If your Mac keeps asking for the login keychain password

The password of your macOS user account might not match the password of your login keychain. Either create a new login keychain or update it with your new password.

After you or your Mac administrator resets the password of your macOS user account, your Mac might ask you to update your keychain password or enter the password of your login keychain. It might also tell you that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. That's because your login keychain is still using your old password. 

If you know your old password

If you know your old password, use that password to update your existing login keychain:

  1. Open the Keychain Access app, which is in the the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  2. From the list of keychains on the left side of the window, select "login." 
  3. From the Edit menu in the menu bar, choose “Change Password for Keychain 'login.'”
  4. Enter the old password of your user account in the Current Password field. This is the password you were using before the password was reset.
  5. Enter the new password of your user account in the New Password field. This is the password you're now using to log in to your Mac. Enter the same password in the Verify field.
     
  6. Click OK when done, then quit Keychain Access.

 

If you don't know your old password

After resetting your password and logging back in to your account, you might see an alert that the system was unable to unlock your login keychain. This is expected, because the passwords for your user account and login keychain no longer match. Just click the Create New Keychain button in the alert.

If you didn't see an alert about your login keychain, or you see other messages asking for your old password, reset your keychain manually:

  1. Open Keychain Access, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.

 

  1. Choose Preferences from the Keychain Access menu, then click the Reset My Default Keychain button in the preferences window. After you enter your new password, Keychain Access creates an empty login keychain with no password. Click OK to confirm.

         If you don't see a Reset My Default keychain button, close the preferences window and select the “login” keychain from the left side of the Keychain Access window. Press the Delete key, then click Delete References.
  2. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu to return to the login screen.
  3. Log in to your account using your new password. Your account password and login keychain password now match again.