasn't the case, because I still can't get past the login screen with either the original password or the two new passwords I set via resetting.

I tried resetting the account password via the recovery mode, but obviously iCloud passwords take precedence over local account passwords, so it changes nothing.

Is there anything I can do to regain access to my Mac short of reinstalling OS X? And if I do have to reinstall OS X, will my personal data remain intact, if not, can I backup my stuff before reinstalling without having access to my account?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Oct 23, 2015 2:46 PM

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Answer 1

ZaccyM Author

Level 1

3 points

Oct 25, 2015 6:27 PM in response to ZaccyM

Never mind, I found a way to fix it.

I just used Single-User Mode to rerun the initial setup, create another admin account, and reset the password that way.

Here's the procedure for anybody else having this issue:

1. Start your Mac while holding Command and S at the same time

2. When the scrolling text stops, type '/sbin/mount -uw /' (no quotation marks)

3. Type 'rm /var/db/.applesetupdone' (again, no quotation marks)

4. Type 'exit' (still no quotation marks)

5. Follow the instructions to create another account. Don't enter your Apple ID.

6. After getting to the desktop, open System Preferences (Apple menu > System Preferences), then click on "Users and Groups"

7. Click on the lock in the lower left hand corner, enter the password you set during the initial setup.

8. Click on your account, then click "Reset Password", if prompted, click "Use Separate Password"

9. Enter a new password, then click "OK"

10. Login to your original account (the one you were locked out of), then when prompted to update your Keychain password, click "Update Keychain", then enter the last password you successfully logged into this account with.

You only need to do steps 1 - 5 if you have no other admin account on the computer, if you have another admin account you can log into, log into that account and start from step 6.

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