samuel313

Q: how do I remove keychains without the password?

how do I remove keychains without the password?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Aug 5, 2016 9:56 AM

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Q: how do I remove keychains without the password?

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  • by Alwayswantingtohelp1,

    Alwayswantingtohelp1 Alwayswantingtohelp1 Aug 6, 2016 1:15 PM in response to samuel313
    Community Specialists
    Aug 6, 2016 1:15 PM in response to samuel313

    Hello samuel313,


    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. 

     

    I understand from your post that you would like to remove a keychain from your MacBook Pro. I know there are times that we want to remove keychains from time to time.

     

    Your login password for Keychain should be the same password you use to log into your OS X user account. If it doesn’t accept that password, and your OS X user account password was changed at some point, the Keychain password would be the old OS X login password. You would need to update your login keychain first and then you should be able to delete keychains after that. Follow these steps to update your keychain:

     

    1. Open the Keychain Access app, which is in the the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. 
    2. From the Edit menu, choose “Change Password for Keychain 'login.'”
    3. Enter the old password of your user account in the Current Password field. This is the password you were using before the password was reset.
    4. Enter the new password of your user account in the New Password field. This is the password you're now using to log in to your Mac. Enter the same password in the Verify field.
    5. Click OK when done, then quit Keychain Access.

     

    If your Mac Keeps asking for the login keychain password

     

    If you don’t remember the old OS X login password, or don’t remember it being changed at all, follow these steps instead:

     

    Create a new login keychain

    After resetting your password and logging back in to your account, you might see an alert that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. This is expected, because the passwords for your user account and login keychain no longer match. Just click the Create New Keychain button.

    If you didn't see an alert about your login keychain, or you see other messages asking for your old password, reset your keychain manually:

    1. Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. 
    2. Choose Preferences from the Keychain Access menu, then click the Reset My Default Keychain button in the preferences window. After you enter your new password, Keychain Access creates an empty login keychain with no password. Click OK to confirm.

      If you don't see a Reset My Default keychain button, close the preferences window and select the “login” keychain from the left side of the Keychain Access window. Press the Delete key, then click Delete References.
       
    3. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu to return to the login screen.
    4. Log in to your account using your new password. Your account password and login keychain password now match again.

     

    Change or reset the password of an OS X user account

     

    Once your account password and login keychain password are the same, try deleting the keychain again.

     

    Best Regards