Customizing the Login Screen on our Mac
We are guiding you to change the login screen on Mac to insert the power options, password indicators, usage messages, and many more features.
You may have edited the menu bar, Dock, and the rest of the features on your Mac. Anyhow did you know that there are permissions to change the login screen of Mac as your preferences?
You can customize it by requiring both username and password when you are login in. This supplies more security. Or else you can forget the password very often and need to appear a hint for the password. If you like to have your own quote when starting the day, you can ass these features to your login screen.
We are taking you through the steps of changing this login screen on Mac in various ways.
How do we Change the Mac Login Screen?
Most of the login screen options are in the System Preferences. Using these options you can do the adjustments like activating auto login, appearing in the list of users, displaying the control buttons, enabling voice over, and many more functions. To start go to the Apple menu, click System Preferences in the menu bar, and click Users & Groups.
Before doing any changes to this login screen, you have to unlock the Users & Groups desires. So click the lock icon in the left corner bottom and check Unlock.
Mac Login Screen Settings
Then click on Login Options at the lower left pane. There is the resulting page on the right side, select from the option available below that you need to use for the login screen.
Automatic login: Using this feature you can go directly to the desktop when starting the Mac. It is better than entering the credentials first. Turn on the auto login and enter the user account name and password to allow it. It is very suitable if you are the one and only user of this Mac and if the computer is in a safe location. If any FileVault is enabled, automatic login is enabled by default. Visit the FileVault guide for more information on this.
Display login: window as You can select from the list of users and Name and Password. It lets you choose the username and enter the password. Meanwhile, you are required to enter both of them. If you are worried about security, select Name and password because it needs both username and password.
Show the Sleep, Restart, and Shut Down buttons: By checking the boxes you can see these controls on your login screen.
Show the Input menu in the login window: Turning on the Input menu lets you select the language for the usage of Mac before you log in. This is very important if you switch between languages and keyboards very often.
Show password hints: You can get the hint of the user password when clicking the question mark or giving the wrong password three times. To display or change the password hint, select a user on the left and choose Password. Then click the Change Password button. Enter the previous password, and the new one and confirm it. After that add the password hint and click Change Password.
Show fast user switching menu as Using this feature switch between users very fastly from the Mac menu bar. There you can select to display the full names, account names, or the icon. After finishing the selections, press the lock buttons and stop the rest of the changes.
Enable Accessibility Options on the Login Screen
VoiceOver, Zoom, Sticky Keys, and additional accessing options are available on the login screen. Select the Accessibility Options button and click the suitable boxes that you need to display the items.
When it is turned on the accessibility features, the settings will affect all the users on the login screen. If you turn off any option it disables all the users on the same screen.
Add a Custom Message to the Login Screen
So you have the facilities to add any custom message on your login screen. For example, you can display your motivational quote before starting the day. Or else add your contact details so if someone finds your Mac they can give it back to you.
To add any, message to the screen like this, go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences the menu and select Security & Privacy.
If needed click the lock button and give the password and do the changes. Then follow the below steps.
- Press the General tab.
- Check the box Show a message when the screen is locked and next give the Set Lock Message.
- Write the message you need to appear on the login screen in the dialog box and click OK.
When you do the start up on your Mac you will see that message at the bottom of the login screen.
How to Change the Profile Picture
If a list of users is logging in, as we told earlier, the profile pictures of the users appear above their names. So you can change them very easily.
To change the images, go to the Apple menu and click System Preferences, and choose Users & Groups. Now you can follow the below steps.
- Select the user profile on the login screen.
- Take the cursor on the profile picture and click on Edit.
- Select the location of your uploading image on the popup windows. Or else pick the Camera. If it is macOS Moenetray or later you can add an Emoji or an animated Memoji.
- Adjust the photo using the Zoom slider.
- Then Save.
Log In With the Apple Watch
There is another way to log in to the Mac instead of the technical method. Unlike the automatic login or using the name and passwords as we said before. If you have an apple watch you can log in using the watch.
To enable this option, open the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Select Security & Privacy. Then go through these steps.
- Choose the General tab.
- Check the box of Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac. If it is a watchOS 5 or later one, the box will appear as Use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac.
- Give the Mac user password.
If you turn on this feature and land the Mac login screen with the Apple Watch, there you will receive a message like Unlocking with Apple Watch.
Give Your Mac Its Own Look and Feel
You can test using these options to find new favorites on the Mac login screen. AS this feature is very easy to use, adjust them as you prefer. After configuring the login screen as you love, make some other options as you need on Mac.
Read more: The 5 Best Mac File Comparison Tools and Diff Tools
