How to Change Windows Password

The Windows Operating System takes the security of its users very seriously, which is why all iterations of the OS come with a myriad of tools that can be used to secure user accounts. Most users simply opt to protect their user accounts on Windows with a password. Passwords are not only reliable and secure but are also the simplest account protection method available. All of this also stands true for Windows 10 – the latest and greatest in a long line of Windows Operating Systems. Windows 10 users have the option to protect their user accounts with passwords, along with a number of other security measures.

For any one of a number of different reasons, the average Windows user often has the need to change the password their user account is protected by. While doing so is possible, there are a wide variety of different ways you can go about changing the password for a user account on Windows 10. The following are the absolute best methods that can be used to change user account passwords on Windows 10:

Method 1: Change the password from Settings

Windows 10 comes with the Settings utility, an element that did not exist on older versions of the Operating System (Windows 7, for starters). This utility can be used to change the password for any user account that resides on a Windows 10 computer, among a number of other things. To change a user account’s password using the Settings utility, you need to:

1. Open the Start Menu and click on Settings to open the utility. Alternatively, the same result can be achieved by simply pressing the Windows Logo key + I. 
2. Click on Accounts.
3. In the left pane of the window, click on Sign-in options.
4. In the right pane of the window, under the Password section, click on Change.

At this point, the road forks in two different directions, and the direction you go in depends on whether the user account you are trying to change the password for is a Microsoft account or a local user account. If the user account in question is a Microsoft account:

1. Sign in with your Microsoft account by typing in the password for it in the Password field and clicking on Sign in.
2. Type the last 4 digits of the phone number you have associated with the Microsoft account in question into the Last 4 digits field and press Enter. Microsoft will send a code that can be used to change the password for the Microsoft account to the number associated with it. 
3. Once you have received the code, type it in on the next page.
4. Type the old password for the user account in the Old password field, the new password into the Create password field, and reenter the new password into the Reenter password field. 
5. Press Enter.
6. Once done, you will see a message stating that the password for the user account has been successfully changed. 

If the user account you are trying to change the password for is a local user account, however, here’s what needs to be done:

1. Type the user account’s current password into the Current password field and click on Next.
2. Set the new password for the user account by typing it into the New password field, re-typing it into the Reenter password field, setting a Password hint (if you want to), and clicking on Next.

Method 2: Change the password from the Control Panel

As was the case on older versions of the Windows Operating System, the password for a user account on Windows 10 can also be changed from the Control Panel. Here’s how you can change a user account’s password from the Control Panel:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button to open the WinX Menu.
2. Click on Control Panel to launch the Control Panel.
3. With the Control Panel in Large icons view, click on User Accounts.
4. Click on Manage another account.
5. Click on the user account you want to change the password for.
6. Click on Change the password.
7. Type the current password for the selected user account in the Current password field.
8. Type what you want to set as the user account’s new password into the New password field, and re-type it in the Confirm new password field.
9. Set a password hint if you want to.
10. Click on Change password.

Method 3: Change the password from Computer Management

The password for a user account on Windows 10 can also be changed from Computer Management. To access Computer Management and change the password for a user account, you need to:

1. Right-click on This PC on your Desktop.
2. Click on Manage in the resulting context menu.
3. In the left pane of the Computer Management window, navigate to the following directory:
   System Tools > Local Users and Groups
4. In the left pane of the window, click on Users under Local Users and Groups to have its contents displayed in the middle pane.
5. In the middle pane of the window, right-click on the listing for the user account you want to change the password for, and click on Set Password… in the resulting context menu. 
6. Click on Proceed.
7. Type the new password for the selected user account in the New password field and re-type it into the Confirm password field.
8. Click on OK.

Note: Be warned – changing the password for a user account using this method results in that specific user account losing access to any and all of its encrypted files, stored passwords and personal security certificates.

Method 4: Change the password using the User Accounts utility

1. Press the Windows Logo key + R to open a Run dialog.
2. Type netplwiz into the Run dialog and press Enter to launch the User Accounts utility. 
3. In the User Accounts window, locate and click on the listing for the user account you want to change the password for, and click on Reset Password….
4. Type the new password for the selected user account in the New password field and re-type it into the Confirm new password field.
5. Click on OK.

Method 5: Change the password from an elevated Command Prompt

Last, but certainly not the least, you can also change the password for a user account on Windows 10 from the comfort of an elevated Command Prompt. Here’s how you can launch an elevated Command Prompt and use it to change the password for a user account on Windows 10:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button to open the WinX Menu.
2. Click on Command Prompt (Admin) to launch an elevated Command Prompt that has administrative privileges. 
3. Type net user into the elevated Command Prompt and press Enter. Once the command has been executed, the Command Prompt will display a list of all the user accounts on your Windows 10 computer.
4. Type the following command into the elevated Command Prompt, replacing X with the title of the user account you want to change the password of as listed in the Command Prompt, and replacing 123 with whatever you want to set as the new password for the user account in question, and press Enter:
   net user X 123
5. Wait for the command to be successfully executed and then close the elevated Command Prompt.

Note: Methods 3, 4 and 5 will only work if you perform the steps listed and described for each of them while you are logged into an Administrator account as Standard User accounts don’t have the required access or privileges.