An Administrator account in Windows gives you many advantages that Standard user accounts do not. This includes changing security settings, installing software for all users, accessing all files on the device, making changes to other user accounts, and much more. Although new user accounts created in Windows 11 are Standard by default, you can change them to Administrator at any time.
Change Administrator in Windows 11 (2021)
In this article we will show you how to change the administrator on your Windows 11 computer. With our guide, you can assign administrative privileges to any user on a Windows 11 PC so they can make changes that you can. We’ll also talk about all the important things you need to remember before granting administrative privileges to a standard user account. So let’s get started.
Changing Account Type in Windows 11: Things to Remember
- As mentioned above, when you create a new account in Windows 11, it defaults to the “Standard” type, which comes with limited privileges. The standard account user can run existing applications (provided they are installed for all users), perform basic tasks, and change system settings related to their account only.
- On the other hand, administrators have far-reaching powers that allow them to make almost any system-wide change that affects all user accounts. An account with administrative privileges can perform many changes, from installing software to adding hardware, from accessing protected system files to changing security settings.
- Another important thing to note here is only users with administrator rights in windows 11 can change account type of other users. Therefore, if you want to promote a Standard user to Administrator or downgrade an Administrator account to Standard user, you must be logged in from an Administrator account to do so.
- Finally, the original user account in Windows 11 always has administrator rights by default. To revoke these rights, you must first create another administrator account on your computer. Then you can log in from the new administrator account to change the original user account from Admin to Standard.
Now that you have learned the basics about the two types of user accounts in Windows 11, let’s see how you can change an account from Standard to Admin.
note: The following methods can be used in both local user accounts and Microsoft accounts.
Method 1: Change Account Type with Settings
The easiest way to grant or revoke administrator permission for an account is in Windows 11 Settings. Here’s how:
- Open your PC Settings using the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut Windows key + I. In the settings panel, click on “Accounts” in the left sidebar and select “Family and other users” in the right pane.
- On the next page, click on target account You want to switch from Standard to Admin. Now, “Change account typeNext to “Account options”.
- Now you will see a popup where you can change the account type for that user. In the pop-up window, click the drop-down menu and select “executive“. Finally, click the OK button to apply the change.
You have successfully changed a Standard demo user account to Administrator on your Windows 11 PC.
Method 2: Change Administrator Account via Control Panel
You can also change a Standard user to Administrator from the Control Panel on your Windows 11 computer. This is how you do it:
- Open Control Panel on your Windows 11 PC. To do this, search for “control” (without the quotes) in the Windows search bar and click “Control Panel” from the results.
- In the Control Panel, click on “.user accountsRegardless of whether you use the “Icons” view (small or large) or the “Category” view.
note: Those who use the “Category” view in the Control Panel must now click on “User Accounts” on the next page and proceed to the next step. However, if you are using the “Icons” view (small or large), proceed directly to the next step..
- Click “Manage another account“.
- On the next page, select the target account.
- Now, “Change account type“.
- On the next page, change the account type from Standard to Admin. Finally, “Change Account TypePress the ” button.
- You will now automatically return to the previous screen where you can verify that the user account now has administrative privileges.
Method 3: Change Account Type Using User Accounts Panel
The third method to change the administrator in Windows 11 is the User Accounts Panel. Follow the guide below to learn how:
- Hungry “To run” dialog box, using the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut. Now, enter:netplwizEnter ” (without the quotes) in the text box and press Enter.
- In the User Accounts window, select the account to which you want to grant Administrator rights and click “Features“. This will open the Properties window for that account.
note: You can double-click the target user account to open its properties window..
- In the Properties window “Group membership” tab. Here, “executive” and click “Apply” at the bottom to save the changes.
The user account you selected will now have administrative rights on your PC. Leaving away from the GUI options, let’s check out how you can use Command prompt and Windows Powershell to change the Manager in Windows 11.
Method 4: Change Administrator Account Using Command Prompt
Command Prompt is another way to change the administrator on a Windows 11 computer. Here’s how to do this:
- First, open a Command Prompt window in Administrator mode. To do this, search for “cmd” (without the quotes) in the Windows search bar and type “Run as administrator“.
- Now copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt window:
net localgroup Administrators "Demo User" /addand press Enter. Replace “Demo User” with real account name you will get a message saying you want to grant admin privilege “Command completed successfully”.
- To remove Administrator rights from an account, execute the following command:
net localgroup Administrators "Demo User" /delete. Again, replace the Demo User with the actual account name of the target user.
Method 5: Change Account Type Using PowerShell
Another way to change the Standard user account to Administrator in Windows 11 is to use Windows PowerShell. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Windows PowerShell in Administrator mode. To do this, search for “powershell” in the Windows Search bar and click “Run as administrator“.
- Now copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators” -Member “Demo User”.
note: Unlike Command Prompt, you will not receive any feedback on successful execution of the command. Unless you get an error message, your attempt to change user account privileges was successful..
- You can undo the change with the following command:
Remove-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators” -Member “Demo User”
note: In both cases replace Demo User with the name of the real user account you want to promote to Admin. Keep the double quotes in any case.
Change User Account Type from Standard to Admin in Windows 11
When handing over your computer to a child or friend, all you need is a Standard account. This ensures that they do not have the ability to spy on your files or change settings that could wreak havoc on your device. However, if you are convinced that you need to elevate someone’s user account to administrator, now you know how to do it. You can also check out some of our other related tutorials on user accounts in Windows 11, including how to remove your Microsoft account from your Windows 11 computer and change your computer’s name in Windows 11.
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