Change password for windows user account

There are several ways to set a new password for your user account on your Windows PC. I would like to share all of them so the next time you need to change your password (or set a new password for some other user account) you can pick the fastest and most convenient way for yourself.

Windows 10 supports two types of accounts. One is the classic local account which has been available in all previous Windows versions, the other one is the modern Microsoft Account which is connected with the company’s cloud services. Here is how to change your password in Windows 10 depending on your account type.

Here are the various ways in which you can change your Windows password:

Ctrl + Alt + Del security screen

This method allows you to set the password only for the currently logged user i.e. you. To change your password using this method, do the following:

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del keys together on your keyboard to get the security screen.
2. Click «Change a password».
3. Specify the new password for your user account:

Settings app

In Windows 10, Microsoft moved many user account related options inside the Settings app. To set a password for your account using the Settings app, you need to perform the following steps:

1. 1. Launch the Settings app.
   2. Click on «Accounts».
   3. Click on «Sign-in options» at the left.
   4. Here you can change various sign-in options including the password and the PIN:

Control Panel

The classic Control Panel allows you to manage passwords for all user accounts on your PC.

1. 1. 1. Open the following Control Panel page:

         Control Panel\User Accounts and Family Safety\User Accounts\Manage Accounts

         It looks as follows:

      2. Click the user account whose password you need to change.
      3. Click the link «Change the password»:

Computer Management

This method is very old and works in all Windows versions, from Windows 2000 to Windows 10. Using the Computer Management snap-in, you can set a new password for any Windows account.

1. 1. 1. Open File Explorer and right click the «This PC» icon.
      2. Select «Manage» from the context menu.
      3. In Computer Management, select «Local Users and Groups» in the left pane.
      4. In the right pane, double click the «Users» folder.
      5. The users list will be opened. Right click the desired user account and set its password from the context menu:

Command Prompt / net.exe

The last method to set a new password for the user account is using an elevated command prompt instance.

1. 1. 1. Open an elevated command prompt.
      2. Type the following command:

         net user User_name password

         Replace «User_name» and «password» with the desired values. The password you specified will be set immediately without a prompt.

      3. Alternatively, you can use the following command:

         net user User_name *

         This will ask interactively for a new password for the «User_name» account.

      4. If you have a domain-joined PC, use the following command:

         net user User_name * /DOMAIN

         This will ask interactively for a new password for the «User_name» account on the specified domain.

Change Password for a Microsoft Account in Windows 10

If you are using a Microsoft Account in Windows 10, then you can use the following options:

• The Settings app method.
• The Change a password link on the Ctrl + Alt + Del security screen.

These are described above.

In addition to these, you can change your Microsoft Account password online.

Open the Microsoft Account web site.

Click the Sign-in button and enter your account data.

The Microsoft Account profile page will be opened. There, click «Change password» under your email address on the left:

Follow the instructions provided on the screen.

That’s it. Now you know all the possible ways to change the password for a user account in Windows 10. Please let me know if I forgot something.

In a multi-user environment, it’s not surprising if other users ask the administrator of the computer to change their password. They could have forgotten, or the account is locked or anything else. In this post, we will share how, as an administrator, one can change another user’s password in Windows 11/10.

Change another User’s password using Admin account

There are multiple ways to change another user’s password in a Windows 11/10 PC, especially when it’s the password of some other user. We show you how to change Local User Account password using an  Administrator account in Windows 11/10, using:

1. Control Panel
2. Computer Management
3. Netplwiz
4. Command Prompt or PowerShell

If you are using a Microsoft account on Windows 10, and if you have forgotten your PIN, you can choose to sign-in with the password of the MS account. If you don’t remember it, you can reset it online.

1] Change Windows 11/10 User Password from Control Panel

• Type control in the Start menu, and launch the Control Panel app or type control in the Run prompt, and hit enter.
• Set the view by category, and click on User Accounts > User accounts >Manage another account.
• When you find the user on the next screen for which you want to change the password, select it.
• It will open the user profile option of that user. Click on Change the password.
• In the next screen, you need to type the new password twice and click ok to confirm.

Here is one warning though. When a password is changed this way, the user will lose all EFS-encrypted files, personal certificates, and stored password for websites and network resources.

2] Change Windows User Password from Computer Management

• In the Run prompt, type compmgmt.msc, and hit the Enter key. It will open the Computer Management console.
• Navigate to Computer Management > System Tools > Local Users and Groups -> Users in the left pane.
• Right-click on the user for which you want to change the password, and then select Set Password.
• You will receive a warning screen that the current password will be reset, might cause loss of information, etc.
• Click the Proceed button to confirm.
• Enter your new password twice and click OK.

3] Change Windows 11/10 Password Using Netplwiz

• Open the Run prompt using Windows + R keys together. Type netplwiz and hit Enter.
• It will open the User Accounts window with a list of all users on the computer.
• Select the user account for which you want to change the password, and then click on the Reset Password button.
• Enter the new password for your user account, and then click OK.

Related: How to change the username of a Windows account using netplwiz

If the user account is linked to a Microsoft account, you will not be allowed to change the password or set a new password.

4] Change Windows User Password from Command Prompt

Here we will use the net user command which allows admins to add or modify user accounts, or displays user account information.

• Open PowerShell or Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Type net user and press Enter to display a list of all user account on the computer. Note the exact name of the username.
• Type net user <username> <password> i.e. net user shwet dumdum (In my case)
• Hit Enter, and it will change the Windows 10 user password.

We hope the tutorial was easy to understand, and as an admin you have multiple ways to change any user account password in Windows 11/10.