Forgot Your Windows 11 Password? Here is How to Reset Windows 11 Password

If you are booting an old Windows computer, chances are you have forgotten the password and are unable to sign in. But don’t worry, even if you have forgotten your Windows 11 password, you can get back into your computer. In this tutorial, we have listed a simple way to reset your Windows 11 password without any data loss. With a few CMD commands, you can set a new password for your Windows 11 computer and log back in without any worries. On that note, let’s learn how to reset your Windows 11 password, even if you don’t remember the old password.

How to Recover Your Forgotten Windows 11 Password (2022)

We have included a tried-and-tested method to reset Windows 11 password for both local and online accounts in this tutorial. You don’t need a USB bootable drive for Windows 11 to reset the password, as suggested by many. Just follow the instructions below, and you can reset your forgotten Windows 11 password and recover your PC within minutes.

Reset Windows 11 Password for Your Local Account

If you have created a local account on Windows 11 and have forgotten the password, you can recover it using the Advanced Recovery options. The process is a bit lengthy, but it’s certainly doable. I tested the below method on stable Windows 11 Build 22000.527 (21H2), and it worked without any issue. So go ahead and check out the step-by-step instructions.

Modify System Files in Windows 11 to Reset Password

1. First, press and hold the “Shift” key on the keyboard and click the “Restart” button at the bottom-right corner. This will take you to the “Advanced Options” screen.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

2. Once you are here, click on “Troubleshoot“.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

3. Next, click on Advanced Options and open “See more recovery options“.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

4. After that, click on “System Image Recovery“.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

5. A pop-up window will now open up. You will first need to click on “Cancel”. After that, click on “Next”.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

6. On the next screen, click on “Advanced“.

advanced screen

7. Then, select “Install a driver” from the pop-up windows that appears on your screen.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

8. Now, click on “OK“. A file browser window will open up. Here, click on the drop-down menu and select “This PC“.

10. Now, select the drive in which you have installed Windows 11. I would suggest matching the drive size of your C drive to avoid any ambiguity. Note that the C drive here is different from the one you have installed Windows 11 in. For example, the D drive is the one I have installed Windows 11 in.

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Reset Windows 11 Password (Local Accounts)

11. Next, move to Windows -> System32 folder. Then, look for a file called “Utilman”. Rename it to Utilman1 and hit Enter. For your information, Utilman is responsible for opening the accessibility menu on Windows 11 PCs.

utilman

12. Now, look for “cmd” and rename it to Utilman. You can right-click and refresh the window to see the changes.

utilman windows 11

13. Finally, keep clicking on “Cancel” and move back to the “Advanced Options” screen. Here, click on “Continue”. This will boot you to the Windows 11 lock screen.

advanced recovery screen

Reset Windows 11 Password With Command Prompt

1. Once you are on the Windows 11 lock screen, click on the “Accessibility” icon at the bottom-right corner.

Reset Windows 11 Password

2. Now, instead of the Accessibility menu, it will open Command Prompt since we renamed cmd to Utilman. In the CMD window, type the below command to display a list of all the user accounts on your PC. Take a note of the account name in the second column.

net user
Reset Windows 11 Password

3. Next, run the command by following the below syntax. Replace accountname with the actual account name and add your preferred password in place of the password. It will instantly reset the password on your Windows 11 PC.

net user accountname password
Reset Windows 11 Password

4. Finally, close the CMD window and log in with the new password. This time, you will be able to sign in to the Windows 11 computer without any issue. So this is how you can recover the account even if you have forgotten your Windows 11 password.

windows 11

Reset Windows 11 Password (Online Microsoft Account)

If you have linked an online Microsoft account to your Windows 11 PC and have forgotten the password, you can easily recover it through the company’s website. Follow the steps below to reset your password and sign back into your Windows 11 PC.

1. Open the Microsoft password recovery page on a different PC or mobile and enter your email or username linked to the Windows 11 PC. After that, click on “Next”.

reset windows 11 password for online microsoft account

2. Now, it will show you a few options to verify your identity. You can choose your phone number or recovery email id where you will receive the one-time password.

online microsoft account

3. Enter the one-time password on the next screen, and then you can reset the password on your Windows 11 PC.

online microsoft account

4. After that, log in to your Windows 11 PC with the new password, and you should get in without any issues.

reset windows 11 password for online microsoft account

Forgot Windows 11 Password? Recover Your PC Easily!

So that is how you can reset your password in case you have forgotten your Windows 11 password. As mentioned above, this method works flawlessly for local accounts. And in case you linked your online Microsoft account to your Windows 11 PC, follow the last method to quickly recover your password. Anyway, that is all from us. If the Microsoft Store is not working on your Windows 11 computer, check our detailed guide linked here. And if you want to factory reset your Windows 11 PC, we have an exhaustive tutorial for that as well. Finally, if you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.

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comment Comments 9
  • Tommy says:

    Worked for me on win 11 after my girlfriend messed up my password

  • Modiegi Nthite says:

    there is no utilman in my laptop as well

  • Reset me! says:

    how to go to CMD when there is no accessibility..

  • Rodrigo Cavalheiro says:

    Worked flawlessly!! Saved me hours of work! Thanks!!!

  • Wanda says:

    This method doesn’t seem to work anymore in Win11 22H2, and I can’t find the Utilman file anymore through the method you mentioned. Should be Win11 subsequent updates to fix this vulnerability.

    I wonder what other ways you have to modify the Utilman file?

  • Dayna Walquist says:

    How do you change utilman and cmd back to how they were?

  • Ernest says:

    That was so awesome friend how you explained to recover a windows revocery password, your the best I appreciate your help and support for helping me out like this

  • Chandan says:

    Your article saved me man. Thanks a million.

  • Totu says:

    There is no option like utilman in my lappy

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