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I ran a sudo apt upgrade, rebooted, and now I can't log in.

The odd thing is this... when I provide known invalid credentials the login dialog reports 'Incorrect password' in a red block, like so:

enter image description here

... but when I enter my known correct credentials the dialog disappears entirely for a moment and then returns with the password field empty (no red block).

Unfortunately I didn't enable SSH on this one, and have been connecting solely via VNC (lesson learned).

FYI the RPi is local, on the same LAN—if that helps.

Am I out of luck? Will I have to reinstall from scratch? (I sure hope not.)

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  • Have you tried to login to the terminal and confirm that you are still able to do so?
    – crasic
    Aug 24, 2022 at 21:50
  • Putting a file into your /boot directory called ssh should cause the sshd to start (touch ssh if you have another linux box, or just create an empty text file). Of course, ssh will need a password also.
    – NomadMaker
    Aug 24, 2022 at 21:51
  • @crasic — When you say 'terminal,' are you referring to a bash terminal? Or to the RPi directly and without VNC?
    – InteXX
    Aug 24, 2022 at 21:56
  • @NomadMaker — Catch 21. I would have to be able to log in to create such a file in that location. No?
    – InteXX
    Aug 24, 2022 at 21:57
  • /boot is formated as a FAT32, so Windows or Mac should be able to read or write in the /boot partician.
    – NomadMaker
    Aug 24, 2022 at 21:59

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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You can boot to a root shell and reset password See https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/a/123850/8697.

Upgrade SHOULD NOT change password; ideally you should backup BEFORE upgrade.

This requires that you modify cmdline.txt - which can be done on any computer (even a Pi with a fresh OS).

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  • I don't think it changed my password. I think login is succeeding, but maybe the desktop is crashing or something. That's why the dialog doesn't report 'Incorrect password,' but instead disappears for a moment and then comes back.
    – InteXX
    Aug 24, 2022 at 23:57
  • I tried adding init=/bin/sh to the end of cmdline.txt, but it still boots to the credentials dialog. Perhaps my Windows text editor added CRs to the file, and Buster doesn't like that. I do know that my current config replaces tabs with spaces on file save, so that might be mucking with things. To your knowledge, does cmdline.txt require any tabs?
    – InteXX
    Aug 25, 2022 at 0:02
  • "does cmdline.txt require any tab" - definitely NOT - not sure what it may do with them if present.
    – Milliways
    Aug 25, 2022 at 0:19

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