If you forgot your work or school password, never got a password from your organization, or have been locked out of your account, you can use your security info and your mobile device to reset your work or school password. Your administrator must turn on this feature for you to be able to set up your information andreset your own password.
If you know your password and you want to change it, see the "How to change your password"sections of this article.
Important:This article is intended for users trying to use reset a forgotten or unknown work or school account password. If you're an administrator looking for information about how to turn on self-service password reset for your employees or other users, see theDeploy Azure AD self-service password reset and other articles.
How to reset or unlock your password for a work or school account
If you can't access your Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account, it could be because either:
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Your password isn't working and you want to reset it, or
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You know your password, but your account is locked out and you need to unlock it.
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In theEnter passwordscreen, selectForgot my password.
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In theGet back into your accountscreen, type your work or schoolUser ID(for example, your email address), prove you aren't a robot by entering the characters you see on the screen, and then selectNext.
Note:If your administrator hasn't turned on the ability for you to reset your own password, you'll see aContact your administratorlink instead of theGet back into your accountscreen. This link lets you contact your administrator about resetting your password, through either email or a web portal.
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Select one of the methods to verify your identity and change your password and add the requested information.. Depending on how your administrator has set up your organization, you might need to go through this process a second time, adding info for a second verification step. If you want to know more about one of the methods, they're detailed in the "Reset methods"section of this article.
Notes:
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Depending on how your administrator has set up your organization, some of these verification options might not be available. You must have previously set up your mobile device for verification using at least one of these methods.
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Additionally, your new password might need to meet certain strength requirements. Strong passwords typically have 8 to 16 characters, including upper and lowercase characters, at least one number, and at least one special character.
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Reset methods
Reset your password using an email address
Sends an email to the email address you previously set up in two-step verification or security info. If your administrator has turned on the security info experience, you can find more info about setting up an email address in theSet up security info to use email (preview)article. If you're not yet using security info, you can find more info about setting up an email address in theSet up my account for two-step verificationarticle.
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SelectEmail my alternate email, and then selectEmail.
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Type the verification code from the email into the box, and then selectNext.
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Type and confirm your new password, and then selectFinish.
Reset your password using a text message
Sends a text message to the phone number you previously set up in security info. If your administrator has turned on the security info experience, you can find more info about setting up text messaging in theSet up security info to use text messaging (preview)article. If you're not yet using security info, you can find more info about setting up text messaging in theSet up my account for two-step verificationarticle.
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SelectText my mobile phone, type your phone number, and then selectText.
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Type the verification code from the text message into the box, and then selectNext.
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Type and confirm your new password, and then selectFinish.
Reset your password using a phone number
Places an automated voice call to the phone number you previously set up in security info. If your administrator has turned on the security info experience, you can find more info about setting up a phone number in theSet up security info to use a phone call (preview)article.
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SelectCall my mobile phone, type your phone number, and then selectCall.
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Answer the phone call and follow the instructions to verify your identity, and then selectNext.
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Type and confirm your new password, and then selectFinish.
Reset your password using security questions
Shows you the list of security questions you set up in security info. If your administrator has turned on the security info experience, you can find more info about setting up your security questions in theSet up security info to use pre-defined security questions (preview)article.
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SelectAnswer my security questions, answer the questions, and then selectNext.
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Type and confirm your new password, and then selectFinish.
Reset your password using a notification from your authenticator app
Sends an approval notification to the authenticator app. If your administrator has turned on the security info experience, you can find more info about setting up an authenticator app to send a notification in theSet up security info to use an authentication app (preview)article. If you're not yet using security info, you can find more info about setting up an authenticator app to send a notification in theSet up my account for two-step verificationarticle.
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SelectApprove a notification on my authenticator app, and then selectSend Notification.
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Approve the sign-in from your authenticator app.
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Type and confirm your new password, and then selectFinish.
Reset your password using a code from your authenticator app
Accepts a random code provided by your authentication app. If your administrator has turned on the security info experience, you can find more info about setting up an authenticator app to provide a code in theSet up security info to use an authentication app (preview)article. If you're not yet using security info, you can find more info about setting up an authenticator app to provide a code in theSet up my account for two-step verificationarticle.
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SelectEnter a code from my authenticator app, and then selectSend Notification.
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Open your authenticator app, type the verification code for your account into the box, and then selectNext.
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Type and confirm your new password, and then selectFinish.
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After you get the message saying that your password has been reset, you can sign in to your account using your new password.
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If you still can't access your account, you should contact your organization's administrator for more help.
After resetting your password, you might get a confirmation email that comes from an account like, "Microsoft on behalf of your_organization." If you get a similar email, but you didn't recently reset your password, you must contact your organization's administrator immediately.
How to change your password
If you just want to change your password, you can do it through the Office 365 portal, the My Apps portal, or the Windows 10 sign-in page.
To change your password using the Office 365 portal
Use this method if you typically access your apps through the Office portal:
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Sign in to yourOffice 365 account, using your existing password.
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Select your profile on the upper-right side, and then selectView account.
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SelectSecurity & privacy>Password.
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Type your old password, create and confirm your new password, and then selectSubmit.
To change your password from the My Apps portal
Use this method if you typically access your apps from the My Apps portal:
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Sign in to theMy Apps portal, using your existing password.
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Select your profile on the upper-right side, and then selectProfile.
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SelectChange password.
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Type your old password, create and confirm your new password, and then selectSubmit.
To change your password at Windows sign-in
If your administrator turned on the functionality, you can see a link toReset passwordon your Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 sign-in screen.
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Select theReset passwordlink to start the password reset process without having to use the normal web-based experience.
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Confirm your user ID and selectNext.
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Select and confirm a contact method for verification. If necessary, choose a second verification option that's different from your previous one, filling in the necessary info.
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On theCreate a new passwordpage, type and confirm your new password, and then selectNext. Strong passwords typically have 8 to 16 characters, including upper and lowercase characters, at least one number, and at least one special character.
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After you get the message saying that your password has been reset, you can selectFinish. If you still can't access your account, you should contact your organization's administrator for more help.
Common problems and their solutions
Here are some common error cases and their solutions:
| Problem | Description | Solution |
| When I try to change my password, I get an error. | Your password has a word, phrase, or pattern that makes your password easily guessable. | Try again using a stronger password. |
| After I enter my User ID, I go to a page that says, "Please contact your administrator. | "Microsoft has determined that your user account password is managed by your administrator in an on-premises environment. As a result, you can't reset your password from the "Can't access your account" link. | Your administrator hasn't turned on password reset for your organization from the "Can't access your account" link, or hasn't licensed you to use the feature. To reset your password, you must select the "contact an administrator link" to send an email to your company's administrator, and let them know you want to reset your password. |
| After I enter my User ID, I get an error that says, "We couldn't verify your account." | The sign-in process was unable to verify your account info. | There are two reasons you could be seeing this message.
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Next steps
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Learn about security info in theSecurity info (preview) overviewarticle.
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If you're trying to get back into a personal account like Xbox, hotmail.com, or outlook.com, try the suggestions in theWhen you can't sign in to your Microsoft account article.
