keychain password does not work

I have a "vintage" (2009) 24" Mac, a 2016 12"Macbook, an iPad mini, and an iPhone 6. I had trouble with Keychain a few months ago and created a new one. Recently my Mac asked me for the Keychain password. I entered what I had written down and it didn't work. I keep getting the same screen when I power it on. While I know that I can again create a new Keychain, I would prefer not to have to start over with all of my passwords. The MacBook, iPad, and iPhone are all successfully using Keychain without a hitch. Where do I go from here? Thanks!

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), (Late 2009 24")

Posted on Aug 21, 2016 5:44 PM

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User level: Community Moderator

I understand that you're being prompted for your keychain password, but that it is not accepting what you've written down as the correct password. I know that it's nice to be able to record your information through your keychain, so I'm happy to provide some direction to help with this!

It seems that you may be able to simply reset the login keychain password to resolve this issue. Check out the steps we've outlined here:

1. Open the Keychain Access app, which is in the the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
2. From the Edit menu, choose “Change Password for Keychain 'login.'”
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Click OK when done, then quit Keychain Access.

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities, cheers!

Thank you for the reply Johann.B, and I'm sorry for the delay in responding. This is the first real chance I have had to try to address the issue. I reading your reply, I wondered, if the password works on my MacBook, could I just change it and then enter the new password on the Mac. While I was able to change it on the MacBook, again the new password did not work on the Mac. Is the password device specific or should this have worked through iCloud as I had thought? If the password is the same on all devices through iCloud, what might the problem be? I'll create a new Keychain if I have to, although I'd rather not.

User level: Community Specialist

Thanks for following up. You've got some great questions about how the Keychain works, and we'll be happy to help clarify this for you.

Unless you've configured the iCloud Keychain on your devices, the password will remain separate on each computer. You can read more about how iCloud keychain works here:
Frequently asked questions about iCloud Keychain - Apple Support

Note that the article shared in the last comment doesn't require you to create a new keychain. Instead, it simply has you update the password you use for your keychain and should prevent that password dialogue from showing again.

Thank you again, Brendan,

Let me back up a bit to elaborate on my previous comments. When I first set up Keychain several years ago I did so on my 2009 Mac and my iPhone 5, the only 2 devices I had at the time. When I bought the iPhone 6 in January of 2015, the 12" MacBook this past May, and the iPad Mini this past June, I set up Keychain on them too. Several weeks later I was prompted for the Keychain Security Code (I assumed that Keychain Security Code, Keychain Login, and Keychain Password all refer to the same code and function) on the vintage, 2009 Mac. I did not remember having set a passcode when I initially set up Keychain and when I looked for the code in my list of passwords, I could find nothing except several outdated OS passwords. So I set up a new Keychain, writing down the passcode in a way that it could easily be found. In August when I was again prompted for the passcode, I knew exactly what to do. I dutifully entered the code, except that it did not work. It continues to work on the MacBook and Keychain continues to work on my MacBook, iPhone, and iPad Mini. I also assumed that the Keychain passcode is the same for all devices when Keychain is set up on all of them, so I successfully changed the passcode on the MacBook. However, the new passcode does not work on the Mac. Unsurprisingly, my wife can sign in to her account on the Mac without any issues (she does not have Keychain enabled). Presently, I do not remember the passcode for the original Keychain and neither the original passcode from the second Keychain nor the second passcode on the second Keychain work on the Mac. I've tried a few guesses and am afraid to keep guessing lest I become completely locked out and have to create a third Keychain. As I am wondering what the problem is (Is my vintage Mac dying? Disk Utility revealed no errors.), it seems that my only real alternative is to just go ahead, create another Keychain, and start over with all of my passwords. I hope this makes my situation clearer. Additionally, several weeks ago, the passcode dialogue box for several processes began to appear on my MacBook. It has worked each time, it's just a pain. Please feel free to ask any questions. The related question about Keychain is how to use Keychain with an app for which the website has a Keychain password. So far iOS apps have not been able to utilize keychain, so I have had to create unique passwords for them and try to remember them. So far, thankfully, the apps have remembered the unique passwords. Thank you!