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Forgotten Password with a Locked Console

If the console is password protected, all is not lost. It takes two reboots to accomplish, but the password can be reset with physical access to the console:

1. Connect to the console

2. Reboot the firewall

3. Choose the Boot Single User option (2) from the loader menu with the ASCII logo

4. Press Enter when prompted to start /bin/sh

5. Remount all partitions as rewritable:

   • The specific commands vary based on the filesystem.
   • For devices installed using UFS, see Re-mount UFS Volumes as Read/Write.
   • For devices installed using ZFS, see Re-mount ZFS Volumes as Read/Write.

6. Run the built-in password reset command:

   /etc/rc.initial.password

7. Follow the prompts to reset the password

8. Run /sbin/reboot to reboot.

When the firewall reboots, login with the Default Username and Password.

Ref: pfsense docs