Administrator accounts can install software and change system settings. Create Standard accounts for daily use by children or non-technical users — reserve Administrator for people who need it.
What you will achieve
Add a new Standard or Administrator user account in System Settings — isolating software problems in a clean home folder, separating work and family profiles, or testing whether bugs follow your user or the whole Mac.
1) Open Users & Groups
- Open System Settings → Users & Groups.
- Click the lock if needed and authenticate as an existing administrator.
- Click Add Account… (or the + button).
2) Choose account type
- Administrator — can install apps, change network and security settings, manage other users. Use for IT-savvy owners and primary Mac admins.
- Standard — daily driver for most people; prompts admin password for system changes. Safer against accidental misconfiguration and some malware.
- Sharing Only — file sharing access without login shell; rare home use.
- Guest User — temporary session, wiped on logout; enable separately if needed for visitors.
3) Fill account details
- Full name and account name (short name — hard to change later).
- Password and hint — use strong unique password; store in password manager.
- Optional: link Apple Account for iCloud, App Store, Find My — can skip for pure local test accounts.
- Click Create User.
macOS creates /Users/accountname with fresh Library and preferences — the isolation you want for troubleshooting.
4) Fast User Switching
Enable in Users & Groups → Login Options → show Fast User Switching in menu bar. Switch accounts without logging out the first — useful for family Macs. Each logged-in user consumes RAM — Apple Silicon with 8 GB may struggle with two heavy sessions; Intel Macs with 16 GB face similar limits.
5) Test with the new account
- Log out or Fast User Switch to the new account.
- Reproduce the problem — beach ball in Mail, Wi‑Fi drops, app crashes.
- If issue disappears, corruption or preference conflict lives in the original home folder — not hardware.
- If issue persists, suspect system-wide cause, failing disk, or network outside user profile.
6) Apple Silicon vs Intel
Account creation identical. Apple Silicon Macs bind some iCloud features per Apple Account — test user without iCloud sign-in gives cleaner isolation. Intel Macs on older macOS may still offer iCloud Drive opt-in during first login wizard — decline for pure local tests.
7) Migrate or delete test accounts
When done troubleshooting, remove test accounts: Users & Groups → select user → delete — choose whether to save home folder as disk image or remove entirely. Migration Assistant can move data from old user to new if you created a replacement admin and want a fresh start without full erase.
8) FileVault and recovery
FileVault encrypts all user homes on the volume — new accounts encrypt automatically when FileVault is on. Document FileVault recovery key before creating accounts on encrypted Macs used by others.
Verify
New user appears in login window; home folder exists; test issue reproduced or cleared as expected; admin can manage account in Users & Groups.