Mac Won't Accept Password After Update? Here's the Fix

Your Mac password is one of the most important keys to logging into your Mac.

"Mac won't accept password after update" gets in the way of using your Mac normally and locks you out of your Mac.

Relax! In this post, you will learn 6 effective methods to solve this annoying problem! Keep reading!

Why Isn't My Mac Accepting My Password?

Many users have reported that “Mac won’t let me log in with the correct password.” There can be several reasons for this issue, but the most common ones include:

• You have forgotten your password, but believe the password you entered is true.
• Caps Lock is enabled.
• Keyboard error.
• Software issue.

How to Fix the "Mac Not Accepting Password" Error

After identifying the main reasons why your Mac won’t accept the password, it’s time to explore some helpful fixes. You’ll find them in the sections below.

1. Check Caps Lock

The most common reason for "Mac not accepting password" is that the Caps Lock is enabled.

As your password may contain both uppercase and lowercase characters, it's easy to enter the wrong password sometimes.

To fix this, check whether you have the Caps Lock enabled. If yes, disable it.

It’s also important to check whether the keyboard input method has changed. If it has, switch it back to the correct setting.

2. Restart Your Mac

Restarting your Mac is a simple and quick solution, as it can fix most of the system's occasional errors.

If you cannot make a restart, press the Power button to force restart your Mac.

3. Boot Your Mac in Safe Mode

Booting your Mac in Safe Mode can help you identify whether the software that loads as your Mac starts up is to blame.

The ways to boot Mac in safe mode are different for Macs with Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs.

For a Mac with Apple silicon:

1. Shut down your Mac completely.
2. Press and hold the Power button until the "Loading startup options" appear.
3. Select a volume.
4. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.

For an Intel-based Mac:

1. Turn on or restart your Mac＞press and hold the Shift key immediately until you see the login window.
2. Log in to your Mac.
3. You might be asked to log in again.

4. Reset Password

If you forgot your Mac's login password, your password for Mac is not working, or your Mac won't accept the password, you can reset password to regain access to your Mac.

The message "Restart and show password reset option" or "Reset it using Apple ID" will appear once you've entered the wrong password 3 times.

There are mainly 5 ways to reset your Mac password:

• Reset your Mac password with your Apple ID.
• Reset your Mac password using a different user account.
• Reset your Mac password using Terminal.
• Reset your Mac password in recovery mode.
• Reset your Mac password with a FileVault Recovery.

Here we show you the 2 simplest ways to reset your Mac password.

Reset Mac password with Apple ID

After three incorrect password attempts, the option “Reset it using your Apple ID” will appear—but only if you’ve enabled “Allow user to reset password using Apple ID” in Users & Groups.

1. Click "Reset it using your Apple ID".
2. Enter your Apple ID and click Reset Password.
3. Click OK to restart your Mac if you're asked to create a new keychain to store the user's passwords.
4. Click Forgot all passwords if you're asked to select an admin user.
5. Click Deactivate Mac if this option is available.
6. Enter your new password, and click Next.
7. After finishing the password reset, click Restart.

Reset Mac Password with Recovery Key

If you turned on FileVault and enabled the recovery key, this method works.

Here is how:

1. Click "Reset using your recovery key".
2. Enter the FileVault recovery key you set before.

   

3. Enter your new password information＞Click Reset Password.

5. Reset NVRAM/PRAM

Resetting NVRAM may be helpful if one or more settings stored in it aren't working as expected.

However, it's worth noting that this method only works for Intel-based Macs. There is no need to reset NVRAM if you are using an Apple Silicon Mac.

Here is how to reset NVRAM on an Intel-based Mac:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Turn on your Mac＞press and hold Option + Command + P + R immediately for about 20 seconds.

   

3. Release the keys.
4. Adjust any system settings that have been reset if needed.

6. Erase Your Mac

The final solution is to erase your Mac. Once it’s erased, you’ll be able to reset your Mac password.

But by following this, all your Mac data will be erased. You'd better back up important files before.

Here is how to erase your Mac:

1. Start up your Mac from macOS Recovery: Turn on your Mac＞Press and hold Command + R immediately until you see an Apple logo or other image.
2. Choose Erase Mac from the Recovery Assistant menu in the menu bar if you're asked to select an admin user.
3. Click Erase Mac ＞Erase Mac.
4. If your Mac restarts to a flashing question mark, press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until it turns off.
5. Start up from macOS Recovery again＞reinstall macOS.

Conclusion

In this post, 6 helpful fixes for Mac not accepting passwords after sleep are introduced in detail.

Hope at least one of them helps you regain access to your Mac.

In addition, to prevent potential system issues, it’s a good idea to clean your Mac regularly. BuhoCleaner provides professional tools for Mac cleaning and performance monitoring.

Give it a try to boost your Mac’s performance and speed it up!

FAQs

1. How to change your Mac's login password?

   Go to Apple Menu＞System Settings＞Login Password＞Change＞Enter your Old Password and the New Password＞Verify the New Password＞Click Change Password.

2. How to disable the login password on Mac?

   Go to Apple Menu＞System Settings＞Login Password＞Change＞Enter your Old Password＞Click Continue.