If you’ve ever turned on an older device and faced a login screen requesting a password you can’t remember, you’ll be glad to know Apple anticipated this problem and made it simple to reset a MacBook's password. The process takes about 10 minutes, though it all depends on having at least one key piece of information to verify your identity, such as the Apple ID registered to the device.

Resetting a Mac password is as simple as entering an incorrect password three times to trigger the password assistance prompt, which will ask whether you want to reset the password using your Apple ID or want to restart the laptop to see the available reset options. The exact option you receive depends on how you set up your MacBook and which version of macOS it's running.

Most users will see the option to reset the password using their Apple ID, which is as simple as logging into the Apple account. You may also receive a verification code on your other devices to enter on the MacBook while resetting the password; if you have the FileVault option on, you may be prompted to enter that recovery key after restarting the laptop to unlock the machine.

Complete the previous steps, and you'll receive access to the password reset feature. That process is very straightforward.

1. Choose the user you'd like to reset the password for and click Next.

2. Enter your new MacBook password and click Next.

3. Select the Restart option.