How to Change Another User's Password in Windows

It's easy to change a user's password through Control Panel

By
Tim Fisher
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Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on June 24, 2024
Reviewed by
Jessica Kormos
Jessica Kormos
Reviewed by Jessica Kormos
  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
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Windows

What to Know

  • Windows 11, 10 & 8: Go to Control Panel > User Accounts > User Accounts > Manage another account.
  • Select the user, choose Change the password, then enter a new password in the boxes.
  • Select Change password to immediately change the user's password.

There are plenty of ways to find lost Windows passwords, but an easy method, assuming there are multiple user accounts on the computer, is to change the user's password from within another account. These steps to change a user's password work in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista.

How to Change a User's Password in Windows

The directions vary slightly between the various versions of Windows, but we call out those differences below.

Your Windows account must be configured as an administrator before you change another user's password. You can change the administrator if you need to.

  1. Open Control Panel. On touch interfaces, the easiest method is through its link on the Start menu (or Apps screen in Windows 8), but the control command or Power User Menu (Windows 8) is probably faster if you have a keyboard or mouse.

    You can also use Control Panel to change your own password.

  2. What you select for this step depends on your version of Windows:

    • Windows 11/10/Vista: Select User Accounts.
    • Windows 8/7: Select User Accounts and Family Safety.
    User Accounts in Control Panel

    If the View by setting is on Large icons or Small icons, then you won't see this link. Choose User Accounts instead and skip to Step 4.

  3. Select User Accounts.

    User Accounts in User Accounts window

  4. Choose Manage another account.

    Manage another account link in User Accounts

  5. Select the user you want to change the password for.

    Local Account, Password Protected in Manage Accounts window

    If you don't see Password protected listed somewhere under the username, then that user doesn't have a password set up and should be able to log in without entering anything in the password field.

  6. Choose Change the password.

    Change the password link in Change an Account window

    Don't see a Change the password link? This probably means that the user you want to change the password for logs into Windows with a Microsoft account, not a typical local account. It's even easier to reset a Microsoft account password.

  7. Enter a new password for the user in both the first and second text boxes.

    When you change a Windows password from outside the account, the user you're changing the password for will lose all access to EFS-encrypted files, personal certificates, and any stored passwords like those for network resources and website passwords. However, most users don't have EFS-encrypted files and the loss of stored passwords probably isn't a big deal.

  8. In the last text box, you're asked to type a password hint. This step is not required.

    Since you're probably changing this person's password for them because they've forgotten it, it's fine if you want to skip the hint. After the person regains access to their account, have them change their Windows password to something more private and set up a hint.

  9. Select Change password to save the password change.

    Change password button in Change Password window

Once signed on, be proactive and have the user create a Windows password reset disk or switch to a Microsoft account, either of which will provide an easier way to get a new password in the future.

FAQ

  • How do I log into Windows as administrator without an admin password?

    If it's still available, try logging in as the built-in Windows administrator. To do this, select Switch User at the Windows sign-in screen and type in "Administrator" as the user name but leave the password field blank. You can also access the built-in admin by booting Windows in Safe Mode.

  • How do I change my Wi-Fi password in Windows?

    You'll need to log into your router as administrator in order to change the Wi-Fi password. Be sure to have the user name, password, and router's IP address on-hand before attempting.

  • How do I change my HomeGroup password in Windows 10?

    Windows HomeGroup has been removed from Windows 10 as of version 1803, which saw its end of service in November of 2019. If you're using Windows 10 version 1803 or higher, you won't be able to adjust any settings or passwords for HomeGroup anymore.

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