To change your own Ubuntu password, open Activities → Settings → System → Users, select the password control, enter the current password, enter the new password twice, and choose Change. In a terminal, run passwd. To change another local account, an administrator can unlock the Users panel or run sudo passwd username. If you forgot the old password, use an administrator reset; on systems using authd, Ubuntu also provides an online-authentication recovery path through GDM or SSH.
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Choose the right Ubuntu password method
The correct procedure depends on whose password is changing, whether the existing password is known, and whether the account is local or managed through authd. Use this matrix before entering a command:
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches| Situation | Best route | Access required | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| You know your own current password and use the desktop | Settings → System → Users | An active graphical session | Your local login password |
| You know your own current password but have no desktop | passwd |
Terminal access to your account | Your local login password |
| You administer another local account | Users panel or sudo passwd username |
Administrator or superuser rights | The selected account’s local password |
| You forgot a local password and have administrator access | sudo passwd username |
A different administrator account or root access | A replacement password without the old-password prompt |
| You forgot a local password on an authd system | GDM or SSH authentication-method recovery | Completion of the configured online authentication flow | A new local password after identity verification |
| You need expiry, lock, or unlock administration | Password-management options for passwd |
Administrator rights for another account | Password aging or account-password state |
A normal account is allowed to change only its own password. Administrative commands affect another account and should be used only when you are authorized to manage that system.
How to change your own password in Ubuntu Settings
This is the simplest route on an Ubuntu desktop when you know the current password.
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- Open Activities and search for Settings.
- Open Settings, then choose System.
- Select Users.
- Select your account and activate the password control.
- Enter the current password when prompted.
- Enter the new password, then enter it again in the confirmation field.
- Choose Change to apply it.
The password check is performed by Ubuntu’s account and authentication stack, so a new value can be refused when it conflicts with the machine’s configured password policy. There is no universal minimum length that applies to every installation; policy can be site-specific.
What happens to the login keyring
Ubuntu’s desktop help states that updating the login password automatically updates the login keyring password to the same new value. That keeps the keyring aligned with the desktop login in the normal graphical change flow. If an installation uses a different keyring setup or the keyring was already out of sync, its unlock behavior can differ from this default.
How to change another user’s password in the graphical interface
An administrator can manage a second local account from the same Users panel. The panel is normally protected so that an ordinary session cannot silently alter other accounts.
- Open Activities → Settings → System → Users.
- Activate the panel’s unlock control.
- Authenticate with an administrator password when Ubuntu asks for permission.
- Under Other Users, select the account you need to manage.
- Choose that account’s password control.
- Enter a replacement password twice and select Change.
The administrator is changing the selected local account, not the administrator session that opened Settings. Verify the account name before confirming, especially on a shared computer where several names may look similar.
If the account is not listed under Other Users, it may be a remote identity, a service account without a desktop profile, or an account outside the graphical panel’s scope. Use the terminal method only after identifying the account correctly.
How to change your password with the passwd command
The terminal utility for a logged-in user is simply:
passwdRun it in a terminal under the account whose password you want to change. When an existing password is present, passwd asks for that old password first. It then asks for the new password twice and applies the system’s password-policy checks.
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- Open a terminal in your Ubuntu session or connect through an approved shell.
- Run
passwdwith no username. - Supply the current password when requested.
- Type the new password, submit it, and type it again for confirmation.
- Wait for the command to report whether the change succeeded or identify the policy or permission problem that prevented it.
Using no username is deliberate: it targets the account represented by the current session. Do not append another person’s name unless you intend to perform an administrative change and have the required privilege.
Password prompts and visible input
Terminal password prompts commonly provide no visible character feedback while you type. The cursor may appear not to move, but the terminal can still be accepting input. Type the requested value and press Enter; do not add spaces or paste a value you cannot verify.
How an administrator changes another account from a terminal
The administrative form is:
sudo passwd usernameReplace username with the target account’s actual login name. sudo first authenticates the person requesting elevation, then runs passwd with administrative authority. Because the administrator is resetting the account, the target user’s old password is not required.
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- Confirm the exact login name. A display name is not always the same as the Unix username.
- Run
sudo passwd username. - Enter your own administrator password when
sudorequests it. - Enter the new password for the target account twice when
passwdasks. - Give the new credential to the user through a secure channel and ask them to replace it if your policy requires a one-time administrative password.
The command still subjects the new value to the machine’s configured password rules. Administrative privilege bypasses the old-password check; it does not guarantee that every proposed new value will be accepted.
What to do if you forgot your old Ubuntu password
If another administrator account is available
Sign in with the other administrator account and run sudo passwd username, substituting the locked-out account’s login name. This is the normal local-account reset because it does not depend on the forgotten credential. After the reset, sign in with the replacement password and review any applications or services that were using the old credential.
If the computer uses authd
Ubuntu’s authd workflow provides a separate recovery path for a forgotten local password. Start a login through GDM (the graphical login manager) or SSH. At the authentication-method selection, return to that selection screen, complete the available online authentication flow, and enter a new local password when Ubuntu prompts for one. This procedure applies to systems configured with authd; it is not a substitute for an administrator reset on an ordinary standalone local-account installation.
If neither an administrator nor the configured online method is available
The supported routes above require either administrative authority or a successful identity-provider flow. Do not try to repair the account by editing password database files directly. Arrange authorized console or administrator access, or follow the recovery process established by the system owner.
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Why Ubuntu rejects a new password
passwd checks password-aging rules and complexity requirements through the system’s authentication modules. Ubuntu installations commonly use PAM components and a password-quality policy, but the exact rules depend on how the machine was configured.
- Policy failure: the proposed value may be too short, too predictable, reused, or otherwise disallowed by the local policy. Read the command’s message and choose a value that meets the stated requirement.
- Confirmation mismatch: the two new entries differ. Re-enter them carefully rather than assuming the first value was stored.
- Permission failure: changing another account without administrative authority is not permitted. Log in as an administrator or use an authorized
sudoconfiguration. - Unknown account: check the login name. The command must target an existing local account when you use the local
passwddatabase. - Password aging restriction: an account can have rules that control when a password may be changed or when it expires. An administrator can inspect and adjust those controls with the options below.
Never promise a single minimum length for all Ubuntu computers. A desktop managed by an organization can enforce different requirements from an unmodified installation.
Password expiry and aging controls
Administrators can use passwd options for lifecycle management. These options affect the named account, so include the username and elevate with sudo when managing someone else:
| Goal | Command | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Require a change at the next login | sudo passwd -e username |
Expires the current password so the account must set a new one at its next authentication. |
| Set maximum password validity | sudo passwd -x MAX_DAYS username |
Sets the maximum number of days the password remains valid. |
| Set an expiration warning period | sudo passwd -w WARN_DAYS username |
Sets how many days before expiry the user should receive warnings. |
MAX_DAYS and WARN_DAYS are placeholders for numbers. For example, replace MAX_DAYS with the maximum validity your policy specifies; do not type the capitalized token literally.
Locking and unlocking an account password
Locking is different from changing a password. It changes whether password authentication for the account is locked, while the password value remains managed by the account database.
- Lock the password with
sudo passwd -l username. - Unlock the password with
sudo passwd -u username.
Confirm the username before either operation. Locking the wrong account can interrupt a service or prevent a colleague from signing in; unlocking an account can undo an intentional security control.
Why you should not edit /etc/shadow manually
Ubuntu stores account information across files and authentication configuration, including /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, and /etc/pam.d/passwd. Those files are implementation details of the account and PAM stack, not a safer shortcut for changing credentials.
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Use Settings or passwd instead. The utility invokes the system’s password-management path and applies the configured policy, permissions, aging rules, and related updates. Hand-editing a shadow entry can corrupt formatting, bypass policy, or leave the account in a state that other authentication components do not expect.
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The password control is unavailable in Settings
Make sure you selected an account that the desktop can manage and that the Users panel is unlocked. If you are trying to modify another account, authenticate through the unlock control first. An account supplied by a remote identity service may not expose a local password control in this panel.
sudo asks for a password you do not know
sudo requests the password of the administrator who is running the command, not the target user’s old password. If you cannot authenticate as an authorized administrator, stop and obtain that access rather than repeatedly guessing.
The reset works, but the user still cannot sign in
Check that the reset targeted the correct login name and that the account is not locked with passwd -l. Also distinguish a local-account password from an online identity credential: changing one does not necessarily change the other.
A password changes locally but a remote service rejects it
The local passwd command updates the Ubuntu account managed by the local authentication stack. A separate service, directory, or identity provider can have its own credential and policy. Use that provider’s authorized procedure when the account is not local.
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You need to verify what operation was performed
Read the command’s completion message and note the exact account name and option used. Keep administrative changes in the system’s normal audit or change-record process, particularly on shared or production machines.
Safe operating checklist
- Identify whether the target is your own account, another local account, or a remotely managed identity.
- Use Settings for a desktop change and
passwdfor a shell-based change. - Use
sudo passwd usernameonly when you are authorized to administer that account. - Check the username before resets, expiry changes, locks, and unlocks.
- Keep the replacement password private and deliver temporary credentials through an approved secure channel.
- Expect local password policy and aging rules to reject some values.
- Do not edit
/etc/shadowor other password files by hand. - For authd installations, use the documented GDM or SSH online-authentication recovery flow when the local password is forgotten.
For most desktop users, the Settings path is sufficient. For headless systems, scripted administration, expiry enforcement, or a forgotten credential, the appropriate passwd form supplies the necessary control without bypassing Ubuntu’s authentication framework.
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