Reset Password of User Account in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Help Forums (2025)

How to Reset Password of Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10

If you have a local account on the PC, then your Windows password is what you use to sign in to your user account in Windows on the PC.

If you have a Microsoft account, then your password is what you use to sign in to online Microsoft services and Windows on PCs and devices that you use the same Microsoft account on.

You can help keep your PC or device more secure by changing your password regularly and by using a strong password. If you forget or lose your password, there are several things you can try to change, reset, or remove it.

Reference:

This tutorial will show you different ways to reset the password of your or any local account and Microsoft account in Windows 10 and online.

If your PC is on a domain, your system administrator must reset your password.

If you had set Windows to automatically sign in to a local account at startup that you just changed, reset or remove the password of, then you will need to set Windows to automatically sign in to the local account at startup again to update it with the new password.

A Microsoft account password can only contain up to 16 characters.

Enabling passwordless sign-in will remove the password and picture password sign-in options for all Microsoft accounts on the sign-in screen and in Accounts > Sign-in options > Settings.

Contents

Option One: To Reset Password of your Local Account at Sign-in with Password Reset Disk
Option Two: To Reset Password of any Local Account in Netplwiz
Option Three: To Reset Password of your Microsoft Account Online at Microsoft
Option Four: To Reset Password of your Microsoft Account at Sign-in
Option Five: To Reset Password of your Local Account at Sign-in

OPTION ONE

To Reset Password of your Local Account at Sign-in with Password Reset Disk

If you created a password reset disk for your local account and forgot your password anytime afterwards, then you can use the password reset disk to create a new password for your local account.

You can only use the most recently created password reset disk for the local account. Any previous (old) password reset disks will be invalid and cannot by used to reset the password.

1 Click/tap on OK after entering an incorrect password for your local account on the sign-in screen. (see screenshot below)

2 Connect the USB flash drive that is your password reset disk.

3 Click/tap on Reset password. (see screenshot below)

4 Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

5 Select the USB flash drive that you connected in step 2 above, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

6 Type in a new password and password hint, and click/tap on Next. You can leave the password fields empty if you wanted to remove your password. (see screenshot below)

7 Click/tap on Finish. (see screenshot below)

OPTION TWO

To Reset Password of any Local Account in Netplwiz

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this option. If you don't have another administrator account, then you can enable the built-in Administrator account to sign in and use to reset the password of the other account.

This option should only be used if the local user has forgotten his or her password, and does not have a password reset disk.

For security reasons, Windows protects certain information by making it impossible to access if the user's password is reset. When an administrator changes the password of another user's local account on the PC, that local account will lose all EFS-encrypted files, personal certificates, and stored passwords for Web sites or network resources.

1 Type netplwiz in the search box in the Start menu or on the taskbar, and press Enter.

2 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

3 Check the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer box, select a local account (ex: Brink_2), and click/tap on Reset Password. (see screenshot below)

4 Type in a new password, and click/tap on OK. You can leave the password fields empty if you wanted to remove the password. (see screenshot below)

5 If you had set Windows to automatically sign in to a user account at startup, then you will need to set this again.

6 When finished, you can close netplwiz if you like.

OPTION THREE

To Reset Password of your Microsoft Account Online at Microsoft

1 Go to the Microsoft account password reset website.

2 Enter your Microsoft account email address, phone number or Skype name if not already, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshots below)

3 If you don't want to use the Microsoft Authenticator app (Windows 10 Mobile, Android, iOS), click/tap on the Use a different verification option link. (see screenshot below)

4 Select (dot) how you would like to get your security code to verify your identity, enter the required information, and click/tap on Get code. (see screenshot below)

5 Enter your security code sent using the method you selected above, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

6 If you have two-step verification turned on for your Microsoft account, you will need to select (dot) a second way to get your security code to verify your identity again, enter the required information, and click/tap on Get code. (see screenshots below)

A) Enter your security code sent using the method you selected above, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

7 Type in a new password, reenter the new password, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

8 Your Microsoft account has now been recovered and reset with the new password. You can now Sign in to your Microsoft account on your devices with the new password. (see screenshot below)

OPTION FOUR

To Reset Password of your Microsoft Account at Sign-in

This option is only available starting with Windows 10 build 16237.

You must be connected to the Internet to be able to do this option.

1 Click/tap on the I forgot my password link for your Microsoft account while on the sign-in screen. (see screenshot below)

2 You will now see the screen below for Just a moment. (see screenshot below)

3 Enter the characters you see, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

4 Select how you would like to get your security code, enter the required information, and click/tap on Send code. (see screenshot below)

5 Enter the code you received from Microsoft, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

6 If you have two-step verification turned on for your Microsoft account, you will need to select how you would like to get a security code one more time. Enter the required information, and click/tap on Send code. (see screenshot below)

A) Enter the code you received from Microsoft, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

7 Enter a new password you want for your Microsoft account, and click/tap on Next.

Passwords for a Microsoft account must have at least 8 characters and contain at least two of the following: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

You must create a password that you haven't used before. To help protect your account, you need to create a new password every time you reset or change it.

8 Your Microsoft account password has now been reset and changed. Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

9 You can now sign in to Windows 10 and your devices with your Microsoft account using the new password. (see screenshot below)

OPTION FIVE

To Reset Password of your Local Account at Sign-in

This option is only available starting with Windows 10 build 17063.

If you already have a local account, you can add security questions. If you are installing a new PC using a local account, setup will walk you through adding these questions and answers right there in the workflow. Once your security questions are set up, if you find yourself unable to remember your password on the sign-in screen, you will see a link to reset your password, whereupon clicking you'll be prompted to enter the answers to your security questions.

1 While on the sign-in screen for your local account, enter an incorrect password, and press Enter or click/tap on the arrow. (see screenshot below)

2 Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

3 Click/tap on the Reset password link. (see screenshot below)

4 Type the answers to your security questions, and press Enter or click/tap on the arrow. (see screenshot below)

5 Enter a new password you want for your local account, and press Enter or click/tap on the arrow. (see screenshot below)

6 Your password will now be reset, and you will now be signed in to Windows 10.

That's it,
Shawn Brink