Create or reset user passwords in Apple School Manager
When new user accounts are imported to or created in Apple School Manager, you need to communicate a temporary password to them. When users sign in for the first time, they need to create a new password for their Managed Apple Account.
Temporary passwords
Apple School Manager creates temporary passwords for accounts that are imported or created manually. These temporary passwords are valid for 90 days and are for users of the accounts to sign in with their Managed Apple Account, at which point users need to change their password. Apple School Manager never shows the password of an account after it has been changed from the temporary password.
Any users with a role of Administrator, any Manager, Staff, or Instructor, sign-in always requires that person’s Managed Apple Account password and a six-digit verification code.
For accounts assigned to the student role:
Students can sign in with their Managed Apple Account and password on devices listed in Apple School Manager.
Students can sign in with their Managed Apple Account and password and a six-digit verification code on devices not listed in Apple School Manager. This verification code for students expires after one year.
Learn how to send users verification codes.
Important: If an Apple device’s serial number appears in Apple School Manager, authentication is handled differently than a device whose serial number doesn’t appear.
Roles that can reset passwords
Password resets can be done by users with the following roles:
Administrator: Can reset passwords for all other users, regardless of role.
Site Manager: Can reset passwords for all other users except those with the role of Administrator.
People Manager: Can reset passwords for all other users except those with the role of Administrator.
Manager: Can reset passwords for users with the roles of Manager, Staff, Instructor, and Student.
Instructor: Can reset passwords for users with the role of Student.
Resetting a user’s password allows them to get a new temporary password, at which time they’ll have to create a new password for their Managed Apple Account.
Student password resets
Students have two ways they can reset a password:
They can use the password that was previously used.
They can use a common series, such as 12345.
This option is allowed only when resetting a password.
Administrator password resets
Users with the role of Administrator can also reset their password using iforgot.apple.com. When the user initiates a password reset, the following occurs:
If there is only one user with the role of Administrator, they can reset their password immediately.
If there is more than one user with the role of Administrator, each user receives an email informing them that a password reset has been requested by another user with the role of Administrator. They can then sign in to Apple School Manager and reset the password for that user.
If the password isn’t reset by another user with the role of Administrator within 72 hours, a link is sent to the verified email address and the verified phone number of the Managed Apple Account. The link is valid for 7 days and allows a user—after two-factor verification is complete—to reset their password.
Configure the password reset privilege for Administrators
Important: Be sure to create a second administrator account before you deselect the password reset privilege. If you lose access to all administrator accounts, you need to contact AppleCare to confirm your identity and initiate the password reset. For more information, see the Apple Support article Contact Apple for support with Apple Business Manager, Apple School Manager, Apple Business Essentials, and Pro Apps.
In Apple School Manager
, sign in with a user who has the role of Administrator.Select Access Management
in the sidebar, then select Roles 
.Select the Administrator role, select Edit, then do one of the following:
To remove the password reset privilege, deselect its checkbox, then select Save.
To add the password reset privilege, select its checkbox, then select Save.
Create sign-in information or reset a password for a single user
In Apple School Manager
, sign in with a user who has privileges to create sign-in information, reset passwords, and generate verification codes for users.Select Users
in the sidebar, then select or search for a user in the search field. See How to search.Select the user from the list.
Do one of the following:
Select the Create Sign-in button
to create new sign-in information for a user that hasn’t yet signed in with their Managed Apple Account.Select the Reset Password button
to reset the password of a user that has forgotten their password.
Select how you want to send the information to the user.
You can download PDF and .csv files, or you can email the information to the selected user.
Select your method, select Continue, then do one of the following:
If you selected .csv and PDF, select Download and choose from the following:
1-up PDF
: This option creates a single page for the user..csv
: This option creates a .csv file with five columns: the user’s Managed Apple Account; their first, middle, and last name; and their information.
If you selected email, Apple School Manager sends the information to the email address listed in the user’s account details. The user receives an email with their Managed Apple Account and temporary password.
Create sign-in information or reset passwords for multiple users
In Apple School Manager
, sign in with a user who has privileges to create sign-in information, reset passwords, and generate verification codes for users.Select Users
in the sidebar, then select or search for users in the search field. See How to search.Select the users from the list.
Select Create next to Create Sign-Ins.
You can download PDF and .csv files, or you can email the information to the selected users.
Select your method, select Continue, then do one of the following:
If you selected .csv and PDF, select Download and choose from the following:
1-up PDF
: This option creates a single page for the user.8-up PDF
: This option creates 8 users per page..csv
: This option creates a .csv file with five columns: the user’s Managed Apple Account; their first, middle, and last name; and their temporary password.
If you selected email, Apple School Manager sends the information to the email addresses listed in the users’ account details. The users receive an email with their Managed Apple Account and temporary password.