Deleting & Fixing Mac Keychain

Owned by Preston Merkel
Last updated: Aug 03, 2023 by John Daugherty
2 min read

Table of Contents

 

Summary

Correcting Keychain issues when asked repeatedly for Keychain credentials. 

This is an older article but still has value. Here is a link to the Apple documentation based on OS version. Update Your Keychain Password

Step-by-step

If you are repeatedly receiving a message asking for our Keychain credentials, there is a conflict with an incorrect password entry in your login or local Keychain. Follow the steps below to repair your Keychain. If the problem persists, follow the instructions below to delete your Keychain. 

Repair Your Keychain

  1. Open Applications and select the Utilities folder. 

  2. Open Keychain Access.

     

  3. Right click on Login in the left hand frame and choose Change Password for Keychain Login.

     

     

  4. You will be prompted for a password. Enter your previous password in the "Current Password" field and then your current password in the "New Password" field. 

  5. Click OK.

     

You may be asked if you want to add password credentials to the new Login Keychain when first logging into certain applications or websites. Once these are saved, you should not need to add them again. 

If the issue persists, refer to the following instructions:

Deleting Your Keychain

  1. Open Applications and select the Utilities folder.

  2. Open Keychain Access.

     

  3. Right click on Login in the left hand frame and choose Delete Keychain Login.

     

  4. When prompted, click Delete References & Files.

  5. On the top screen menu, select Go.

  6. While Go is selected, press the Option key. Library will appear in the drop down menu. Select Library.

  7. Once in the Library folder, select Keychain Folder.

  8. Delete all the contents in the folder. 

9. Restart the computer and both Keychains will be rebuilt. 

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