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This guide applies to Mac computers
While they all look similar, macOS has three separate screens that let you log in and start a new user session, unlock your encrypted disk at startup, or unlock an existing user session The screen to sign in to your Mac will be familiar to any Mac user. But on closer inspection, you might have noticed three similar— yet slightly different—screens that can ask for your password. Those three screens are the login window, the FileVault unlock screen and the lock screen.
  • The login window starts a new user session or lets you re-enter an existing user session running in the background. This is the screen you see when your Mac starts up. It can have user icons or a name and password form.
  • When your disk is encrypted with FileVault, the FileVault unlock screen appears at startup or after waking up from sleep. It will always have icons for the users who can unlock the disk.
  • The lock screen shows up when your Mac has locked after waking up from sleep, when the screen saver has locked the screen, or if some other event has triggered a lock. This screen will prompt for the active user’s password.

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Login Window

The login window is the screen that greets you after your Mac has finished starting up. This window shows a list of user icons. You can configure login options in System Settings > Lock Screen preferences to show only your name and password instead of icons. This option removes the icons from the login window, and you’ll instead see a form with fields for your account name and password. If you later return to the login window and there are user sessions already open in the background, those users will have a check mark next to their account name. If you’ve set the login options to show only a name and password field, there will be no visual indication that already open user sessions are running in the background.

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FileVault Unlock Screen

If you have enabled disk encryption on your Mac with FileVault, your Mac won’t be able to read the encrypted disk until a FileVault-enabled user unlocks it. Your Mac will start up to a special screen that shows a FileVault unlock window that looks just like the login window with icons for the enabled users (even if you selected name and password to be shown at the login window). One way to tell you’re at the FileVault unlock screen is a progress bar that appears after you enter your password. This progress bar shows the status of unlocking your disk. When you successfully enter your password to unlock the disk, your Mac will use those credentials to log you in instead of showing you the login window again. Generally, all users on your Mac will be enabled to unlock FileVault. But it’s possible that accounts were created before FileVault was turned on, or users created through your organization’s management tools, may not be enabled to do so. In that case, you’ll only see the enabled users at the FileVault unlock screen.

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FileVault Login Screen Differences Between Intel and Apple Silicon Mac Computers

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Intel Mac Computers

  • Enables the use of account icons and password fields on the FileVault login screen.
  • Does not support username and password fields at the FileVault login screen.
  • Does not support smart cards for login at the FileVault login screen

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Apple Silicon Mac Computers

  • Enables the use of account icons and password fields on the FileVault login screen.
  • Supports username and password fields at the FileVault login screen
  • Supports smart cards for login at the FileVault login screen
After you log in with the enabled account and your Mac is unlocked, you can then switch to another user account by selecting Login Window from the Fast User Switching menu. After logging in with an enabled account, you may also choose to log out from the Apple menu. In System Settings > Security & Privacy > Security > FileVault, you’ll see a warning that some users are not enabled for FileVault. Clicking the Enable Users button will allow the remaining users to unlock FileVault.

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Lock Screen

The lock screen appears when your Mac has locked after a period of inactivity, the screen saver is set to lock your Mac, or some other event has triggered your Mac to lock. When you return to your Mac, you’ll be prompted to unlock the screen with your account password. You can tell you’re at the lock screen because your user account is already selected and the password prompt is ready for input. If a screen saver is enabled, you may see the screen saver image behind the account icon and password field.