A common way to unlock your MacBook when you forget the password is to click the question mark next to the password field and follow the password hint or reset message. However, some users may not find the question mark or have any reset options to change the password, even after entering the wrong password three times.
I forgot my MacBook Air password and couldn't log into it. I had that experience before, so I tried to enter the incorrect password 3 times to get the option to reset password. To my surprise, nothing happened. Also, there's usually a question mark next to password, but I had nothing. How do I unlock my MacBook if I've forgotten my password?
In this article, we'll explain how to change password for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, and other Mac models when you forget the Mac password and find no question mark.
Way 1: Restart your Mac and reset Mac password
If you forgot MacBook password and see no question mark, restart your computer. If there's no option to restart, press and hold the power button for up to 10 seconds to shut it down, then turn it on again.
When your Mac boots up and shows the login screen, try possible passwords a few times, and then click the question mark. You may encounter one of the following situations:
If you see a password hint, try to recall the answer and enter the password again.
If you see one of the reset messages, follow its instructions.
1️⃣ Restart and show password reset options
- Click the arrow next to this message to reboot your Mac and start the Recovery Assistant.
- Enter your Apple ID and password to log in.
- Provide the necessary information.
- When a new page requests your new Mac password, enter it twice and a password hint.
- Click Next and follow the instructions.
2️⃣ Reset it using your Apple ID
This is only available if you've enabled the option "Allow user to reset password using Apple Account" in System Settings (previously System Preferences) > Users & Groups.
- When this message pops up, click the play button.
- Enter your Apple ID and password.
- Then click Reset Password to start the password-reset process.
- The system will then reboot with a Recovery Assistant. When you see a window asking you to enter the new password, type it in and hit the Next button.
3️⃣ Reset it using your recovery key
If you've turned on FileVault on your Mac and have a recovery key saved during the initial setup, you can use the recovery key to reset your MacBook Air password when locked out.
- Click the message to begin the reset process.
- When asked to enter the FileVault recovery key, enter the string of letters and numbers and follow the prompts to set up a new password.
If you didn't enable resetting passwords with Apple ID or the FileVault encryption, keep reading to learn how to reset MacBook password without Apple ID.
Way 2: Reset Mac password in Recovery Mode
Alternatively, you can use Recovery Mode to reset a password on a MacBook or a desktop Mac if you've forgotten the Mac login password. This is the best option when you forgot MacBook password and found no question mark.
Here's how to reset MacBook password without Apple ID:
- Boot your Mac into macOS Recovery Mode. (The process is different on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.)
- In the macOS Utilities window, click Utilities > Terminal in the menu bar.
- Enter the command below and hit Enter.
resetpassword - Choose "I forgot my password" and click Next.
- Select the user account you wish to change the password.
- Enter a new password twice and click Save.
- Restart your Mac and log in with your new password.
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Way 3: Use Forgot all password
If you've set up FileVault, you can't enter macOS Recovery without entering the login password for the selected account. To change the password, you can click "Forgot all password?" beneath your user account, and then follow the onscreen instructions to create a new password.
Way 4: Reset Apple MacBook password with another admin account
Suppose you have another administrator account, you can log in with this account to reset password on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, etc.
Try these steps if you forgot MacBook Pro password and has no question mark:
- Log in to your Mac with another admin account.
- Go to System Settings > Users & Groups.
- Click on the info icon next to the admin account for which you forgot the login password.
- Click Reset... to reset the password.
- Enter the new password and password hint, and then click Reset Password.
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Way 5: Erase your Mac to bypass password
If you still can't unlock your Mac or reset the password, the last resort is to erase your Mac without password.
- Enter macOS Recovery mode.
- When asked to select a user, choose Recovery Assistant > Erase Mac from the top-left menu bar instead.
- Click Erase Mac and confirm it.
- Follow the guided information to reinstall macOS and set up your Mac.
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Conclusion
We provide 5 ways to unlock a Mac when the owner forgets the Mac password and experiences no question mark. Four methods focus on how to reset a password on MacBook Pro or MacBook Air when there's no question mark. The last one is the final straw in case you can't reset the login password on a Mac.