6 Ways to Change Account Password in Windows 11

• To change your local user account password, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options > Password, click Change, enter your current password, and select a new password.

• If you use a Microsoft account on your computer, go to the Microsoft account site, sign in to your account, choose Security > Change Password, and choose a new password.

Whether someone has guessed your password or you simply want to use a new password, changing your user account password in Windows 11 is easy. I’ll show you both graphical and command line methods to do this on your computer.

If you are using a Microsoft account on your PC, you will have to change your Microsoft account password to change your PC’s user account password.

From Settings

The easiest graphical way to change your account password is to use the Settings app. You select your account, enter your new password, and you’re done.

Start by opening Settings using Windows + i. From the left sidebar, select Accounts. In the right pane, scroll down and select Sign-in Options.

On the next page, under Login Methods, click Password. From the extended menu, select “Edit”.

In the window that opens, click the “Current Password” field and enter the current account password. Then click “Next” at the bottom.

On the next screen, click the New Password field and enter the new password you want to use for your account. Click the Confirm Password field and re-enter the new password. Select the Password Hint field and enter a hint to help you remember your password in the future.

Then click “Next” at the bottom.

In the last window, select “Done” to complete changing your account password.

With Netplwiz

Netplwiz is a built-in Windows utility that allows you to view all your user accounts, change account typesand even set new account passwords. To use it, open Run by pressing Windows + R. Type the following in the open field and select OK or press Enter:

netplwiz

In the “User Accounts” window that opens, on the “Users” tab, select your user account. Then click the “Reset Password” button.

In the Reset Password dialog box, click the New Password field and enter a new password. Enter your new password in the Confirm New Password field and click OK.

Back in the User Accounts window, click OK. And everything is ready.

Using the Command Line

TO change your account password using command lineuse the command line utility. Start by opening Windows search and type Command lineand select “Run as administrator”. Be sure to select “Yes” in the “User Account Control” line.

If you don’t run command prompt as administratorYou will receive an “access denied” error message when you try to change your user account password.

At the command prompt, enter the following command. Replace Username with your account username and New Password with the new password you want to use for your account. Then press Enter.

net user Username NewPassword

For example, if your username is PC1 and you want to use Howtogeek as your new password, use the following command:

net user PC1 howtogeek

The command prompt displays a success message indicating that your password was successfully changed.

Using PowerShell

PowerShell is another command line option for changing your user account password. Open the tool by opening Windows Search and typing PowerShelland select “Run as administrator”. Select “Yes” in the “User Account Control” line.

In PowerShell, enter the following command (called cmdlet). Replace Username with your account username and New Password with the new password you want to set for the account. Then press Enter.

Set-LocalUser -Name "Username" -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText "NewPassword" -Force)

PowerShell will change your account password.

Using local users and groups

If you are using Windows 11s Pro versionyou can use the Local Users and Groups utility (lusrmgr) to change account passwords. To use it, open Run by pressing Windows + R. Type the following in the open field and select OK or press Enter.

lusrmgr.msc

With the utility open, in the left sidebar, select Users. In the right pane you will see all user accounts. Right-click your account and select Set Password.

In the prompt that opens, select “Continue.”

In the Set Password for (username) window, click the New Password field and enter the new password you want to use. Click the Confirm Password field and re-enter the new password. Then select “OK”.

And everything is ready.

Change your Microsoft account password

If you’ve linked your Microsoft account to your Windows 11 PC, you’ll have to change your Microsoft account password to change your user account password. You can do this using the Microsoft website or the Settings app. Here are both methods.

From the Microsoft account website

Launch your favorite web browser and open Microsoft account site. Click Sign In and sign in to your Microsoft account. Study what to do if you forgot your Microsoft account password.

When the account page opens, in the left sidebar, select Security (shield icon). In the right pane, in the top right corner, click Change Password.

Click the Current Password field and enter your current account password. Select the New Password field and enter the new password you want to use. Re-enter the same password in the Re-enter Password field. If you want Microsoft to prompt you to change your password every 72 days, enable this checkbox. Then click “Save”.

And everything is ready.

From Settings

Launch Settings using Windows+i. From the left sidebar, select Accounts. In the right pane, select Sign-in Options.

Under Advanced settings, turn off the “For increased security, only allow Microsoft accounts on this device to sign in to Windows Hello (recommended)” option. If you leave this option enabled, you will not see the option to change your account password.

Refresh the page by clicking “Accounts” in the left sidebar and selecting “Sign-in Options” in the right panel. Then, under Sign In Methods, click Password and select Change.

In the window that opens, click the “Current Password” field and enter the current password. Select the New Password field and enter a new password. Then select Next and follow the onscreen instructions.

And that’s all.

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It is recommended that you change your account password from time to time to protect your account. Windows 11 makes this process very easy by offering multiple methods. Be safe!