Forgot Your Laptop Password? How to Reset It

If you forgot your laptop password, the fix depends on how you sign in: with a Microsoft account (an email address on the login screen), reset it online from any phone; with a local Windows account, answer your security questions; on a Mac, use your Apple Account. Only if none of these work should you reset the laptop, which deletes your files.

Microsoft account: reset online

If your login screen shows an email address, you use a Microsoft account.

1. On the sign-in screen, click I forgot my password (or go to the Microsoft password reset page on your phone).
2. Enter the email and choose where to get a code: the recovery phone or email.
3. Enter the code and set a new password.
4. Connect the laptop to the internet and sign in with the new password.

The laptop must be online to accept the new password. If home Wi-Fi is down, turn on your phone’s hotspot (Safaricom or Airtel data is fine) and connect from the network icon on the login screen.

Forgot your PIN, not the password? Click I forgot my PIN and verify with your Microsoft account.

Local account: security questions

If the login screen shows just a name, it’s a local account.

1. Type any wrong password once.
2. Click Reset password.
3. Answer the three security questions you set up.
4. Choose a new password.

Another admin account

If someone else in the house has an administrator account on the same laptop:

1. Sign in to their account.
2. Open Settings > Accounts > Other users (or Control Panel > User Accounts).
3. Select your account and change or reset its password.

Your documents and photos stay, though some saved passwords may be lost.

Mac: Apple Account recovery

1. Enter a wrong password three times on the login screen.
2. Choose the option to reset with your Apple Account (Apple ID), or use your FileVault recovery key if you saved one.
3. Follow the prompts to set a new password.

If not, start the Mac in Recovery and use the Reset Password assistant.

Last resort: reset and lose data

If you can’t recover any account, reset the laptop:

• Windows: on the sign-in screen, hold Shift, click Power > Restart, then Troubleshoot > Reset this PC > Remove everything.
• BitLocker: if asked for a recovery key, find it by signing in to your Microsoft account on another device. Without it, the data can’t be recovered.
• Mac: erase from Recovery, then reinstall macOS.

Everything on the laptop is deleted, which is why regular backups matter. Full steps are in factory reset a laptop without a password.

Be wary of technicians who “crack” any laptop with no questions asked: stolen laptops pass through such shops. When buying a used or ex-UK laptop, make sure it’s reset and signed out of the seller’s accounts before you pay.

Once you’re back in, set a password you’ll remember and add a recovery phone: see how to set a password on a laptop.

Quick answers