how to restore imac to factory settings without password

The key here is that you need access to an admin user account. If you share your Mac with friends or family members and they forgot their password, odds are you'll be able to reset it for them. Use another admin account to unlock your Mac Getting locked out of your Mac is annoying. Once it reboots, you'll then be asked to sign in with your Apple ID, select the user account you want to reset the password for, and then enter a new user account password. Ideally, you'll have linked your Apple ID to your user account on your Mac during the initial setup, which will make it possible to reset your user password with just a few clicks.Īfter entering the wrong user password three times, you'll be asked if you want to restart your computer to view the password recovery options.

Use your Apple ID to reset your Mac's password Here's how to get started regaining control over your Mac computer. If you didn't link your Apple ID, that's OK, there's still another option to reset your account password. There are a few different methods you can use, and the road you take to unlock your Mac without a password could depend on whether you linked your Apple ID to your user account on your Mac during setup, or if you have one of the new M1 Macs. Because of that, MacOS includes a tool for this exact scenario. Apple knows that a forgotten password can be a personal hell, especially if you're working on a deadline. But what happens when you forget the password to log into your Mac? After trying, then retrying the password you thought was correct, it's only natural to want to panic. For online accounts, you can just click a few links, enter your email address and then reset your password. Then, switch to the iMessage tab and select Sign Out.I think it's safe to say we've all forgotten a password at some point. IMessage: Open the Messages app and select Messages > Preferences on the menu bar. That minimizes the chances of running into account-related issues while using your Apple ID on other Apple devices you own. If you intend on selling or giving away your Mac, you may want to take a few minutes to sign out of both iMessage and iCloud.

Don’t worry-you won’t need any external macOS installation media. The procedure involves wiping the startup disk and reinstalling the system software. If you use an Intel Mac without an Apple T2 Security Chip, you must enter and use macOS Recovery to reset your Mac to factory defaults.

For comprehensive step-by-step instructions, check our guide to restoring a Mac using Time Machine. You can skip that if you want and use the Migration Assistant to restore everything later. If you choose to set up your Mac, you’ll be given the option of restoring your Mac’s data via a Time Machine backup.

How to restore imac to factory settings without password