November 21, 2024
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Posted November 29, 2017 at 1:42am by iClarified
These are instructions on how to enable the root user and change the root user's password in macOS.

You may need to do this to prevent a bug with macOS High Sierra that enables login as root without a password even if the root user has not been enabled.

Step One
Click the Apple logo at the top left of your display and choose System Preferences from the menu that appears.


Step Two
Select Users & Groups from the System Preferences window.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Step Three
Click the Lock icon at the bottom left of the Users & Groups window.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Enter your administrative username and password, then click Unlock.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Step Four
Click Login Options near the bottom left of the window.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Step Five
Click the Join button.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Step Six
Click the Open Directory Utility... button.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Step Seven
Click the Lock icon at the bottom left of the Directory Utility window.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Enter your administrative username and password then click the Modify Configuration button.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Step Eight
To enable the root user choose Edit from the menu bar at the top of the screen, then select Enable Root User.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

If you have already enabled the root user but want to change the password, choose Change Root Password... from the Edit menu.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

Enter a password for the root user then click OK.
How to Enable the Root User and Change the Root User Password in macOS High Sierra

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Comments (3)
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Slidor
Slidor - November 29, 2017 at 3:22pm
What if one doesn't simply enable the root user?
jhunax
jhunax - November 29, 2017 at 12:40pm
Open Terminal from Utility
jhunax
jhunax - November 29, 2017 at 12:42pm
Open Terminal from Utilities, type in “sudo passwd”, type in your password, it should prompt to change the root password.
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