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If you can’t use the WordPress “Lost your password?” email route, you can reset an account password by editing its user_pass value in the correct WordPress database with phpMyAdmin. Back up the database first, confirm the site’s database and table prefix, and select MD5 for the new value before saving. This method is for a site you own or are authorized to administer.

Try WordPress’s email recovery first

When you can access the recovery email, the login page’s “Lost your password?” link is normally the easiest reset method. WordPress’s password-reset documentation recommends it and describes database editing as an alternative when email recovery is unavailable or not working.

Before you edit the database

  • Make a database backup. Export the correct WordPress database before changing a row. WordPress’s database backup guide explains that a database export does not include site files such as themes, plugins, uploads, or wp-config.php.
  • Identify the right database. A site may have access to more than one database. Confirm which one WordPress uses rather than choosing based only on its name.
  • Find the actual table prefix. The users table is often called wp_users, but the prefix can be different. Check the table names in phpMyAdmin and, if necessary, the site’s wp-config.php. WordPress’s table-prefix guidance and database setup documentation explain why not to assume wp_.

Reset the password in phpMyAdmin

  1. Sign in to phpMyAdmin using the database access provided by your host or server administrator.
  2. Select the database used by the WordPress site.
  3. Open the site’s users table, commonly wp_users but with the configured prefix in place of wp_ when it differs.
  4. Find the row for the account you intend to reset. Verify the user_login value before editing; changing the wrong row affects another account.
  5. Edit that row’s user_pass field. Replace its current value with the new password and choose MD5 in the field’s function control. Do not save the new password as unprocessed plain text.
  6. Save the change, then return to the WordPress login page and try the new password.

phpMyAdmin’s labels and layout can vary by version, but the important details are to edit the correct account’s user_pass field and apply the MD5 function when saving. WordPress documents this recovery method in its password-reset instructions.

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What happens to the MD5 value?

MD5 is a temporary compatibility method for this manual recovery procedure, not a recommendation for storing passwords generally. WordPress’s advanced login guidance says that after a successful login, WordPress automatically replaces the temporary MD5 hash with a stronger hash.

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If the reset does not work

  • Recheck that you edited the database WordPress actually uses and the users table with the site’s configured prefix.
  • Confirm the row’s user_login is the account you meant to change and that the new value was saved with MD5 selected.
  • If you cannot access the database, ask your hosting provider or server administrator for help rather than attempting to reach a database you are not authorized to use.

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