Reset Password in Windows 11/10 With an Administrator Account: Four Methods

You have multiple options to reset your local accounts’ password in Windows 11 and 10 when logged into your account that is a member of the admin group. Additionally, sometimes you forget the password for a local account, and you are logged out of that account. In such a scenario, you can simply reset the password for that account if you have access to an admin account on your PC. To do so, you need to log in to your system with the administrator account and use one of the methods you learn in this article.

Even if you do not face any problems accessing your local accounts, you may be interested to learn the four methods in this guide. These methods are standard control panel, command prompt or Windows PowerShell, Netplwiz utility, and Local User and Group Management Console.

Note that these three methods apply only to local user accounts and not Microsoft accounts. Also, note that we create this guide using windows 11, and it is the same steps for Windows 10.

RELATED: A Complete Guide to Reset Windows 11 Password: All Solutions.

Reset Password in Window 11/10 Using Control Panel

Using this method is simple and beginner-friendly. You just need to navigate through the options graphically. Note that with this method, you must provide the old password if you change the password for the account you are logged in to. If you reset another account’s password, you don’t need to provide the old password associated with that account. Also, consider that you must be logged in with an administrator account. With that in mind, go through the following steps.

1. Go to the Start Menu and search for Control Panel. Open it when found.

2. Set the Control Panel view to Category and click on User Accounts.

3. Click on User Accounts again in the next window.
4. Click on Manage another account in the User Accounts window.

5. Click on the user account that you want to reset its password. Then, click on Change the password at the left pane.

6. Enter the password in the related box, re-enter it in the second box, and input a password hint in the last box. Click on the Change Password button once done.

All set. Close the window, and now you can log in to that account with the new password.

Also, read Windows 11 Full Backup and Restore (Detailed Guide).

Reset Password in Window 11/10 Using Netplwiz Utility

Netplwiz is yet another cool utility to manage local user accounts in Windows 11 and 10. With this method, you can not reset the user account with which you are logged in. And you can reset other local user accounts without providing their old passwords. Also, note that you must use an administrator account. See the below steps.

Helpful: Learn more about Netplwiz Utility.

1. Press down the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open Run.
2. Type netplwiz in the Run dialogue box and press enter.

3. On the User Accounts window, select the user account you want to reset. Then, click on the Reset Password button.

4. Enter the new password and re-enter it in the associated boxes. Click OK once done.

That is all with this method. Close the window, and you can log in to your account with the new password. Note: you can also remove an account, add a new account, and do advanced configurations using the utility.

RELATED: How to Create a Password Reset Disk in Windows 11 and 10.

Reset Windows 11/10 Password Using Command Prompt or Powershell

Unlike the above two methods, you can reset any local user account with this method as far as you have administrative privilege. I mean, you can reset the user account that you are logged in to without providing its old password. Of course, you can reset all other local user accounts without providing their old passwords. With this method, you use the net user utility of which syntax is the same on Windows PowerShell and Command Prompt. See the below steps.

1. Press the Win + R keys to open Run.
2. Type cmd for Command Prompt session or Powershell for the PowerShell session. Choose your desired one. For this guide, we use Powershell, however.

3. Press down the ctrl + shift keys and enter to open it as administrator. Click Yes if the UAC window pops up.
   Note: Alternatively, you can search for any of the above in the Start Menu. Once found, right-click and select Run as administrator.

4. Once your Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt session is opened, type net user and hit enter. This command lists all the local user accounts on your computer.

5. To reset a user account’s password, type net user [user-name] [new-password]. Replace the [user-name] with the account name and [new-password] with your desired new password. In my example, to reset the Danish account password to NewPassword, the complete command becomes net user Danish NewPass. You will receive a success message upon completion.

6. Once completed, type exit and enter to close the PowerShell session.

Simple, right? You can reset your Windows 11/10 local user account password with an easy cmdlet on a PowerShell or Command Prompt session.

Reset Windows 11/10 Password Using Local Users and Group Management

The last method to reset a Windows 11/10 local user account is by using the Local Users and Group Management console. As its name implies, you can manage users and group memberships for the accounts on your computer. Similar to Command Prompt or PowerShell method, you can reset the user account with which you are logged in and also other user accounts on your computer. Note that you need admin privilege to do so. Also, note that this console is not available on the Home edition of Windows 11 and 10. With that in mind, walk through the steps below.

1. Press the Win + R keys to open Run.
2. Type lusrmgt.msc and hit enter to open the Local Users and Group Management Console.

3. Select Users on the left pane of the Local User and Group Management Console. Then Right-click on the user account you want to reset and choose Set Password from the context menu.

4. Click Proceed on the warning window.

5. Type and re-type the password for your account and click OK.

6. Lastly, click OK on the confirmation window that appears.

These are the steps for this method. Close the Local Users and Group Management window and log in with the new password at the next logon.

Also, read Enable and Disable Widgets in Windows 11.

Wrap Up

There are multiple methods to reset your local account password in Windows 11/10. If you have access to an admin account, you can easily reset other accounts if you forget their passwords. With the last two methods, you can reset the account that you are logged in to without providing its old password. Remember that you need the administrative privilege to reset accounts on your computer.

I hope you find this guide helpful and informative and enjoy reading it. Feel free to ask your questions and share your thoughts in the comment. Also, if you think this guide is helpful to your friends, don’t forget to share it with them. I wish you many, many successes!