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keychain password not working after migration

After migrating my MacBook Pro to my new Mabook Air, I cannot open entries in my Keychain Access on the new Mac. It asks for password (as normal) but neither password for the two Macs works. I can't reset the password since I need a current password to do that. Any ideas appreicated.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Sep 16, 2022 10:40 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 20, 2022 11:08 AM

Thanks. I did manage to resolve it, and was going to post my solution.

I did not want to set a new password and so loose all my existing keychain entries.

So I linked my old Mac's KeyChain to iCloud.

Took it offline so that any changes to the new one did not destroy all existing entries.

Reset password on new Mac KeyChain.

Linked it to iCloud, and it reinstated all the passwords.

For a while KeyChain Access would not show a window, but a couple of restarts seems to have resolved this.



2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 20, 2022 11:08 AM in response to Trish313

Thanks. I did manage to resolve it, and was going to post my solution.

I did not want to set a new password and so loose all my existing keychain entries.

So I linked my old Mac's KeyChain to iCloud.

Took it offline so that any changes to the new one did not destroy all existing entries.

Reset password on new Mac KeyChain.

Linked it to iCloud, and it reinstated all the passwords.

For a while KeyChain Access would not show a window, but a couple of restarts seems to have resolved this.



Sep 20, 2022 10:45 AM in response to Peter Russell1

Hi Peter Russell1,


Thank you for posting in Apple Support Communities! The keychain password is usually the same as your login password. If you do not have the password or it is not working, you'll need to reset your default keychain. This will delete all the passwords saved in the keychain.


  1. In the Keychain Access app  on your Mac, select Keychain Access > Preferences.
  2. Click Reset Default Keychains. 
  3. Choose Apple menu > Log Out. When you log in again, save your current login password in a keychain. 


Check out additional information here: If you need to update your keychain password on Mac - Apple Support


Hope that helps!


keychain password not working after migration

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