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Silicon Mac suddenly won’t accept correct password (works on another Mac) — pre-boot lockout

L

LBC

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I’m trying to confirm whether this is truly unrecoverable or if I’m missing something.


I have an Apple-silicon MacBook I’ve used normally for a couple years. I’ve always used the same login password and verified it’s correct by booting and logging into my older 2021 Mac with that same password.


What happened:
  • Mac was working normally
  • Lid closed for a few days (remained plugged in)
  • Reopened it and the password is no longer accepted
  • No password change, no update, no intentional restart

Current state:
  • macOS never loads
  • Blocked at the pre-boot unlock screen
  • Password rejected → eventually “Account is locked”
  • Asked for a recovery key (don’t have it)
  • Apple ID recovery not offered
  • Safe Mode unreachable because the disk never unlocks

This appears to be a pre-boot disk unlock / Secure Enclave issue, not an Apple ID or user-account problem.


My questions:
  1. Can a prolonged lid-closed state force a full disk re-auth even when plugged in?
  2. If the recovery key isn’t available and Apple ID recovery wasn’t enabled, is erase/reset the only option?
  3. Is there any Apple-supported way to confirm this before wiping the Mac?

Thanks for any insight.
 
LBC said:
Safe Mode unreachable because the disk never unlocks
Click to expand...
But can you boot into Recovery? Recovery and Safe Mode are different.

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

macOS Recovery is your computer’s built-in recovery system, with utilities to reinstall macOS, repair or erase your startup disk, restore from a Time Machine backup, and more. Follow the steps for your type of Mac.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

Have you tried the reset options in Recovery?

If you forgot your Mac login password - Apple Support

If you can’t remember the password to log in to your Mac user account, or the password doesn’t work, try these steps to reset your password.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
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LBC said:
I’ve always used the same login password and verified it’s correct by booting and logging into my older 2021 Mac with that same password.
Click to expand...
Logging into another Mac doesn't verify anything about the problem Mac. Just saying...
 
On the login screen, look to the upper right corner. Make sure, you have the correct keyboard layout selected.
 
OP:

If you can't get anywhere after booting to recovery (through the "startup options" routine), then it sounds like it's time for a visit to the nearest Apple Store Genius bar...
 
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I just had this happen to me, but I *do* have my FileVault recovery key saved in a separate location. So clicked on the "reboot to change password" and entered my recovery key, which was accepted. The new password was accepted, and then when the system rebooted, the new password did not work.

I booted in to Rescue mode by holding down the power button, and it showed my login user icon and asked for the password to be allowed to unlock the disk. I entered my (newly changed) password and that worked, so I know macos knows my correct password. I then rebooted back to the login screen, attempted using the new password and again, it acted like my password was wrong.

So clearly the pre-boot area is not syncing my password and all of my attempts at fixing this have failed. The only recourse is thankfully I have a time machine backup, so I'm wiping the computer and restoring it.

I wish there was an easier way out of this mess, and I have no idea what got the computer into this state in the first place. I'm running Tahoe 26.3.1 (a).

EDIT: I also made sure I'm using the same keyboard layout (US) and have tried using an external keyboard as well to confirm there were no stuck or broken keys on my built-in keyboard.
 
Ah, so I'm not alone with this!. I'm new user to MacBook (Neo), and since I've got it happened to me twice, didn't accept correct password. First time I've managed to change password with AI help how to do it. Since then I've turn on FileVault, had Recovery Key generated, and yesterday come back home and Neo asked for password typed in... and no luck, tried to use Recovery Key and didn't accept either. So had to wipe the drive nad reinstall MacOS. I'm so annoyed with this and starting to question to keep MacBook or not, because of that. I'm surprised that Apple didn't fix this yet. I've setup laptop again and decided to have FileVault off for the minute, so I can reset it next time if happens again more easily.
 
I just had this happen to me on my M1 Pro. I had turned if off for about 24 hours and when I powered it up, I kept getting a wrong password message at login. I was beginning to think that I was losing my mind or something. I went to my iMac and was able to sign right in (they have the same password). Miraculously, I was able to log in after being put in the 15 minute penalty box. This has never happened before today and I have no idea what caused this problem. If it matters, I just installed the latest OS update this past Tuesday.
 
What are the conditions that trigger this bug? I've never heard of this before, but I went and verified my recovery key just in case!
 
A "pre-boot" password?
Isn't that FileVault (or firmware)?

One more reason why I've NEVER used FileVault.

Fishrrman's "Mac Rule Number 7":
NEVER use encryption on a drive unless you have a rock-solid and compelling reason to do so. What if you have an emergency and the encryption prevents you from accessing it?
 
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Well, the first time it happed to me when FileVault was actually off and never been set up. So I don't think it's triggered by FileVault
 
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