When I start my Macbook Air, the first screen that appears is for the user login. On this screen, I have to select a username and enter the password for that user for finally using the computer. This is a security feature and prevents just about anyone to use your Mac. While this feature is great when working in public places or at a work place, it is not really necessary if you are going to use your Mac at home only. Why bother entering the user account password every time you start your Mac if you are the only person who has physical access to the computer?
If you also feel the same and want to avoid entering the password each and every time you start your Mac, then you can set your Mac to automatically login to your user account. When your Mac is setup to auto-login, you won’t have to enter the user credentials anymore and you won’t have to wait for the login screen either. Your Mac will boot straight into the desktop fully ready for use.
In order to make your Mac auto-login at startup, we can follow these steps:
- Click on the Apple logo on the top-left corner, pull down the Apple menu and select System Preferences from there.
- In the system preferences window, select Users & Groups category.
- In the window that appears, click on Login Options on the left side.
- Click on the small pad-lock icon to be able to make changes. You will have to enter the user password for unlocking this pad lock.
- Click on Automatic Login drop-down list and select the user account for automatic login. You will have to enter the password for that user’s account at this stage.
- Click on the padlock icon once again to lock the settings.
- This is all. Now your Mac is all set for automatic login at the next boot.
It at any later stage, you wish to bring back the login screen so that you can manually login yourself, you can follow the same steps and choose Off as the option for “Automatic Login” drop-down listbox in the step 4 above.