Locked Out of MacBook Air or Pro? How to Unlock

Are you locked out of your MacBook Air or pro and looking for a way back in? We can help with that!

It’s completely normal for your heart to skip a beat when you forget a password – the abnormality is when it doesn’t. Depending on the account, the difficulty level of recovering your account or resetting your password could range from easy peasy to fistfuls of hair. Thankfully, the former is the case here.

This article will help you get back in when you are locked out of your MacBook Air or Pro. It discusses the possible reasons you are locked out and the various methods of getting back in.

Reasons Why You’re Locked Out of MacBook Air or Pro

If you forgot your password, you might be locked out of your MacBook Air or Pro. If you don’t have the password, you can’t unlock the Mac – at least not with your account. After three failed tries, you will be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID.

However, if you have not linked your Apple ID to your Mac user account, you will need to reset your password from recovery mode or via an admin account.

Touch Id

Another reason you’re locked out of your MacBook Air or pro is because your fingerprint is not recognized. For Macs with Touch ID, you will need to set a password before registering your fingerprint – this will be the password for your user account. According to Apple, you cannot activate a touch ID without a password as it’s supposed to be the plan B for when your fingerprint is not recognized.

However, some users have reported being able to activate touch ID without a password. This is apparently due to a glitch that makes the computer record a blank password as the password required. But, it will not accept an empty password when your fingerprint is unrecognized, and you become locked out of the MacBook air or pro.

Keyboard Issues

If your keyboard has any issues, it might be why you are locked out of your MacBook air or pro. For example, you would be unable to type in your password correctly with a damaged or faulty keyboard. Also, some keys might be malfunctioning or not working at all. Keyboard issues like this are usually caused by dirt or gunk stuck between the keys or underneath the keyboard.

When locked out of your MacBook air or pro, you should try these troubleshooting steps before attempting to reset your password;

1. Check if your keyboard has caps lock on
2. Try logging in with your Apple ID password – if you just recently changed it, try the old one first
3. Try logging in without a password
4. If you see a question mark in the password field, click on it to reveal hints that might help you remember your password
5. If you have an Apple watch that uses the same Apple ID as your MacBook, you can use the watch to unlock the computer. Note that this will only work if it isn’t the first time you are trying to log in after restarting or turning on your Mac

How to Unlock MacBook Pro Without Password or Apple ID

When locked out of your MacBook air or pro, you can unlock it with another admin account. In a case where you share the MacBook with friends or family, you can use another admin account to get into the computer and reset your password. To do this;

1. Using an admin account, log in to the Mac
2. From the Apple Menu, go to System Preferences >> Users & Groups
3. Tap the lock icon and type in the admin username and password again
4. Click on the user who is locked out of the MacBook Air or pro
5. Tap Reset Password and follow the onscreen prompts
6. Log out of the Mac and sign in again using the user’s account and the new password
7. If prompted to create a new keychain, click OK

If you are unsure who has an admin account, it is usually the person who set up the Mac. You can also check by navigating to System Preferences >> Users & Groups. You should see the account types of each account just below the usernames. Only admin accounts can reset user passwords.

Method 2: Filevault Recovery Key

If you are locked out of your MacBook air or pro, you can unlock it using your FileVault recovery key. Your FileVault recovery key is the alphanumeric code you got after turning on FileVault and creating a recovery key. Using this code, you can reset your password.

To do this;

1. Ensure you are at the login window – it should display the ShutDown, Sleep and Restart buttons. If you don’t see these buttons but can see a Switch User button, click it to go to the login window. You can also restart or turn off your Mac, and it will display the login window when it comes on.
2. Enter the wrong password on your MacBook three times
3. If you see the Restart and show password reset options prompt, click on the arrow next to it
4. Wait for it to reboot
5. You will now be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID or FileVault recovery key
6. Type in the recovery key, ensuring to type the characters exactly as they are
7. Afterward, choose your user account to reset the password
8. Type in a new password and tap Next
9. Click Restart to finish

Alternatively;

1. From step 3 above, if you see the Reset using your recovery key prompt instead, tap the arrow next to it
2. You should now see a recovery key field instead of a password field
3. Type in the recovery key, ensuring to type the characters exactly as they are
4. Follow the onscreen prompts to set a new password
5. Click on Reset Password to finish

Read also: What Is Flash Storage on MacBook Air & Pro?

Method 3: Password Reset On macOS Mojave or Earlier

Using the password reset assistant in the recovery OS on your Mac, you can set a new password and unlock it. You should note that you can only use this method if FileVault is on. First, ensure your computer is connected to the internet, then;

1. Navigate to the login screen with step 1 above, then wait at least a minute
2. You should see a prompt telling you to use the power button to turn off your Mac and boot up in recovery OS
3. Next, turn the computer off and on again
4. You should see a Reset Password window
5. Follow the onscreen prompts and click Restart afterward
6. Log in with your new password

Read also: MacBook Keyboard and Trackpad Not Working? Tips to Fix

What to Do If You Forgot MacBook Password with No Question Mark to Say “Forgot Password?”

If you forgot your MacBook password and there’s no direct option to reset it, you can do so using your Apple ID. To do this;

1. Ensure you are at the login window – it should display the Shut Down, Sleep and Restart buttons. If you don’t see these buttons but can see a Switch User button, click it to go to the login window. You can also restart or turn off your Mac, and it will display the login window when it comes on.
2. Enter the wrong password on your MacBook three times
3. If you see the Reset it using your Apple ID prompt, click on the arrow next to it
4. The computer will either restart or ask for your Apple ID
5. If it asks for your Apple ID, type it in, tap Reset Password and follow the onscreen prompts
6. If it restarts, wait for it to boot up and sign in with your Apple ID or FileVault recovery key if prompted
7. Choose your account to reset the password and select Next
8. Type in a new password and tap Next
9. After the reset is done, tap Restarts

Alternatively, you can boot your Mac into recovery mode to access the password reset tool. To do this on Macs with Intel processors;

1. Turn the MacBook off
2. Press and hold the R and Command keys and while doing so, press and release the power button
3. Keep holding the R and Command keys until you see a progress bar below the Apple logo or a spinning globe
4. After this, the computer should enter into recovery mode

On Macs with Apple’s M1 processor;

1. Turn the MacBook off
2. Press and hold the power button until you see an Options button
3. Tap it and click on Recovery
4. This would put the computer in recovery mode

To reset your password in recovery mode;

1. Click on Utilities >> Terminal
2. Type in resetpassword in the window that comes up
3. Tap the Return button and close the window
4. You should now see the password reset tool, select your Mac user account, and type in a new password
5. Follow the prompts to finish – you might need to sign in with your Apple ID
6. From step 4, if prompted to choose an admin user account that you can log in to, click on Forgot all passwords?
7. Then, click on Deactivate Mac >> Deactivate on the Reset password window (the deactivation is temporary)
8. If an Activation Lock window is displayed, you should sign in with your Apple ID and tap Next
9. On the reset password window, type in a new password and tap Next
10. After completing the password reset, tap Exit
11. Click on the Apple Menu >> Restart and sign in with the new password

If these methods don’t work, you can try out the other ones described earlier in this article.

Conclusion

The worst time to get locked out of your MacBook Air or pro is when it’s an emergency, or you’ve got tons of work to do. Thankfully, this article explains the many ways to unlock your computer as soon as possible – information like this should be saved for future mishaps. You’re welcome!

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