Difficulty re-setting password on 2012 macbook pro

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Level 1

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Difficulty re-setting password on 2012 macbook pro

I have a 2012 macbook pro belonging to my son & he has completely forgotten his password to it. He is unlikely ever to remember it due to illness.

Mac support on the phone told me to hold down the option, command & R keys while powering up which I did. The screen then asked me to choose my wi fi network which I did.

But it did not connect to the wi fi and produced a completely blank screen with an large exclamation mark in the middle & underneath the words apple.suport etc & absolutely nothing else.

So the apple support person I was talking to said as the machine would not connect to the internet it would not be possible to re-set the password at all.

This does not make sense to me as it should be perfectly possible to re-set the password without using the internet. And I have zero confidence of the quality of the Apple support person I spoke to and have also had horrendous experiences in the past with apple support staff not having the slightest idea of what they are talking about at all.

Can anyone help with finding out how to use this machine ?

Posted on Nov 26, 2025 10:18 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

139,889 points

Nov 26, 2025 11:24 AM in response to Ziggyzig1

That might be good advice for Macs 2018 and later. I think the Apple support techs do not retain the accumulated knowledge of how to work on older Macs like yours. Luckily, Apple discussions has a very long memory.

To reset the password on an older Mac (pre 2018 models with T2 security chip), Restart the computer and hold down the Command and S keys to enter Single User Mode. This is a mode with a Terminal window, where you are the Super-User.

Then, type "resetpassword" at the command prompt and follow the on-screen instructions to reset your password.

Let readers know how you make out.

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