Learn how to change the password of a macOS user account on your Mac in case you have forgotten it or want to update it for security or administrative reasons.
Changing passwords regularly is a good idea, and your macOS user accounts are no different. To make your Mac more secure, you should reset the login password for your own and other macOS user accounts regularly.
I keep a separate account on my Mac for my wife, and she often forgets her password. Luckily, I can easily log into my macOS admin account and change the password for her account. Follow these steps if you’d like to change the login password for your macOS user account.
Change the login password for a macOS account
Assuming your macOS user account has administrative privileges, you can change the passwords of other user accounts on your Mac, including admin accounts.
1) Open System Settings and select Users & Groups in the sidebar, then click the info button ⓘ next to the account whose password you want to change.
2) Click the Reset button in the Password field.
3) Enter your admin password and click Unlock. If nothing happens, try pressing the Enter key.
4) Enter your new password in the password field and verify it. After that, you can optionally add a password hint to prevent yourself from being locked out. With all done, click Reset Password > OK to save the new account password.
On macOS Monterey and earlier
If your Mac is running an older version of macOS, follow these steps instead.
1) Open System Preferences and go to the Users & Groups preferences pane.
2) Click the lock button in the bottom-left corner of the window to unlock the preferences pane so you can make changes. Enter your admin password when prompted, then click the blue Unlock button or hit the Enter key.
3) Select a desired macOS user account and click the Reset Password button.
4) You’re now prompted to enter new details. Choose a new password and type it again for verification. Optionally, add a password hint. Once satisfied, click the blue Change Password button.
5) Hit the lock icon in the bottom-right corner of the window to save the changes and prevent them from being tampered with.
You’ve successfully changed the password used for logging into that account. Try logging into it with your new password to check that you’ve memorized the new password correctly.