Did Apple Change The Password Policies on the Mac?

[snak-atak]

I woke up this morning and logged into my Mac (Ventura 13.2.1). For some reason, it required me to change my password before I could log in. I never had to do that before. On top of that, it requires a >=14 character password. My last password was not that long and I prefer to keep it that way. It's my Mac after all.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to eliminate the password requirements for my own Mac?

 

[dmccloud]

I woke up this morning and logged into my Mac (Ventura 13.2.1). For some reason, it required me to change my password before I could log in. I never had to do that before. On top of that, it requires a >=14 character password. My last password was not that long and I prefer to keep it that way. It's my Mac after all.

View attachment 2163821

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to eliminate the password requirements for my own Mac?

I haven't had that issue with my Mac. Is this a personal device or a company issued/managed device? If the latter, there may be a policy requiring periodic password changes.

 

[snak-atak]

It's a personal device, but I did apply Intune Company Portal a few months back so I could access some work files. Not sure if that's the culprit, but I signed out of company portal and removed the app today, tried restarting and resetting the password still with no luck.

 

[DeltaMac]

That's not a standard macOS user account password.
Just checked on my Ventura system, and can change to new password with 8 characters or more, plus a mix of characters/numbers/special characters.
Something else is modifying/adding to what the default account login requires.
(Did you restart after uninstalling that portal app - whatever it was)

I still use a 5-character account login, even on Ventura, same password that I have used for this account for at least 20 years, and is my original password since early in Mac OS X days.
Maybe it is tied to whatever security level you are using with your AppleID? I choose to not use the upgraded security on that, so do not need to get an authentication code from another device. I use my login as a one-time login on other hardware frequrently, so still avoid that (to me) inconvenience of having to enter an authentication code. I know there is no going back to the old way, once I decide to "upgrade security", and, so far, Apple does not force the upgrade.
Maybe that is also a difference with your login?

 

[snak-atak]

Appreciate the feedback. I just updated my MacBook to be sure it's not the OS. It's also now on 13.2.1 and I did not have to change the password on that device, so I am pretty sure it's a problem with Intune Company Portal. I noticed now I also am unable to access my keychain. 🤬. I am afraid that I am going to have to reset my Mac. It's a pain, but it'll probably be quicker than trying to troubleshoot these issues.

 

[NewUsername]

That is interesting. In my case, macOS Ventura only has the first requirement, “four characters or more”.

 

[snak-atak]

Yeah, I pretty much ruled out MacOS. It looks like it's the Company Portal app. Leave it to Microsoft to screw up a Mac.

 

[gwang73]

Yeah, I pretty much ruled out MacOS. It looks like it's the Company Portal app. Leave it to Microsoft to screw up a Mac.

Did you also remove the MDM profile from Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Profiles ?

 

[dmccloud]

That is interesting. In my case, macOS Ventura only has the first requirement, “four characters or more”.

I have used four characters for the admin account on my macs for years, including my current machine.

 

[ssmed]

Have you got any profiles in your system preferences?

 

[snak-atak]

Did you also remove the MDM profile from Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Profiles ?

I did not. I discovered other problems with my iCloud account so I ended up doing a clean install. Thanks for the tip, though. I wasnt aware of the profiles sitting there. Will definitely remember that if this happens again.

 

[snak-atak]

Just a quick follow up. I did a clean install. Chose not to reinstall from a backup although I could’ve done that. Instead I reloaded the OS and each app individually. It’s now in a ‘like new’ state and ready for the work week with everything that gets thrown at it.

I appreciate your feedback. Never thought to check the profiles. I don’t plan to load company portal on that machine but if I ever do and need to uninstall, I’ll be sure to check the profiles next time!

Thank again, you guys are awesome!

 

[dmccloud]

Something I just remembered - at a previous job, we had company-issued Android phones that also ran Intune Company Portal. Even on a smart phone, that app enforced some dumb passcode restrictions, coupled with a forced reset of the passcode every three months. So it seems to be a royal PITA regardless of what platform it's installed on.