How to Change Your Windows Password

To change your Windows password when you know the current password, open Settings, select Accounts, select Sign-in options, and then choose Password > Change. Enter the current password, create the new password, confirm it, and complete any verification Windows requests.

The exact process depends on whether Windows uses a Microsoft account, a local account, or an account managed by your workplace or school. Changing a PIN, fingerprint, or face sign-in does not change the Windows account password.

Before You Change Your Windows Password

Identify the account used to sign in before starting a Windows password change. An account shown elsewhere under Email & accounts or Access work or school may only be connected to apps and may not be the account that signs in to Windows.

1. Open Settings and select Accounts.
2. Select Your info and review the account information.
3. If Windows identifies the sign-in as a Microsoft account, changing its password also changes the password for Microsoft services that use that account.
4. If Windows offers an option to sign in with a Microsoft account instead, the current Windows sign-in is normally a local account. A local account exists only on that PC.
5. If the sign-in belongs to an employer or school, or the device says settings are managed by an organization, treat it as a work or school account. Ask the organization’s support team if the account type remains unclear.

Save open work first. Have the current password ready, along with access to any email address, authenticator, security key, or other verification method associated with the account.

How Do I Change My Windows Password in Settings?

The standard answer to “how to change Windows password” is to use the Password control in Windows Sign-in options. This method applies when you can sign in and know the current password.

1. Open Start and select Settings.
2. Select Accounts, followed by Sign-in options.
3. Under Ways to sign in, select Password.
4. Select Change.
5. Enter the current account password. Do not enter the Windows Hello PIN unless Windows specifically requests it for identity verification.
6. Enter the new password and enter it again to confirm it.
7. Complete the remaining prompt and select Finish.
8. Lock the PC and confirm that the new password works before relying on it.

If Password is missing, the PC may allow only Windows Hello sign-in, or an organization may control the setting. Review Additional settings on the same page or contact the device administrator.

How Do You Change a Windows Password with Ctrl+Alt+Delete?

Ctrl+Alt+Delete opens the Windows security screen. Its Change a password option is commonly useful for a local account or an organization-managed account, but the option may be hidden by device policy or unavailable for the current account configuration.

1. While signed in, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete together.
2. Select Change a password. If that choice is absent, use Settings or the account provider’s recovery process.
3. Confirm the displayed user name or account.
4. Enter the old password.
5. Enter the new password in both new-password fields.
6. Submit the change and wait for Windows to confirm it.

On a workplace network, the PC may need access to the organization’s network or approved remote connection before a work password change can be completed or synchronized.

How Do You Change a Microsoft Account Password Online?

A Microsoft account password is shared by Windows and Microsoft services that use the same account. To change it online, open {site}, go to the account security area, choose the password-change option, verify your identity if asked, and enter the current and new passwords.

Connect the PC to the internet before trying the new password in Windows so the device can receive the account change. If the PC has been offline, Windows may temporarily recognize cached sign-in information until synchronization occurs. A Windows Hello PIN can normally still unlock that specific device because the PIN is separate from the Microsoft account password.

If another device or app repeatedly requests credentials after the change, sign in there with the new Microsoft account password rather than the Windows Hello PIN.

How Do You Change a Local Account Password?

A local account password is stored for one Windows PC and does not change a separate online account. To change a local Windows login password, use Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Password > Change.

1. Enter the current local-account password.
2. Enter the new password.
3. Enter the same new password again for confirmation.
4. Create or update the password hint if Windows displays that field. Do not put the password itself in the hint.
5. Complete any security-question or password-requirement prompts shown by Windows.
6. Select Finish, lock the PC, and test the new password.

This is the direct procedure for searches such as “how to change password on Windows,” “change password Windows,” and “how to change password for Windows.”

What If You Forgot Your Windows Password?

Recovery is different from a routine password change because you cannot prove control by entering the current password. Use the recovery option for the specific account type; do not follow instructions that claim to bypass account security.

• Microsoft account: On the Windows sign-in screen, choose I forgot my password, or use Microsoft’s account password-reset process on another connected device. Complete the requested identity verification.

• Local account: At the password sign-in screen, submit the password field if necessary, select Reset password, and answer the security questions created for that account. A previously created password reset disk may also be offered.

• Work account: Use the organization’s approved password-reset process or contact its IT support team. Organizational policy can control which recovery choices appear.

• School account: Use the school’s approved reset process or contact the school account administrator. A personal Microsoft recovery process may not apply.

If a recovery choice is missing, first select Sign-in options and make sure Password is selected instead of PIN or another Windows Hello method.

Is a Windows PIN the Same as a Password?

A Windows Hello PIN is not the account password. The PIN is associated with a particular device, while a Microsoft account password is used by the account across Microsoft sign-ins; face and fingerprint sign-in are also Windows Hello methods rather than passwords.

• To change the account password, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Password > Change.

• To change a known PIN, open the same page and select PIN (Windows Hello) > Change PIN.

• If the PIN is forgotten, select I forgot my PIN and complete account verification.

• To manage face or fingerprint sign-in, select the matching Windows Hello option under Ways to sign in.

Changing the Windows password does not automatically create a new PIN. When your goal is to change the Windows login password, choose Password rather than PIN, Facial recognition, or Fingerprint recognition.