how to reset macbook air password when locked out

Find another computer to read the process, make a beverage and snack and be careful if you’re already at 7 failed attempts (15 minute delay territory).Īfter 3 to 5 failed attempts I recommend people stop and use another unlock method. Even if the OS is running, the chance of damage is very small when the screen is locked, so power down the Mac. You will not harm the system holding the power off button if it was off and then you started it up as the OS isn’t running. You get ten failed attempts total with long delays to ensure you don’t do this unintentionally. The second post is even about the 'cache' being wrong, what a mess: Big Sur - Logging in after sleep sometimes doesn't work and Macbook Pro stuck after I enter my passwordĭo not try to brute force a password on Apple Silicon Macs. It looks like other people are having the same issue.

I think Apple goofed at the UI design because they is no graceful way out when a user happens to forget the password. I also can use my iTunes / iCloud password to somehow reset my MacBook. How can I proceed? I do have another MacBook Air M1 and iPad and iPhone if they can help.

right click on the desktop background does not do anything.

moving the mouse to the top screen edge doesn't bring out the macOS task bar.

Imagine the OS writing something to the hard drive and you force it down. I do not want to press the power button for 10 seconds or press the Shift-Ctrl-Opt-CMD Power button to force it to power down, as that would hurt the OS and the hard drive. So I cannot log in, try again, or gracefully shut down the computer. There is only a 'Cancel' button to put the computer to nap right away. I might have missed one character or two (capitial letter, symbol, etc) and after a perhaps 8 or 10 times, it now says, 'Your Account is locked' on the log in screen. below about other people having similar issues. In such case it seems it cannot recognize my password. This happens ONLY when I left the MacBook Pro there, and it ran out of power and therefore hibernated, and then I charge it up to 100% and try to log in. Only a Cancel button which will cause the computer to nap right away. It doesn't show any log in input fields any more, and there is no Shut Down icon.

Can I still retry log in (typing in the password).

The issue is: I cannot even power it down properly.

How to reset macbook air password when locked out