Resetting a User’s Password (Microsoft 365)
How to reset a password and help your team member sign back in
When Would You Need to Do This?
If someone on your team has forgotten their password, been locked out of their account, or you suspect their account may have been compromised, you will need to reset their password from the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
Only people with admin access can reset passwords for other users. If you are not sure whether you have admin access, try logging in at admin.microsoft.com. If you can see the admin dashboard, you are good to go.
How to Reset the Password
Step 1: Sign in to the admin centre
- Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin account.
- You will land on the Microsoft 365 admin centre home page.
Step 2: Find the user
- In the left-hand menu, click Users and then Active users.
- Use the search bar at the top to type the person’s name or email address.
- Click on their name to open their account details.
Step 3: Reset the password
- Click the Reset password option (you will find this near the top of their profile, or under the key icon).
- Choose whether to auto-generate a password or type one in manually.
- Tick the box that says Require this user to change their password when they first sign in. This is recommended so they can set something they will remember.
- Click Reset password.
Step 4: Share the temporary password
- Microsoft will show you the temporary password on screen. Copy it.
- Send it to the person securely. A phone call or text message is better than email since they might not be able to access their email yet.
- Let them know they will be asked to create a new password when they sign in.
What to Tell the User
Once you have reset the password, let the user know they should go to office.com (or outlook.office.com for email) and sign in with the temporary password you have given them. They will be prompted to set a new password straight away.
Remind them to choose something strong: at least 12 characters, mixing upper and lower case letters, numbers, and a symbol. A passphrase like ‘PurpleHorse$Running42’ is much easier to remember than random characters.