Password not working

[DesignBloke]

Hi all,

I received my refurbed Macbook Pro direct from Apple on Monday. I have 25 years experience of using Macs so know my way around, or so i thought.

I can login from a restart at the login screen without any problems, but my password is not working in System Preferences.

I am needing to allow Adobe Illustrator to record my screen and can't activate this. I have checked, and my password doesn't work anywhere in system preferences, including at password reset.

I've powered down the mac, and re-booted, logged in without problem, yet in system preferences I can't do anything.

Any help, very much appreciated.

Peter

 

[Apple_Robert]

Try booting into recovery > terminal > resetpassword

Once you enter that command and input a new password, the system will reboot. Hopefully, that will fix your problem.

 

[chscag]

I can login from a restart at the login screen without any problems, but my password is not working in System Preferences.

It sounds like your keychain is messed up. Did you by chance use the Migration Assistant to carry data over to the new refurbished MBP from an older machine?

If what was suggested by @Apple_Robert does not work, you may have to delete the old keychain and create a new one. That means new passwords for everything.

 

[DesignBloke]

Oh my word, that was a trial. I am now back in control of my preferences. i chatted to apple about the issue, and they told me what to do. Before I began, I clearly asked if this would lose all of my other passwords, and she (Ellen) said no. Did what she said, and after having to reset ALL of my passwords, and re-enter for all of my apps, I now have access again.

Reset the SMC of your Mac – Apple Support (UK)

The SMC manages power and hardware behaviour on your Mac. This troubleshooting article explains when you should reset it, what issues it can fix and how to perform an SMC reset depending on your Mac model (Apple silicon, Intel with T2 chip or older Mac devices)

support.apple.com

My only guess is that it is something to do with being a refurbed machine.

Anyway, worse things are happening in the world right now, so i'll move on. Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Oh my word, that was a trial. I am now back in control of my preferences. i chatted to apple about the issue, and they told me what to do. Before I began, I clearly asked if this would lose all of my other passwords, and she (Ellen) said no. Did what she said, and after having to reset ALL of my passwords, and re-enter for all of my apps, I now have access again.

Reset the SMC of your Mac – Apple Support (UK)

The SMC manages power and hardware behaviour on your Mac. This troubleshooting article explains when you should reset it, what issues it can fix and how to perform an SMC reset depending on your Mac model (Apple silicon, Intel with T2 chip or older Mac devices)

support.apple.com

My only guess is that it is something to do with being a refurbed machine.

Anyway, worse things are happening in the world right now, so i'll move on. Thanks for your help everyone.

Resetting the SMC should not have caused that to happen. Glad you were able to get it resolved, though it sounds like a pain in the butt re-entering passwords.

 

[chscag]

Resetting the SMC should not have caused that to happen. Glad you were able to get it resolved, though it sounds like a pain in the butt re-entering passwords.

I agree, there's no way resetting the SMC would cause that. I suspect what support had him do was to create a new keychain. That's why he had to redo all his passwords.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I agree, there's no way resetting the SMC would cause that. I suspect what support had him do was to create a new keychain. That's why he had to redo all his passwords.

I agree with you. Sounds lie she had him do the SMC and when that didn't work, she used the nuke option. Too bad he didn't get a chance to try the terminal command. I think it would have worked.