Cannot access accounts when no password

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Level 2

177 points

Cannot access accounts when no password

I am using High Sierra (10.13.2), and usually run my computer without a logon password (secure location). I now find that I cannot get into my user account to make changes or to change my password - System Preferences give a rejection shake when I try. Generally, other things such as logging on to my account or installing software, work just fine without a password.

Why has this just started with High Sierra, and how can I get past this to make changes to my user account or change my password?

Thank, Paul.

iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13.2), i7 2.8Ghz, 12 GB RAM

Posted on Jan 26, 2018 2:35 PM

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Answer 1

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John Galt

Level 10

147,288 points

Jan 26, 2018 7:17 PM in response to Paul Fryer

Not having a password (or having a null password) used to be OK. I suspect Apple either intentionally or unintentionally made it difficult or impossible to use recent macOS versions without one though. That may be the reason you can't make any changes to System Preferences that require Admin credentials. If it is not an intentional change, I suppose nearly all of Apple's macOS engineers haven't even considered the fact some people might not want a password. For better or worse, passwords have just become an accepted fact of life.

If you believe that is the case, and you want Apple to reconsider this intentional or unintentional change, then tell Apple here: Feedback - macOS - Apple

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