Reset your Microsoft Exchange email password through Microsoft’s password reset portal if your organization enables self-service recovery, or ask your email administrator to reset it. If you know your current password, you can change it through the account portal instead. Afterward, enter the new password in Outlook when requested.
Your available options depend on whether your organization uses Exchange Online, an eligible hybrid account or a hosted Exchange service. Sign in only through Microsoft’s official sites, your organization’s own webmail address or your hosting provider’s official webmail, and never share a code, password, or remote access with someone who contacts you.
The short version
- Forgotten password: Use Microsoft’s reset portal when self-service recovery is enabled and your required verification information is registered.
- Known password: Sign in to Microsoft’s account portal and select Change Password.
- Hosted Exchange: Use your provider’s password-change process.
- Recovery blocked: Contact your email administrator if you cannot complete verification.
- After the reset: Enter the replacement password in Outlook when requested.
| Route | When to use it | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft password reset portal | You forgot your work or school password | Enabled recovery and registered verification information |
| Microsoft sign-in recovery | You cannot access your account at sign-in | Eligible account and available verification methods |
| Microsoft account portal | You know your current password | Account eligible for portal password changes |
| Microsoft security information page | You can authenticate to change your password | Eligible account and required authentication |
| Passwordless authentication | You forgot your password but can authenticate without it | Enabled feature and eligible Entra ID P1 or P2 account |
| Registered verification methods | You need to prove your identity during recovery | Methods permitted by your organization |
| Windows sign-in reset | You need recovery from the Windows sign-in screen | Configured organizational device and enabled reset link |
| Ctrl + Alt + Delete | You know the shared organizational password | Windows 11 account whose directory credentials authenticate Exchange |
| Exchange Server webmail | You can change your password through webmail | Exchange Server Subscription Edition and permitted mailbox policy |
| Micron21 webmail | You use Micron21 Hosted Exchange | Existing password |
| Email administrator | Self-service recovery fails | Your organization’s support contact |
| Microsoft 365 admin center | You administer a business or education account | Appropriate administrator role |
| Microsoft Entra admin center | You administer an account in your tenant | Reset permissions and supported directory configuration |
| Active Directory Users and Computers | You administer an Active Directory account backing Exchange | Delegated administrative permissions |
| Active Directory PowerShell | You change or reset a directory password through PowerShell | ActiveDirectory module and appropriate permissions |
| Enable self-service reset | You administer recovery access for your organization | Suitable licensing and administrative role |
| Outlook for Windows | You have already changed the account password | Replacement password |
| Outlook for Mac | You need to update the account’s saved credentials | Username and replacement password |
| Outlook for iOS or Android | The app requests your latest password | Completed account password reset |
Reset a forgotten password through Microsoft
This reset replaces your existing account password. Open Microsoft’s password reset portal on your computer or phone. Enter your work or school email address in Email or Username, then select Next. Complete the identity checks offered for your account, then enter and confirm your new password.
This route applies to Exchange Online and Microsoft 365 work or school accounts with self-service password reset enabled and the required verification information registered. For eligible hybrid accounts, password writeback must also be configured so the reset can update the directory that manages your password.
You can also start recovery from Microsoft’s security information page, and completing it replaces your existing password. At sign-in, select Can't access your account?, enter your work or school username and the displayed CAPTCHA characters, then select Next. Complete the available verification process and set your new password.
Verification options include Microsoft Authenticator notifications, software OATH codes, hardware OATH tokens in preview, text messages, voice calls and email codes. Your organization’s policy determines which methods you can use. If you cannot access the required verification method, contact your email administrator.
Change your password through your account
Changing your password replaces the existing account password. Sign in to Microsoft’s account portal with your existing work or school password, then select Change Password in the left navigation. Enter your existing password, enter the new password twice, then select Submit. Sign in again when requested.
This path applies to Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online accounts whose passwords can be changed through that portal. Another option for eligible work or school accounts is Microsoft’s security information page, where changing the password also replaces the existing one. Sign in, select Password, enter your new password twice, then select Submit. Authentication requirements depend on your organization’s configuration.
You may also be able to replace a forgotten password after passwordless authentication, without entering the old password. This feature requires an eligible Entra ID P1 or P2 account and administrator enablement, with availability rolling out from late October through November 2026. It supports cloud accounts and hybrid accounts with password writeback.
Completing this change replaces your existing password. Open Security info and authenticate using a passkey (FIDO2), Microsoft Entra certificate-based authentication or Microsoft Authenticator passwordless phone sign-in. Beside Password, select Change, enter your new password twice, then select Submit. If the feature is not enabled for your account, use self-service recovery or contact your administrator.
Reset or change your password from Windows
On configured Microsoft Entra joined or hybrid joined Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices, you can start recovery from the organizational sign-in screen if IT has enabled the link. Completing the reset replaces your organizational account password. Select Reset password or Forgot password, whichever appears, then complete the embedded self-service recovery process.
This entry point is unsupported in Remote Desktop and Hyper-V enhanced sessions, so use Microsoft’s web reset portal in those cases. Hybrid devices need connectivity to a domain controller to update cached sign-in credentials. If the reset link is missing, use the web portal or contact IT.
On Windows 11, changing your organizational Windows password also changes the credentials used for Exchange when both use the same directory account. This replaces the existing shared password. While signed in to that organizational account, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, select Change Password, and follow the prompts. If the command is missing, use an eligible account portal or contact IT.
Change a hosted Exchange password through webmail
For Exchange Server Subscription Edition, changing the password through webmail replaces your existing account password. Open your organization’s Outlook on the web address and use the Change password option. Access depends on your mailbox policy, so ask your email administrator for help if you cannot use that option.
For Micron21 Hosted Exchange, the following change replaces your existing email password. Sign in to Micron21 webmail, then select Settings > Options. Under General, select My Account, then select Change your Password. Enter your existing password and the replacement password twice, then select Save.
The Micron21 path applies specifically to its Hosted Exchange customers and requires your existing password. If you have forgotten it, contact your provider or email administrator for recovery help.
Get help when recovery cannot continue
If recovery displays Contact your administrator, select Contact your administrator. Use your organization’s supplied email address or support portal to request a password reset. Contact IT directly if you have no registered verification methods or cannot access them.
Your administrator can handle recovery for Exchange Online, hybrid or organizational Exchange accounts when self-service recovery is unavailable or unsuccessful. For accounts managed by an on-premises directory, the reset may need to happen there or through a supported password writeback configuration.
Update Outlook after changing the password
For new Outlook for Windows or classic Outlook, including Microsoft 365 and Outlook 2024, change the account password through Microsoft 365 or your Exchange administrator or provider first. Open Outlook and enter the updated password when prompted. This updates Outlook’s credentials after the account password change.
In Outlook for Mac, including Outlook 2024 for Mac, change the password with your account provider first. Open Outlook and select Tools > Accounts. Select the affected account, then select the disconnect indicator beside its name. Enter your username and updated password in the credential window.
For Outlook on iPhone, iPad or Android, reset the organizational password through the appropriate account portal or your administrator first. When Outlook requests your latest password, enter the new one. If account recovery remains blocked, contact your administrator through the supplied support channel.
Reset a password as an administrator
In Microsoft 365, an administrator reset replaces the user’s existing password and requires an appropriate administrator role. Open the Microsoft 365 admin center and select Users > Active users. Select the user, then select Reset password. Generate or enter a replacement using the page’s options, select Reset password, and deliver the credentials securely.
In Microsoft Entra, an administrator reset replaces the existing password with a temporary password that the user changes at the next sign-in. With the required permissions, sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center and open Entra ID > Users. Select the user, select Reset password, then select Reset password on the reset page. Give the temporary password to the user securely.
For accounts whose authoritative directory is on premises, these portal resets depend on supported password writeback configurations; Microsoft directs administrator changes for federated domains to on-premises Active Directory. If you have delegated permissions for an Active Directory account backing Exchange Server Subscription Edition or a hybrid identity, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers.
This reset replaces the user’s existing directory password. In Active Directory Users and Computers, locate the user and select Action > Reset Password. Fill in New password and Confirm password. If needed, select User must change password at next logon, select Unlock the user account if the account also needs unlocking, then select OK.
Change or reset a directory password with PowerShell
For Active Directory identities used by on-premises Exchange or hybrid deployments, the Windows Server 2025 PowerShell documentation provides an interactive password-change command. You need the ActiveDirectory module and appropriate permissions. Completing the change replaces the existing directory password. Run the following command with the intended username, then enter the existing and replacement passwords interactively:
Set-ADAccountPassword -Identity <username>An administrator reset replaces the existing directory password without requiring it. To supply the replacement through a secure prompt, run these commands with the intended username:
$newPassword = Read-Host -AsSecureString
Set-ADAccountPassword -Identity <username> -NewPassword $newPassword -Reset
Enable self service recovery for your organization
If you administer an appropriately licensed Entra organization, you can enable self-service password reset with an Authentication Policy Administrator role or another sufficient role. In the Microsoft Entra admin center, open Entra ID > Password reset > Properties. Under Self service password reset enabled, choose Selected and select the intended group, or choose All. Select Save.
Your users need registered verification methods approved by your organization’s policy, and hybrid password resets also require writeback. Manage verification methods through the Authentication methods policy. Microsoft says legacy MFA and SSPR policies stopped supporting authentication-method management beginning September 30, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Microsoft ask for a second verification during a reset?
Your organization’s policy determines how many identity checks you must complete. A second verification may be required, so completing the first check does not always finish recovery.
Will changing a Windows PIN reset your Exchange password?
Changing a Windows PIN does not change your Exchange credentials. Changing an unrelated local Windows account password does not change them either.
Why might the Windows password change command be missing?
Your administrator can hide the command through the Remove Change Password policy. Its absence can therefore reflect an organizational setting.
Which Windows Server versions support the Active Directory Users and Computers procedure?
Microsoft documents the account-management procedure for Windows Server 2025, 2022, 2019 and 2016. You need delegated administrative permissions to perform the reset.