How to Change Password on Remote Desktop

The steps to change your password while in a remote desktop session are similar to within your own PC. Yet the differences are big enough that if you don’t know which keys to press, you could draw a complete blank. No need to stay stuck! Here are a few ways to do so, including the run-down of how to change your password with TSplus Remote Access .

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop on a PC

First things first: whatever device you use, step one is to call up the security options window from which you will be able to choose to change your password.

The likelihood is that you know Ctrl+Alt+Del, which is the usual set of keys is a local command. But this key combination, the one you’d use in a standard “local” session, will not affect anything remote. To open the password-change window for your remote session, you need a combination just a touch different. Indeed, in the RDP environment, you’ll need to hold the End key instead of the Del key. That gives Ctrl+Alt+End to open the required window.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop – Steps to Follow

As the security options window pops up, you can choose “change a password”. Double-check the user-name, to make sure you are attempting to change the password to the right account. The following steps are straight forwards since each box tells you what you need to enter. After validating, you should get confirmation that your password has been changed.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop with Region-Specific Keyboards

I can only speak of my own region-specific keyboard: continental European. With these keyboards at least, the second Alt key is not the same as the left Alt key. The AltGr key to the right acts differently to its counterpart for various things. Use it in combination with the End key for the same action as Ctrl+Alt+Del to open your security options window.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop on a Laptop

To find the End key on a PC, no issue, look at your keyboard and it’s been in the same corner for generations of keyboards. Try on your laptop and you could get a surprise. Chances are it is hiding, probably under the 1 of your number pad. So, you will need to unlock the pad to use it. And in effect you’ll be pressing down keys Ctrl+Alt+1. Within the window that opens, you can now choose to change your password.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop on a Hybrid or Mini Laptop

Then, you may have smaller yet. A hybrid tablet-PC, with its removeable keyboard, or a netbook or other miniature laptop, which don’t usually have number pads due to their small size. Then you will probably find the on-screen keyboard could save the day. In fact, a virtual keyboard can be just as useful as on a tablet. You need to call that up by searching “osk” in the remote desktop search box. You can then press and hold Ctrl+Alt on the physical keyboard if you have one and click or tap the on-screen Del key. The security options window will open as above.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop if Password Has Expired

Depending on how passwords are set, it could be your remote desktop password can expire or not. Indeed, administrators can choose to set passwords to “never expire” when they are aware that users are unlikely to connect other than remotely. This is because, to change their password, users need to connect on the physical device. Or someone who has access to would need to do so for them. Therefore, it is preferable to use those settings as default to avoid users finding themselves locked out.

So, if you do not have direct access to the remote device, the best thing to do is contact your network administrator or their team. They will take care of resetting it on your behalf.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop before Password Expires

Here, I’d like to point out that Windows does provide warning that the password is about to expire. The issue with that is that the messages only pop up on opening the RDP session. Since many users only close their session rather than logging out, they won’t get that opening message. That is why it is so frequent for users to be locked out of Remote Desktop. It is possible to force logout via administration settings. Unsurprisingly, network managers regularly resort to this course of action, if only to save having to frequently reset passwords.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop from Other OS and Some Other Methods

To connect from Mac OS, your key-set will be Fn+Ctrl+Option+Backspace (you may have noticed “Option” is the Mac Alt key). Once those keys are pressed, the path should be the same as on a Windows device.

Additionally, you could also access the shell and make the change there, using command prompts. There, it is even possible to put things in place for numerous changes. Using PowerShell is another method. It is also called VBS-script. There is also a possibility with Active Directory. Don’t hesitate to contact our support team for further detail on any of these.

How to Change Password in Remote Desktop with TSplus Remote Access

When using our Remote Access software , the path to follow to change passwords is generally the same, with the Ctrl+Alt+End option being one of the first to consider. You need to bear in mind that an already expired password cannot be changed over HTML5. Instead, the user needs to use the RDP client to connect.

Once more, it is worth noting that in the event of users only ever using HTML5 to connect a good action to take is: set their Windows account password to “never expires” with the parameter “user cannot change password”. You can do this under AdminToolSystem ToolsUsers and Groups.

Finally, TSplus Remote Access does not natively allow users to change their password over the HTML5. As a work-around, our team have developed and published a tool to make it possible. It is available here , in our FAQ.