Changing home folder name

[vince730]

When setting up my new 13' tMBP, I realized that the home folder name had a "1" added on to the end of it (as in, "JohnSmith 1" as opposed to "JohnSmith"), I'm assuming to prevent any conflicts with the previous machine if they were connected to the same network.

Now that I've finished transferring files and am ready to wipe/sell the old MBP, I'm attempting to go about fixing the issue following this Apple article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201548

After logging out and into another admin account, I change both the folder name and the pathway in the advanced settings to match "JohnSmith" and sure enough it wreaks havoc on my account afterwards - folders in the dock disappear and iCloud Drive maps incorrectly. The issue does not resolve itself until I go back to the old name with the "1".

How can I make this change without completely confusing macOS?

 

[KALLT]

In Finder, can you see the house icon in the Users directory?

 

[mossy]

If I were you I would reinstall OS again.

It MIGHT cause you nothing but trouble if you change it - then again it MIGHT not. A real possibility that unpredictable behaviour will be the bane of your OS life, and you will be always wondering if it was the changing of the folder name.

Anyways from admin account:
SystemPreferences -> Users & Groups -> rightClick on your user account -> Advanced options -> Change the relevant: 'Account Name' | 'Full Name' | 'Home Directory'

I highly recommend you own your mistake and just reinstall the OS.

Your call though :/

 

[KALLT]

Though it would be nice to know what caused the error, for future reference.

The home-directory name should be unimportant. Problems should only become apparent when you change anything else, such as the user ID or UUID.