Developers, friends, no Caps Lock to get your attention but i REALLY need your help!

Let me start by apologizing for the long read.. I am not an Apple Developer or Power Mac user per se but I am also not a beginner. I am desperate for a solution because I’ve hit a wall. Im sorry I cant attach a Etrecheck report because it doesn’t support my Mac OS 15 Beta 6 on a M1 Macbook Air.

… So once I changed my password ant root’s using the command, but many restarts later I would still use my old password to get in so I ignored. But a week later and after finishing up a Time Machine backup, neither my old or new password would get accepted on screen-lock. I’m not sure if the things I just mentioned are related but its definitely worth mentioning. The reason for my doubt is because I was able to log in to the Web GUI of Webmin remotely using my iPhone and my username and the password I changed the wee earlier; the same one that got me locked out of Mac user accout (I tried both old and new). Activating root from the Webmin panel allowed me to log in to my Macbook as root for the first time and went through the ame process as if it was a fresh install.

I coulnt understand what was going on at this point Why did TouchID and passwordA fail only a few days later when I decided to do this ***** move? Why only after I finished backing up? I waited for the account locked timer to finish a few times but it would be in vain because it would just restart the the temporary lock each time the timer hits 0 or when I restart.cEven when I tried to change my account password from the root account GUI or terminal, it would accept the root password I enter but nothing happens…What’s even weirder is that MacOS would not accept that password I always use on the occasion of adding a new user. Any admin task is ok except for when I try to add a new user!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?!

Regardless of what the causes for this are, the symptoms and how each one contradicts the other are very weird and illogical, at least for me.

Finally, and I regret to say, that booting into recovery isn’t an option because every time I try holding the power button maybe a second or two after the chime sounds and the ztApple logo appears. I started experiencing this symptom around 2 years and I scoured the internet for a solution or any other way I could get into recovery but it seemed like I was the only one on earth to experience this problem. The local Apple repair wanted $100 just for opening up the laptop and typing up a report, so I couldn’t justify paying that amount for something I didn’t exactly need at that time and was able to live my life without needing to get into recover mode which I still hope would be the case now… and that is why I am being this details because every time I try to search for my problem I find that booting into recovery mode is always the recommended step to diagnose my password/account lock password.

Some more notes in case it would help anyone identify the problem I am facing which I hope I didn’t make worse by being in the root account all this time which at the time of sending this post is almost 16 hours.

When I logged into root, I went through all the prompts you would get when starting an account for the first time but skipped everything including setting up TouchID and my Apple ID. However, I did later log in to my Apple ID in haste and got the message on my iPhone that a new device was being set up, but after looking into it, it seemed like nothing changed from my device list.

It hasn't been 24 hours logged in as root and besides all the weird stuff I', experiencing, Seqouia ihas become generally sluggish-- it hangs when I'm using everyday stuff like TextEdit, or when I try to go to the Advanced tab in Finder. The most unusual thing which I've already mentioned earlier is the password I have set for roo (System Administrator at the prompt) not getting accepted by the system when I try to add a new user when in all other scenarios that require System Administrator privileges.

I hope someone from the community can help me out, and once again I do apologize for the long read, but my intention was only to minimize the need for back and forth like most otherone-linee reports spanning several pages.

I am quite embarrassed by this because I don’t know what I was thinking when I tried changing my account password like that from the terminal, but then again I am only 90% sure that was the cause, as for the other 10% … it's a total mystery!!

Thank you.

This is far too much text for us to help you. Can you please tell us in a few short bullet points what you want to do? Do you want one user on the Mac? Does it matter if the Mac gets wiped?

You say you're on Sequoia now, so you're on the beta, right? Have you tried downgrading to Sonoma?

Got it. My only intention in being that detailed was to minimize the back-and-forths before finding a solution. There are just too many things happening with my Macbook ever since I got locked out, when I'm sure I entered the correct password and Touch ID. Even now, as root, I'm facing weird things and contradictions between my passwords and permissions, bla, bla, anyways...

Ideally, I would like to unlock my user account but I'm afraid booting into recovery isn't an option because the Macbook would power off after a few seconds of holding the Touch ID button.

I can manage a wipe because I have my data backed up, but again.. can't boot into recovery.

I'm currently logged in as root but can't reset my user password or add a new user. Any other password prompt would be fine except for those 2 tasks.

No I haven't tried downgrading because I figured the whole recovery issue would get in the way. My account seems to have a permanent lock right now, however I'm able to login to Webmin and do some basic admin stuff but I don't think the Web GUI would be of any help.

I want to be cooperative here with any potential savior such as yourself but I've hit many walls and experienced bizarre things happening with MacOS ever since the lock out. So I'm hoping that by detailing all the things I've experienced these past 2 days, I will increase my chances in finding an optimal solution, whatever that may be.

I already sent a report along with a recent system diagnostics in Feedback Assistant, but I'm reluctant to speak with Apple Support because there are just too many things to explain, including the fact there is a 3rd-party app involved that I'm afraid their only reply would be that I need a new Macbook. I also want to avoid coughing up $300 just for a diagnosis at the certified resellers in my country.

Developers, friends, no Caps Lock to get your attention but i REALLY need your help!
 
 
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