How Do I Reset Passwords on My MacBook?

First, which password do you mean?

"Resetting your MacBook password" can mean five very different things. Picking the right one saves a lot of frustration:

• Login (account) password - what you type to log in and unlock the Mac.
• Login Keychain password - protects your saved Wi-Fi, website and app passwords. Normally identical to your login password.
• Apple ID password - your iCloud / App Store account, used across all Apple devices, not just this Mac.
• Firmware password - an older Intel-Mac lock that runs before macOS even starts.
• Screen Time passcode - the 4-digit code that protects parental-control and limit settings.

This guide covers changing or resetting passwords you still know, plus Keychain, Apple ID, firmware and Screen Time. If you are completely locked out and have forgotten your login password, that's a different flow - see our forgotten MacBook password recovery guide which walks through Recovery mode and the Reset Password assistant.

Change your login password (when you know it)

This is the everyday case: you remember your current password and just want a new one. You do not need Recovery mode, and you won't lose any data.

• Apple menu → System Settings → Users & Groups.
• Click the info (i) button next to your account.
• Click Change Password…
• Enter your old password, then your new password twice, plus a hint.
• Click Change Password.

Because you supplied the old password, macOS quietly updates your login Keychain to match - so your saved passwords keep working. That's the big advantage of changing a known password versus resetting a forgotten one.

Reset another user's password (as an admin)

If you're the Mac's administrator and a family member or colleague forgot their account password, you can reset it for them without their old password:

• Log in to your own administrator account.
• Apple menu → System Settings → Users & Groups.
• Click the info (i) button next to the other person's account.
• Click Change Password… and set a new password and hint for them.

Important: when an admin resets someone else's password this way, that user's login Keychain is not unlocked by the new password. At their next login macOS will offer to create a fresh login Keychain (see the next section). That's normal and safe - it just means their previously saved passwords stay locked in the old Keychain until they enter the original password.

The login Keychain - what happens when the password changes

Your login Keychain is encrypted with your login password. When you change a password the normal way (entering the old one), the Keychain password is updated automatically and everything carries over.

But when a password is reset without the old one - by an admin, or via Recovery mode - the Mac can no longer unlock the old Keychain. You'll see a prompt like "The system was unable to unlock your login keychain." Your safest move is to create a new login Keychain:

• When prompted at login, click Create New Keychain.
• If no prompt appears, open Keychain Access (Applications → Utilities) → menu Keychain Access → Settings → Reset My Default Keychains.
• The new Keychain starts empty; you'll re-enter Wi-Fi, app and website passwords once as you use them.
• If you remember the old login password, you can instead double-click the old "login" keychain in Keychain Access and unlock it to recover those saved items.

Reset your Apple ID password

Your Apple ID password is separate from your Mac login - it controls iCloud, the App Store and Find My. To change it when you know it: Apple menu → System Settings → your name at the top → Sign-In & Security → Change Password.

If you've forgotten it, reset it from a trusted device or at iforgot.apple.com using two-factor authentication. Note that changing your Apple ID password does not change your Mac login password, and vice versa - they're independent. After an Apple ID change you may be asked to re-sign-in to iCloud on the Mac.

Firmware password (older Intel Macs) - and why it can block resets

On Intel-based Macs you could set a firmware password that must be entered before macOS or even Recovery mode will boot. It's a strong anti-theft feature - but if you don't have it, it will block every login-password reset method, including Recovery mode's Reset Password tool and booting from external media.

• To remove it (if you know it): restart holding Command + R to enter Recovery, enter the firmware password when asked, then menu Utilities → Startup Security Utility (or Firmware Password Utility) → Turn Off Firmware Password.
• If you've forgotten the firmware password: Apple cannot remotely clear it. You must take the Mac, with proof of purchase / ownership, to Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider - by design, nobody else can unlock it.
• Apple Silicon (M1-M5) Macs do not have a separate firmware password - their security is built into the chip and tied to your login and Apple ID, so this only affects 2010-2020 Intel models.

Reset a Screen Time passcode

The Screen Time passcode is the 4-digit code protecting parental controls and app/usage limits - not your login. To change or remove it when you know it: Apple menu → System Settings → Screen Time → Change Screen Time Passcode (or Turn Off).

Forgotten it? On the same screen choose Forgot Passcode? and sign in with the Apple ID you set when you first created the Screen Time passcode to reset it. If Screen Time is managed through Family Sharing, reset it from the organiser's account.

A note on security and ownership

Everything above assumes your own Mac or one you're authorised to manage. Apple's password and firmware locks exist specifically to stop a stranger wiping and reusing a lost or stolen MacBook. If you've bought a second-hand Mac that's still locked to someone else's Apple ID or firmware password, only the original owner (or Apple, with proof of purchase) can release it - so always confirm a used Mac is fully signed out before you pay. We can verify activation-lock and ownership status as part of a full MacBook diagnostic.

When to bring it to us

Most password changes take a couple of minutes at home. Bring the Mac to us if you've hit a firmware-password wall on an Intel model, your Keychain is tangled after a reset, or a failed reset has left macOS unbootable. We're at Office #45, 10th Floor, Concord Tower, Al Sufouh, Dubai Media City, open Mon-Sat 9am-10pm, with free pickup and free diagnosis. If a reset corrupted the system we can also do a clean macOS reinstall or a full factory reset of your MacBook. Call or WhatsApp 055 741 3706 and bring proof of ownership for any locked device.