Cannot setup user with Apple ID password

[ericv]

I have a problem. I've done a fresh install on a mid/early 2014 13" MacBook Retina (El Capitan). During the install process it won't let me create my account using an Apple ID login. I have to use a local username and password.

I tried a clean format twice and no go.

I formatted the drive as OS X Extended (Joirnaled).

I can't figure it out. I have 3 Macs. It works fine on the two that are newer.

Late 2015 iMac 5k
Late 2015 rMB

I've never had this MacBook setup before to work with Apple ID login.

I've googled and googled and I can't seem to find a solution.

 

[NoBoMac]

Idle speculation here (have never looked closely at how the AppleID password as sign-on works and what it might touch)...

Is the older Mac using FileVault? While the newer ones are not? I have FileVault enabled on my Mac, while my mother's Mac does not. On my Mac, I do not have the option to turn on/off using iCloud/AppleID password for signing in, while on mom's Mac, it gives me the option.

I can see that this function would not be enabled on a FileVault Mac in that everything on the drive is encrypted for at-rest data, the unlock passwords are stored on the recovery partition, so, if you reset your AppleID password to something else via something other than your Mac, the Mac (if not booted/online) has no way to update itself with the new password for decrypting the drive (read: confusion in that need to use the old password for decrypting the drive).

Additionally, and could be WAY off on this, don't think the machine has any networking enabled at FileVault unlock: only get network connectivity once the drive is decrypted. So, keeping passwords in-sync between iCloud, Mac unlocked, and Mac FileVault unlock process is a bit of a challenge.

And, should one's AppleID password get compromised, with allowing FileVault to use AppleID password, potential for bad guys to lock-out someone from their own computer.

 

[ericv]

The other two have file vault turned on. In the setup process is where you are supposed to enable the Apple ID login.

 

[ericv]

So, I am not sure what is going on but I got it working. I had to download and install Yosemite first. It allowed me to use my Apple ID to login to the computer which El Capitan never would (on this computer only). File Vault is currently encrypting the drive. Once it is done I'll upgrade to El Capitan. I am not sure why it works this way, but at least I have a way to move forward. There might have been another way to get this working, but after a few weeks of searching this is all I could come up with. I read another thread somewhere else where a guy went all the way back to Lion so I figured I try Yosemite.

 

[ericv]

Ok, so I didn't fix this. Once I upgraded to El Capitan it get this error...

""You can no longer use the same password for both your iCloud account and your user account."

Google has nothing...

 

[ericv]

I got a response from Apple, it can't be correct as I know someone who just did this a week ago...

Alright thank you. Upon further research of this with the 10.11.4 update we are no longer able to create an account using your iCloud login information. If you are wanting to have this setup so that you can use the same password we are able to have them the same, it would just require you to manually change the password once setup to the preferred password. During setup it will not allow for the same password.

I figured it out with not help from Apple.

Make sure you turn off 2-factor authentication prior to installing any version of OS X El Capitan (10.11.4) or higher. I wish Apple would have this documented.