{"id":59435,"date":"2021-09-30T20:03:40","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T14:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=59435"},"modified":"2026-10-08T18:47:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:17:00","slug":"change-wordpress-password","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Change a WordPress Password with phpMyAdmin (When Reset Email Fails)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do you change a WordPress password when you can&#8217;t log in and the password reset email never arrives? It happened to me, even after years of running WordPress blogs. The fix was to change the WordPress password directly in the database with phpMyAdmin, which your web host provides. It takes about five minutes, and here&#8217;s exactly how I did it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Log in to your hosting control panel and open <strong>phpMyAdmin<\/strong>. Select your WordPress database, open the <strong>wp_users<\/strong> table and click <strong>Edit<\/strong> on your user. In the <strong>user_pass<\/strong> field, type a new password, choose <strong>MD5<\/strong> from the Function drop-down and click <strong>Go<\/strong>. Log in with the new password; WordPress upgrades the MD5 hash to its secure format automatically.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad72338a81ac\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad72338a81ac\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#My_lost_WordPress_password_problem\" >My lost WordPress password problem<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#When_the_WordPress_password_reset_email_doesnt_arrive\" >When the WordPress password reset email doesn&#8217;t arrive<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#How_to_change_a_WordPress_password_with_phpMyAdmin\" >How to change a WordPress password with phpMyAdmin<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#1_Open_phpMyAdmin\" >1. Open phpMyAdmin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#2_Open_the_wp_users_table\" >2. Open the wp_users table<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#3_Edit_your_user\" >3. Edit your user<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#4_Replace_the_password\" >4. Replace the password<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#5_Choose_MD5_and_save\" >5. Choose MD5 and save<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#6_Log_in_with_your_new_password\" >6. Log in with your new password<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#Is_MD5_safe_for_WordPress_passwords\" >Is MD5 safe for WordPress passwords?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#Other_ways_to_reset_a_WordPress_password\" >Other ways to reset a WordPress password<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#Frequently_asked_questions\" >Frequently asked questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#Can_I_see_my_current_WordPress_password_in_phpMyAdmin\" >Can I see my current WordPress password in phpMyAdmin?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#Why_isnt_my_WordPress_password_reset_email_arriving\" >Why isn&#8217;t my WordPress password reset email arriving?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/change-wordpress-password\/#Will_changing_the_password_in_the_database_log_out_other_users\" >Will changing the password in the database log out other users?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"My_lost_WordPress_password_problem\"><\/span>My lost WordPress password problem<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I created a new WordPress blog with a one-click Softaculous install. When I went to the login screen, it wouldn&#8217;t accept the password I&#8217;d set during installation. It was a long, complex password and somehow hadn&#8217;t been saved in my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/09\/print-lastpass-passwords-list\/\">LastPass<\/a> password manager. Even the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/03\/how-to-use-emergency-wordpress-password-reset-script\/\">emergency WordPress password reset script<\/a> wasn&#8217;t an option here.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_the_WordPress_password_reset_email_doesnt_arrive\"><\/span>When the WordPress password reset email doesn&#8217;t arrive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I clicked <strong>Lost your password?<\/strong> on the login screen, and WordPress said a reset link had been sent to my email.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/lost-wordpress-password.png\" alt=\"Lost WordPress password reset screen\" width=\"399\" height=\"434\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But no email arrived, even after several tries. That was strange, because the &#8220;installation successful&#8221; email had arrived fine, so the email address was correct. That email listed the username and login URL, but the password was hidden with asterisks.<\/p>\n<p>Missing reset emails are common. Many hosts don&#8217;t send WordPress email reliably, and messages often land in spam. Check your spam folder first. For the long term, an SMTP plugin such as <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wp-mail-smtp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WP Mail SMTP<\/a> sends WordPress email through a proper mail service so reset emails get delivered.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_change_a_WordPress_password_with_phpMyAdmin\"><\/span>How to change a WordPress password with phpMyAdmin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Before you start:<\/strong> take a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/10\/backup-restore-wordpress-database\/\">backup of your WordPress database<\/a>. You&#8217;re editing it directly, so a backup lets you undo any mistake.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Open_phpMyAdmin\"><\/span>1. Open phpMyAdmin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Log in to your hosting control panel (cPanel, hPanel, Plesk or similar) and open <strong>phpMyAdmin<\/strong> from the Databases section.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/hosting-phpmyadmin-1024x403.png\" alt=\"phpMyAdmin in hosting control panel\" width=\"686\" height=\"270\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Open_the_wp_users_table\"><\/span>2. Open the wp_users table<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Choose your WordPress database in the left panel. If you&#8217;re not sure which one it is, look for <code>DB_NAME<\/code> in your site&#8217;s <code>wp-config.php<\/code> file. Then click the <strong>wp_users<\/strong> table. Your table prefix may be different, like <em>abcd_users<\/em>; it&#8217;s set by <code>$table_prefix<\/code> in wp-config.php.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-wpusers-table.png\" alt=\"WordPress wp_users table in phpMyAdmin\" width=\"515\" height=\"279\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Edit_your_user\"><\/span>3. Edit your user<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Find your username in the <strong>user_login<\/strong> column and click <strong>Edit<\/strong> on that row.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress-edit-user.png\" alt=\"Edit WordPress user in phpMyAdmin\" width=\"533\" height=\"311\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Replace_the_password\"><\/span>4. Replace the password<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>user_pass<\/strong> field holds a long string of characters. That&#8217;s a hash, not your actual password, so it can&#8217;t be recovered or pasted into the login form. Delete it and type your new password.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/change-wordpress-password-1024x384.png\" alt=\"Change WordPress password in user_pass field\" width=\"496\" height=\"186\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Choose_MD5_and_save\"><\/span>5. Choose MD5 and save<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the <strong>Function<\/strong> drop-down next to user_pass, choose <strong>MD5<\/strong>. This turns your password into a hash when it&#8217;s saved.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border alignnone wp-image-59448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/MD5-encrypt-password-1024x237.png\" alt=\"Choose MD5 function for WordPress password\" width=\"665\" height=\"154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/MD5-encrypt-password-1024x237.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/MD5-encrypt-password-300x69.png 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/MD5-encrypt-password-150x35.png 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/MD5-encrypt-password-768x177.png 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/MD5-encrypt-password.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 665px) 100vw, 665px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>Go<\/strong> to save the change.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/save-encrypted-passsword-1024x215.png\" alt=\"Save new WordPress password in phpMyAdmin\" width=\"694\" height=\"146\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Log_in_with_your_new_password\"><\/span>6. Log in with your new password<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Go to your site&#8217;s <code>\/wp-admin<\/code> login page and log in with the new password.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_MD5_safe_for_WordPress_passwords\"><\/span>Is MD5 safe for WordPress passwords?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>MD5 on its own is weak, but you only use it briefly here. WordPress still accepts an MD5 hash for the first login, then immediately replaces it with its own secure hash. Since <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2025\/02\/17\/wordpress-6-8-will-use-bcrypt-for-password-hashing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress 6.8 switched to bcrypt<\/a>, that&#8217;s a strong bcrypt hash. So log in straight away after changing the password, and choose a long, unique password.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_ways_to_reset_a_WordPress_password\"><\/span>Other ways to reset a WordPress password<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>WP-CLI:<\/strong> if your host offers SSH, run <code>wp user update admin --user_pass=\"NewStrongPassword\"<\/code>, replacing <em>admin<\/em> with your username. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/cli\/commands\/user\/update\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WP-CLI user update docs<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Another admin account:<\/strong> if another administrator can log in, they can set a new password for you under <strong>Users &gt; Edit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your host&#8217;s tools:<\/strong> Softaculous, Hostinger hPanel and other control panels can often reset the WordPress admin password from the installation&#8217;s settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>WordPress.org also has an official guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/documentation\/article\/reset-your-password\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resetting your password<\/a> with more methods.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently_asked_questions\"><\/span>Frequently asked questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_see_my_current_WordPress_password_in_phpMyAdmin\"><\/span>Can I see my current WordPress password in phpMyAdmin?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. WordPress stores only a hash of the password, which can&#8217;t be turned back into the original. You can only replace it with a new one.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_isnt_my_WordPress_password_reset_email_arriving\"><\/span>Why isn&#8217;t my WordPress password reset email arriving?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Many web hosts don&#8217;t send PHP email reliably, and messages often end up in spam. Install an SMTP plugin to send WordPress email through a proper mail service.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Will_changing_the_password_in_the_database_log_out_other_users\"><\/span>Will changing the password in the database log out other users?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. It changes only the password for the user you edited. That user will need the new password next time they log in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you change a WordPress password when you can&#8217;t log in and the password reset email never arrives? It&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":59437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,17],"class_list":["post-59435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-tutorials","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63633,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59435\/revisions\/63633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}