Forgot your Mac’s password? Here’s how to get back into your locked-down computer- Reset MacBook Pro
Dusting off and powering up an old MacBook only to realize you can’t remember the password is a frustrating experience. Each failed login attempt can cause confusion and even panic. Don’t worry, though. Apple knows that a forgotten password situation is a personal hell that many of us run into, which is why the MacOS software includes built-in features for this exact situation. There are a few different tools you can use, and the road you take to unlock your Mac without a password could depend on whether or not you linked your Apple ID to your user account on your Mac during setup. If you didn’t, that’s OK, there’s still another option to reset your account password. Here’s how to get started regaining control over your Mac computer. Getting locked out of your Mac is annoying. But don’t get too frustrated. Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET Use your Apple ID to reset your 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. After entering the wrong user password three times, you’ll be asked if you want to reset the password using your Apple ID, if it’s linked to your account. If you don’t see the message after your third attempt, your account isn’t linked to your Apple ID and you’ll need to use the method outlined below. Using your Apple ID to reset your Mac password is an easy process. Jason Cipriani/CNET Here’s what to do: Enter your Apple ID email address and password, and follow the rest of the prompts to create a new password. When you change the password, you’ll see a prompt letting you know a new login keychain — what MacOS uses to store your passwords will be created, but your old keychain will remain saved on your Mac. If you ever remember your old password, you’ll be able to unlock the old keychain. Now playing: Watch this: MacOS Catalina: 5 best things 2:02 Use an Admin 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. The key here is that you need access to an Admin user account. Usually, the person who first set up the Mac has an admin account by default, but you can check by logging in to your account and opening System Preferences > Users & Groups and viewing the list of user accounts on your Mac. Just below the user name will be the account type — if it says “Admin” you can reset user passwords. To do so, from that same Users & Groups screen, click on the lock and enter your admin name and password when prompted. Next, select the user you need to reset the password for and then click on the button labeled Reset Password and follow the instructions. Remember to write down the new passwords you have to create for fellow users of the same Mac. Jason Cipriani/CNET Use Recovery Mode to reset your password You’ll need to boot your Mac into Recovery Mode in order to access the password reset tool. I’ve found the easiest way to do that is to turn off your Mac. With your Mac turned off, press and hold the Command and R keys on your keyboard, then press the power button. Hold in Command+R until you see a progress bar show up below the Apple logo. You can also get into Recovery Mode by restarting your Mac and trying to time the keyboard combo of Command+R, but in my experience, starting with your Mac turned off is the most reliable method. With your Mac now in Recovery Mode, click on Utilities in the menu bar followed by Terminal. A new window will show up, waiting for you to enter a command. Type “resetpassword” as one word, without the quotes, and press Return. Close the Terminal window, where you will then find the Reset Password tool. A list of all user accounts on your Mac will be on display. To reset the password for your account, you’ll need to set a new password for all users. Make sure you write down the new password for anyone who shares your Mac. If you use FileVault, you have two options to reset your user account password. Sarah Tew/CNET If FileVault is enabled on your Mac FileVault is an optional MacOS feature that encrypts your Mac’s hard drive and all of the data stored on it. You can turn it on during initial setup, or in System Preferences at a later time. If you have FileVault turned on, you have two additional options to reset your user password. You can wait up to a minute on the user login screen for a prompt to show up that instructs you to press the power button to restart the Mac into Recovery mode. Follow the instructions to restart your computer, after which you should see a Reset Password window show up. The other option is to use the Recovery Key that you should have written down when you enabled FileVault. Let’s be honest, most of us don’t do that, but if you did you can enter the recovery key when asked after three failed login attempts. Be sure to use upper case letters and to enter the hyphens — they’re required. Any method we outlined is an effective way of regaining access to your account, or if your child forgot their password. Of course, if you can use this to get into your Mac, so can someone else who has access to your computer. You can prevent that from happening, you’ll just need to be more proactive during setup with storing recovery keys and remembering your password. Here’s how to lock down your Mac. CNET Apple Report Stay up-to-date on the latest news, reviews and advice on iPhones, iPads, Macs, services, and software.
MacBook Pro – doesn’t boot – MagSafe stays amber without battery
Hello, I have an issue with my mid-2014 13” Macbook Pro (A1502) On Tuesday, I reached my computer after it was left charging for a while, opened it, woke up with fans spinning at full throttle, nothing on the screen, and after 30 seconds or so, it shut down by itself. Tried to restart it a number of times, with various results ranging from “no life at all” to “fan at full speed, apple logo on the screen, booting up for 15 secs and then shut down”. Tried SMC reset, successful (magsafe turning green then amber), but no change. Impossible to do an NVRAM reset, boot into recovery mode or diagnostics mode as the mac would just shut down before booting macOS. Yesterday, it just didn’t want to start anymore… no sign of life except for a little noise in the case when i powered it on (it was the fan – see next paragraph). Tried charging it, Magsafe turned amber, little heat coming from the case, but it stayed in that state for hours, longer than it usually takes for a full charge (even though it was probably at approx. 90% charge at least when I plugged it in). First weird issue. Today, I decided to have a look inside, took out the motherboard, didn’t see any kind of visible damage. No water, nothing except a certain amount of dust. Cleaned it up. Tried to boot. The computer actually reacts to the “power” key on the keyboard (so that’s not the issue). What actually happens is that the fan spins at slow speed (close to being silent), but that’s it. Tried booting with the battery disconnected, no change BUT I noted the MagSafe port turned amber… seems weird if there’s no battery to charge. From my research and gut feeling, I would guess a shortage in the motherboard, but I do not have the knowledge and tools to diagnose further if that’s it. And it’s a 2014 MBP in a not-so-great shape (right speaker needs a replacement, screen is worn out…), so I’d rather upgrade for a new computer than spend hundreds on getting it fixed. Is there anything else I can try that’s reasonably cheap? Thanks in advance 😉 L.
13-inch MacBook Pro
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard, updated 10th generation Intel processors, and doubled storage capacities, was announced on May 4, 2020. This was the final MacBook in need of the new keyboard and now Apple’s entire laptop lineup no longer has the troublesome Butterfly Keyboard. There are more expensive versions of this MacBook Pro which give yet better performance, more storage, and four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports instead of the two of the MacBook Air. The entry-level version of the MacBook Pro, with 256GB of storage and an 8th generation Intel i5 processor, makes a compelling step up from the MacBook Air. Of course, if you want even better performance options, you’ll likely be looking at the 16-inch MacBook Pro. 13-inch MacBook Pro Pricing The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,299 for a version with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage. Apple’s standard configurations range up to $1,999 for a 2.0GHz quad-core Processor, 16GB RAM, and 1TB storage. Custom configs go as high as $3,599. 13-inch MacBook Pro features Magic Keyboard The new Magic Keyboard has finally propagated through Apple’s entire product line, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro being the last to receive it. Even with multiple revisions, the Butterfly keyboard just couldn’t shake its issues with sticky keys and slightly higher fail rates. No reliability issues have come to light about the Magic Keyboard, however, and seems to be the perfect balance between travel and stability. Apple revealed its latest keyboard design with the release of the 16-inch MacBook Pro in fall 2019. From there they released the revised MacBook Air with the keyboard, and even the iPad Pro got an all-new keyboard case. The 13-inch update was a long time coming and is finally here with all the features you’d want from a modern Mac keyboard. The return of the scissor-switch mechanism was accompanied by a few other welcome additions. The physical escape key is back, with the Touch ID button on the other side, sandwiching the Touch Bar in the middle. The new keyboard also features the inverted-T arrow keys. Performance The updated MacBook Pro did not change from the baseline processors used in the 2019 model but did include a new 10th-generation Intel processor for the most premium model. The MacBook Pro starts with a 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, which can be turbo boost to 3.9GHz. This costs just $1,299 for the 256GB model. For more performance, the base model of the MacBook Pro can also be configured with a 1.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 which can turbo boost to 4.5GHz. This is the new middle tier processor, having been pushed down from the top spot. This configuration with 256GB of storage is $1,599 but you may be better off getting the more expensive option. The model with four Thunderbolt 3 ports comes with 10th-generation Intel chipsets. The quad-core i5 clocks at 2.0GHz and boosts to 3.8GHz when needed. It’s when you work on the machine for extended periods that you feel the difference in the processor and how that clock speed affects your work. A maxed-out model with a 10th-generation Intel quad-core i7 2.3GHz processor, 32GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage will cost $3,599. While this is deep into 16-inch MacBook Pro pricing, or even a good iMac Pro price point, you can’t beat the portability of this machine with that amount of power. Display The screen on the refreshed MacBook Pro has the same 13.3-inch LED-backlit screen with IPS and running at a maximum resolution of 2560×1600 pixels. The MacBook Pro features a Retina Display with True Tone and a P3 color gamut. If you’ve used a Retina device before, there will be no surprises here. Products compared 2019 MacBook vs 2020 MacBook At a glance, you’ll find differences between the two models immediately. The change from a Butterfly Keyboard to the Magic Keyboard is immediately apparent. The physical escape key and inverted arrow keys are most noticeable, the other differences will be found when you start typing. The butterfly mechanisms offer less travel and feel mushy vs the scissor-switch keys. After the keyboard, the differences become harder to find. Apple didn’t do a full processor revision but did update the top of the line with the latest 10th-generation chipsets. The 2020 model does have double the storage for the same price across the board, which means new customers are better off getting the newer model for memory alone. MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro Since these devices have the same keyboard and screen size, its best to look at design differences and processing power. The MacBook Air is meant to be the smallest and lightest MacBook for sale, which means some sacrifices had to be made for that thinness. The baseline MacBook Air starts at $999 for the base model, which comes with a 10th-generation Intel i3 at 1.1GHz and 256GB of storage. Any upgrades to this model bring you right into MacBook Pro pricing, so the only advantage such a purchase would be is absolute thinness and portability. The $999 price point is the killer feature of the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro just cannot compete with that. Those who need portability or budget above all else already know what they need. 16-inch vs 13-inch Physical size would be the biggest difference here at first glance, but there are major tradeoffs between the two MacBook Pro models. The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the most powerful, portable Mac on the market and offers discrete GPU options and massive storage as well. You’ll likely be in the market for this as a video professional or intensive app developer. The 13-inch wins out when it comes to size and weight alone, giving users a powerful machine that can fit in most situations. The lack of a discrete GPU can be remedied with an external GPU however, due to the Thunderbolt 3 ports. You’ll be spending nearly double just to get in the door for the 16-inch model though, so likely users who need this device are already prepared to pay the price. It has not been updated in 2020, therefore it doesn’t have the 10th-generation Intel processors. This hardly matters though as the base configuration comes with a 6-core Intel i7 processor at 2.6GHz, and a dedicated GPU. Common 13-inch MacBook Pro questions When will Apple update the 13-inch MacBook Pro? Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the latest Intel processors in May 2020. Apple is expected to update its entire Mac lineup with Apple Silicon processors over the next two years, though it is not known when the MacBook Pro will receive the custom chipsets. How many ports does a 13-inch MacBook Pro have? The 13-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with two or four ports depending on the processor selected. The 8th-generation Intel models come with only two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, while those configured with 10th-generation Intel processors have four ports. How do you factory reset a 13-inch MacBook Pro? If you want to set up your 13-inch MacBook Pro from factory defaults or sell it to someone, you’ll want to perform a factory reset. Back up your Mac. Sign out of TV, Music, Messages, iCloud, the App Store, and FileVault. Restart the Mac, hold down CMD+R until you see the Apple logo. Click Disk Utility, then Continue, then Startup Disk. Select the Internal drive running macOS, likely Macintosh HD. Select edit, then choose Delete APFS Volume. How much does a 13-inch MacBook Pro cost?
