So, if the user forgot keychain password of his or her account, then it can be very difficult for him or her to access the files. In these circumstances the most common question which comes to every user's mind is "how to reset keychain password"? But do not worry, every problem has a solution and in these case there are 3 solutions.
- Way 1: Reset the Default New Keychain Access If You Forgot Keychain Password
- Way 2: Change Your Keychain Password If You Know the Older Login Password
- Way 3: Reset Keychain Password with Command Line in Single User Mode
Way 1: Reset the Default New Keychain Access If You Forgot Keychain Password
Keychain access is an application of MacOS which make the user eligible for accessing the keychain and its contents such as passwords for websites, social media accounts, servers, Wi-Fi and many more. Not only that it also unlocks, locks and displays the password of the said as per the respective logged in accounts. It manages the root certificates, other keys and secure notes too. If you forgot the keychain password, an easy way to reset the password is resetting the default keychain. Just follow these simple steps in the same order as written below.
1. First open the keychain access. User can find it from the utilities folder of the application folder.
2. From the access menu user has to choose the "Preferences" option.
3. After that he or she should click on "General" option from which the user can get "Reset My Default Keychain" option.
4. Then authenticating the login password is the next step forward.
5. After that user should quit Keychain access.
6. At the last step the computer is needed to be restarted. After restarting it the keychain will be reset.
And this is how reset keychain password mac is done through the default keychain. This method is one of the easiest methods available for resetting the keychain password.
Way 2: Change Your Keychain Password If You Know the Older Login Password
If the user knows the older password then it is easier to reset keychain password than the first method. User should follow the below mentioned step as:
1. Launch the keychain access app which can be found in the utilities folder within application folder.
2. Click on Login and go for "Change Password for keychain login" from the edit menu option in the menu bar.
3. Enter your older password in the current password box than the recent one i.e. the reset one.
4. Enter the new password in the new password box, put it again for confirmation.
5. Click on OK and leave the key chain access.
Although this method won't give the user full access as the main purpose of a keychain password is security, so even after resetting the admin password in this way user still won't get the access to the keychain completely. The silver lining of this thing is that if the Mac gets stolen so even the thief knows how to change keychain password in this method but he or she won't get his or her hands on all of your data.
Way 3: Reset Keychain Password with Command Line in Single User Mode
Apart from the above mentioned two methods there is another method remaining. But for this method the system should be brought into the single user mode. The operating systems which allows multiuser control for example Mac OS X or Linux have an inbuilt mode named as single user mode which turns it into single superuser account. This mode is basically used for maintenance reasons of the system but it can also be used to recover the keychain. Keychain password can be retrieved through this method by following the steps as mentioned:
1. First step is to make the system run on single user mode; this can be done by pressing "s" from the keyboard along with the command key on startup of the system.
2. Then in the window which will pop up the user should put in the below mentioned command: mount -uw /
3. After writing the same command the user should press enter from the keyboard. This command will make the root MacOS drive writable.
4. After that to delete the login keychain of the account the user should put this command:
rm /Users/shortname/Library/Keychains/login.keychain
5. The user should be assured of the shortname. If he or she doesn't know it then he or she can find the same by below mentioned command:
ls /Users.
6. Then reboot the computer by typing "reboot" in command.
After the completion of the reboot the keychain should have been reset. Single user mode method asks for a bunch of commands required to be put in the computer for the task. So it may be a handful method to follow. Because if someone doesn't know this commands and he or she lost them then it may become tiresome to reset the keychain via this method.
So these were the easy steps to reset the keychain password of a Mac. In the modern hectic world when people are too busy with their own life, work and other social dilemmas it is not a big surprise to lose the keychain password but now with these 3 methods the user can sit back easily even if they lose the keychain.
Additional Tips: Recover Saved Password in iOS Devices on Mac
But even with this method it takes some time and effort and besides losing password is always a mess. Users can rescue them from such messes by using PassFab iOS Password Manager to find Wi-Fi password, mail account password, website and app login password, credit card and Apple ID information that saved in Keychain Access.
Moreover, you can even export password to password manager like 1Password, Dashlane, Keeper, LastPass and browser like Chrome. With this iOS password finder that supprts running in Windows and Mac system, you will never ever suffer losing iOS password problem.