Cannot unlock Local Items keychain

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Level 1

124 points

Cannot unlock Local Items keychain

I know my keychain password. Using it I can unlock the Login keychain and the system keychain, and I can change the keychain password. At the moment it is identical to my Login password.

But when I boot I get several popups asking me to unlock Local Items by entering my Keychain password. My valid password is not accepted. And in Keychain Access my Keychain password is NOT accepted for unlocking Local Items. An example:

In the old days I would have run Keychain First Aid, but that is no longer available.

Running Sierra, latest version including recent security update. This problem is new, since a recent update. I am not afraid to use Terminal if necessary to try to solve what appears to be a limited corruption issue. I would strongly prefer not to throw away the current keychain.

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6), 15 inch, 2.6 GHz, 16GB RAM

Posted on Dec 20, 2017 3:39 PM

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Answer 1

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Al Q Author

Level 1

124 points

Dec 21, 2017 7:58 AM in response to Eric Root

Thanks, Eric, for those links. I had already read most of them before I posted, but not the one by Kappy.

I have no difficulty unlocking the login keychain, or the System keychain under it. I cannot unlock or modify any of the other subsidiary keychains, especially Local Items which is causing multiple pop-ups that cannot be dismissed. It is also leading to difficulties with iTunes backup of my phone.

The articles you point to appear to be from the era when there was a Keychain First Aid feature. Sierra no longer offers that option. I thought of repairing permissions, but that feature also seems to have been eliminated.

Is there a keychain first aid program that I can run from Terminal, with admin authorization?

Several articles suggest deleting a corrupted keychain. The system will then create a new empty keychain, but keep the old keychain. It is stated that if you need any passwords from the old keychain you can drag them to the new one. But since I cannot unlock the old keychain, that won't work.

What about restoring keychains from a Time Machine backup made before the problems started? In ~/Library/Keychains I notice in a folder with a long generated name a number of files, some of which have a recent date (since the trouble started) and -corrupt- in their name. A backup from Dec. 15 is the most recent with no such files. What files should I restore? I would try to rename the current files before restoring, or use the Keep Both option. Any guidance?

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Dec 21, 2017 12:21 PM in response to Al Q

See if this link works for repairing permissions using Sierra.

Reset Home folder Permissions

I would try dragging a copy of ~/Library/Keychains to your Desktop. Then restore the folder from Time Machine and restart the computer. If everything works, delete the file from your Desktop. If the same, return the folder from the Desktop, replacing the restored folder.

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Answer 3

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

Dec 21, 2017 12:20 PM in response to Al Q

See this article Keychain for Mac: Delete a keychain

Note : if you enter in user library and drag and drop entire keychain folder to the desktop or delete it , same in user library > Preferences folder all the .plists will be not in alphabetical order ( all plists will move up and down ) , for that you have to contact in apple support and will be rearranged by them but will take days .

Have tried in my system for sure .

And regarding the terminal command , don't try it as you will get informations from many , it may or may not work .

incorrect terminal commands executed can corrupt system keychain and the result will lead to erase the HD and reinstall the OS .

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Answer 4

Al Q Author

Level 1

124 points

Dec 20, 2017 6:57 PM in response to Ferd II

Thanks for this suggestion. It was one of the many things I tried before posting.

As I said in my post, I can change (and have changed) the keychain password, and I have made it identical to the login password. I have no problem unlocking the Login keychain and even the System keychain. But for some reason the actual valid Keychain password is NOT accepted for unlocking Local Items.

All the advice I have been able to find in the Apple forums and elsewhere boils down to deleting the Local Items keychain if this happens, and starting fresh with a new one. But that will presumably wipe out all the information that is now in Local Items. I would prefer not to do that.

I suspect that there is a bad link somewhere. A rebuild of the keychain structure (like the old First Aid did) might solve it. I am hoping that even though First Aid as a public option is gone, there may be a way to get the same effect through Terminal.

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Answer 5

Al Q Author

Level 1

124 points

Dec 21, 2017 12:23 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks, Eric for giving me confidence to try the Time Machine recovery. Had to remove the whole keychain folder from Library because with it there (even renamed) the recovery failed. Moved it to the desktop as you suggested and all the strange behaviour has ended. Now I can proceed in some confidence with my upgrade to High Sierra.

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