You haven't indicated which version of Imager you're using (Windows, Mac or Linux), but in the Mac version you can force it to set password login by doing the follow, just before imaging your SD card:Is there a way to get it to work using just user/pass? I have tried turning off the use SSH Key and it's still wanting to use the SSH Key. I am at a loss how I need to configure the Pi Imager settings so I can connect in how i have always done so in the past.
1. Select "Allow public-key authorization only".
2. Delete the displayed public-key.
3. Select "Use password authorization".
This isn't persistent, so you'll have to do this every time you image an SD card, unless you can find where the public-key has been saved on your system, and delete it. Regardless what might be considered best practice by some, the fact that Imager ignores the selection of "Use password authorization", if there's a public-key displayed, IS A BUG.
Finally, there's lots of discussion here about creating and saving a public-key in Windows; however, the Mac version of Imager does it all for you. If a public-key doesn't already exist, it presents an option to "RUN SSH-KEYGEN". The "ADD SSH KEY" option can also be used to save a public-key, previously generated by other means. Public-keys are stored in the user's .ssh/id_rsa.pub file.
Statistics: Posted by T J Kong — Sat Oct 25, 2025 3:34 am