Apple’s recently launched Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro with Apple M1 chips are well received. The new Apple Silicon delivers incredible performance per watt, and laptops rank better than Intel Macs in benchmarks as well as real-world tests. However, many M1 Mac users are also reporting problems, including an error that may occur while setting up your M1 Mac. So don’t worry if you are facing ‘computer account creation failed’ error, here is the solution.
Fix ‘Computer Account Could Not Be Created’ Issue on Apple M1 Mac
First, a little background on what actually this error is. Many users (including me) faced this issue. That’s why you need to create a user account when you first set up your new M1 Mac. In most cases, this user account creation will not work. Your Mac will be stuck on the screen for a long time and then the following error screen will appear.
Now, in most cases this error appears after resetting and reformatting your M1 Mac. Worse still, if you restart your Mac after this error, it will show your user account (which it says failed) and then the password you created will not work. It’s really quite annoying and frustrating.
When I finally managed to fix this issue on my laptop, I decided it was worth sharing the whole process for anyone who is also encountering the error on their device.
‘Failed to Create Computer Account’ Error Solution
The entire resolution of this error requires several steps. I summarize the steps below.
Note: Currently, the only way to fix this problem is to work with another working Mac. If you don’t have another Mac, you can borrow one from a friend or colleague. Otherwise, contact Apple support and they should be able to assist you.
- Installing Apple Configurator on second Mac and connecting two Macs.
- Put Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air into DFU Mode
- Restore and reinstall recoveryOS and macOS on your M1 Mac.
1. Setting Up Apple Configurator and Connecting Both Macs
- Download Apple Configurator 2 on secondary Mac (Free) from the App Store and launch it.
- Turn off your M1 Mac computer.
- Use a USB-C cable to connect the second Mac to the M1 Mac.
- If you are trying to repair an M1 Mac Mini, connect the USB-C cable to the leftmost USB-C port on the back of the Mac Mini as shown below.
- If you’re repairing an M1 MacBook Air or M1 MacBook Pro, connect the USB-C cable to the far left USB-C port on the left side of the MacBook, as shown below.
2. Put Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air into DFU Mode
Mac Mini
- Connect your Mac Mini to a monitor and disconnect Mac Mini from power for at least 10 seconds.
- Press and hold the power button without plugging in the Mac Mini’s power cord.
- While holding down the power button, connect the Mac Mini to the electrical outlet.
- Release the power button. The status light on your Mac Mini should be amber.
MacBook Air or MacBook Pro
- Press the power button on your MacBook
- While holding down the power button, press the following keys simultaneously for 10 seconds
- right Shift key
- left Option key
- left Control key
- After 10 seconds, release the three keys but hold the power button until you see the following screen in Apple Configurator on your second Mac.
3. Restore and reinstall recoveryOS and macOS
Now comes the easy to follow but time consuming part to complete. Here’s what you need to do:
- Right click in Apple Configurator and click ‘Restore’. Click ‘Restore’ again in the confirmation popup.
- You will now see Apple Configurator download and then install it on your M1 Mac. If your M1 Mac is showing the Apple logo during this time, this is perfectly normal. This may appear and disappear randomly throughout the process.
- Once the process is complete, you should see the macOS Setup Assistant on your M1 Mac.
Now, when you proceed with the setup on your M1 Mac, the user account screen should work as usual, allowing you to create your user on the Mac.
Fix Accounting Issues on M1 Mac Computers
While it’s unfortunate that new M1-powered Macs can run into weird issues like this, the good news is that at least there’s a fix. Hopefully Apple will fix these issues soon, but until that happens, users have no choice but to perform a DFU restore on their Mac computer.
So, did this article help you fix your M1 Mac or are you planning to take it to the Apple store? Let us know in the comments. Also, check out our article on factory resetting a Mac and creating a macOS Big Sur ISO file. If you want to fix macOS problems by reinstalling macOS, these will be helpful.
