Apple’s recently launched Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro with the Apple M1 chips are being very well received. The new Apple Silicon offers incredible performance per watt, and the laptops are ranking better than Intel Macs on benchmarks as well real world tests. However, a lot of M1 Mac users are reporting problems as well, including an error that can pop up when you’re setting up your M1 Mac. So, if you are facing the ‘computer account creation failed’ error, don’t worry, here’s the solution.

First, a little background on what this error is, actually. A lot of users (myself included) have faced this issue. So, when you first set up your new M1 Mac you have to create a user account. In a lot of cases, this user account creation doesn’t work. Your Mac will remain stuck on the screen for a long time and then pop up the following error screen.

‘Computer Account Creation Failed’ Error Solution

The entire solution for this error requires a couple of steps. I’m outlining the steps below.

  • ‘Computer Account Creation Failed’ Error Solution
  • Setting up Apple Configurator and Connecting Both Macs
  • Put Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air in DFU Mode
  • Restore and Reinstall recoveryOS and macOS

1. Setting up Apple Configurator and Connecting Both Macs

  • On the secondary Mac, download the Apple Configurator 2 app (Free) from the App Store, and launch it.

  • Shutdown your M1 Mac computer.

  • Use a USB-C cable to connect the second Mac to the M1 Mac device.

  • If you’re trying to fix an M1 Mac Mini, connect the USB-C cable to the left-most USB-C port on the back of the Mac Mini as shown below.

  • If you’re fixing an M1 MacBook Air or M1 MacBook Pro, connect the USB-C cable to the left-most USB-C port on the left-side of the MacBook as shown below.

2. Put Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air in DFU Mode

Mac Mini

MacBook Air or MacBook Pro

  • right Shift key
  • left Option key
  • left Control key

3. Restore and Reinstall recoveryOS and macOS

Now comes the part that’s easy to follow along but time consuming to complete. Here’s what you have to do:

  • In Apple Configurator, right click and click on ‘Restore’. Click ‘Restore’ again in the confirmation pop-up.

Now, when you continue the set up on your M1 Mac, the user account screen should work as usual and let you create your user on the Mac.

While it is unfortunate that the new M1-powered Macs can run into weird issues like this one, the good news is that at least there’s a fix. Hopefully, Apple will resolve these problems soon, but until that happens there’s no other option for users short of performing a DFU restore on their Mac computers.