8 ways to change password in Remote Desktop

Windows Remote Desktop enables you to access and control a computer from a remote place. When you are in a Remote Desktop session, you won't be able to send Ctrl+ Alt + Del command to the remote computer, as your local PC will capture the key combination.

Then, you can't invoke the Security options window and choose Change a Password on the remote computer. Don't be frustrated; there are other easy yet valid ways to change the password in RDP on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 or Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 R2.

Way 1. Use Ctrl+Alt + End to replace Ctrl+ Alt + Del for RDP password change

This is the easiest way to change the password of the remote computer in Remote Desktop session. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, all you need to do is press Ctrl+ Alt + End simultaneously on your physical keyboard.

Then, you can see the Security options window. Click Change a password. 

✍ Warning: If you are connecting to a Windows computer in a Remote Desktop session on a Mac using the Mac keyboard, the key combination to invoke the Security optionswindow on the remote Windows computer should be Fn + Control + Option + Backspace.

Now, you can type in the old user password of the computer, input the new password twice, and click the arrow icon to take the password change into effect.

After a while, you can see a message saying that Your password has been changed. Click OK to go back to the desktop of the remote computer. 

Way 2. Remote Desktop change password via on-screen keyboard

Sometimes, you can't find End key on your physical keyboard, then you can use Del on the on-screen keyboard to replace Del on the physical keyboard for changing password in RDP. 

Step 1. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, press Windows key and R to open the Run box, type” osk” and press Enter to launch the on-screen keyboard. 

Step 2. Press Ctrl+ Alt on your hardware keyboard and click Del on the on-screen keyboard. Then, you can see the Security options window on the remote computer.

Way 3. Change password in Remote Desktop with VBS script

The method requires you to create a file on the remote desktop. See the detailed steps:

Step 1. On the Remote Desktop session window, open Notepad, copy and paste the lines below:

• set objShell = CreateObject("shell.application")
• objshell.WindowsSecurity

  Step 2. Save the files as  WindowsSecurity.vbs.

Step 3. Double-click the VBS file and you can see the Security Options window appears where you can change the password of the computer. 

Way 4. Change password in Remote Desktop by running the shell

In a Remote Desktop Connection session, you can launch the Security Options window by running the shell.

Step 1. Press "Windows" + "R" to open "Run" dialog. 

Step 2. Input "C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{2559a1f2-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}" and hit the "Enter" key or click "OK".

 Way 5. Change password in RDP session with PowerShell

You can go to the window with Powershell to change the password on Remote Desktop session.

Step 1. In the Search box, input "PowerShell", right-click the best-match result, and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 2. On the PowerShell window, input "New-Object -COM Shell.Application).WindowsSecurity()" and press the "Enter" key to enter the Security Options window and change the password. 

Way 6. Change password in RDP session from Computer Management

If you don't need to go to Securiyt Options,  you can change the password in Remote Desktop from Computer Management.

Step 1. Right-click This PC on the remote desktop, and click Manage.

Step 2. Go to System Tools > Local Users and Groups> Users, choose the account whose password you want to change, and right-click it. Click Set Password… and a warning will appear. Click "Proceed", type your new password twice, and click "OK".

Way 7. Change password in remote connection from Control Panel

It’s possible to change the remote computer password over RDP from Control Panel.

Step 1. On the remote computer, press Windows + R, input “control panel” and press Enter.

Step 2. On the pop-up window, click User Accounts.

Step 3. Go to Manage another account > Change the password and click the user account whose password you want to change.

Way 8. Change password in Remote Desktop using command line

You can also directly change password in a Remote Desktop session using command lines without going to the Security Options window. 

Step 1. On the remote computer, search “cmd” in the search bar which is on the taskbar. Right-click Command Prompt and click Run as administrator.

Step 2. Enter net user + username +your new password and hit Enter to change the password of the remote computer. For example, if my user name is Administrator and the new password I want to set is 123, I need to type innet user administrator a1/12.

If you don't want to o the password shown on the command prompt screen, you can change password without the new password appearing on the screen. You need to run net user username * command and input the new password twice.

Note: These steps listed in Way 4 are for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7. To change password in a Remote Desktop session on Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022, the process can be a little bit different

An advanced alternative to RDP: Manage remote computers conveniently

It’s an easy task to change password on a remote desktop session even if Ctrl+Alt+Del isn’t working. But if you want to access and manage a remote computer more conveniently and easier, it’s strongly recommended to use AnyViewer because of what is listed below.

❤ Essential operation shortcuts offered: Shortcuts of Ctrl+Alt+Del, Lock, Task Manager, etc. are offered in a remote session. ❤ Less network-limited: To use Remote Desktop Connection for accessing pc from a different network, you need to perform port forwarding or set up a VPN. AnyViewer enables you to access a computer on the same network or a different network without extra configuration. ❤ High security: The whole process is encrypted by ECC, preventing data leakage and hacker attacks when you are using remote desktop software.

During the remote session, you can take many other operations like transferring files between the connected computers, changing the resolution of the host computer, and so on. Download the free alternative to RDP and see how to use it to change a password in a remote session.

Step 1. Install and run AnyViewer on the source and the destination computer. Then, Sign up for an AnyViewer account

Step 2. Sign in to the account on the two computers. The PC will be assigned to the account automatically after login.

Step 3. Then, click Device and find out the remote PC that you want to access. Click One-click control to get one-click remote access to the remote PC.

▶ Note: To access the remote computer in privacy mode (the screen of the remote PC will be black and the keyboard & mouse of the remote PC will be disabled), you need to upgrade to an advanced plan.  And then you can assign & manage more devices to your account and enjoy high-quality image.

Step 4. Then you are in the remote session. Click the Operations option and click Ctrl + Alt +Delete option to access the Security options window and change the password of the remote computer.

Wrap things up

To change password in Remote Desktop, you can use End to replace Del, virtual keyboard, VBS script, Shell, Powershell and so on. Just choose the one that you like. If you want to manage the remote computer more effectively, you can switch to the outstanding remote desktop software, AnyViewer. If you want to control PC from phone, you can use AnyViewer mobile edition.