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Printing - Clear Credentials From macOS Keychain

Instructions for clearing a expired or incorrect saved password from your macOS keychain

If you attempt to submit a print job from your Mac and the Print Center shows the status of the document is "Hold for Authentication", there is a authentication issue between your device and the print server that is preventing the document from spooling.

Authentication hold error

Follow the steps in this article to resolve the communication issue.

  1. Open the Keychain Access application on your Mac by searching for it using Spotlight
    Keychain app search result
  2. Authenticate using your Mac account password to unlock the keychain
    Authentication prompt
  3. In the Keychain Access application, click on the login keychain under the Default Keychains section of the sidebar. Then search for "print" in the search bar. You should see a result populated similar to what is pictured in the screenshot below. Note that there might be multiple results- you can safely delete all matches, but understand that the result of doing so is that you will need to enter your NetID password again when you attempt to print
    Saved password in keychain
  4. Attempt to re-submit your print job to the printer. This time you should be prompted to authenticate with your NetID and NetID password. Note that you need to prepend "AD\" in the username field. To save the new credentials in your Mac's keychain check the box. This will cause the printing subsystem to use the saved credentials on subsequent print jobs and you will not be prompted again.
    Printer authentication prompt
  5. After successfully authenticating, your print job will now spool as desired
    Job spooled successfully


Keywords:
keychain, password, printer, credentials, username, netid, graingerid 
Doc ID:
153995
Owned by:
Paul B. in Wisconsin School of Business
Created:
2025-08-04
Updated:
2025-10-22
Sites:
Wisconsin School of Business