Top 5 Ways to Change Administrator Account in Windows 10

There are two main account types in Windows: Standard and Administrator. Both have certain privileges. While the Administrator account gives you full control over your PC, the Standard account is relatively limited. For example, if you want to perform elevated tasks such as installing an application, changing settings in general, or making major system changes from a Standard account, you must first change the account type to Administrator.

If you want to appoint a new administrator or increase access to other Standard user accounts on your PC, you can use any of the following methods to change the account type from Standard to Administrator or vice versa.

Note: To change the account type, Windows requires you to log in with an account with administrative privileges.

1. Settings App

Probably the simplest way to change account type in Windows is to use the Settings app. After logging in with an administrator account, here is how to change the account type in Windows 10.

Stage 1: Press Windows key + I to launch settings. Go to Accounts.

Step 2: Go to the Family & other users tab on your left. Now under Other users, select the account whose type you want to change and click on Change account type.

Stage 3: In the window below, change the account type to Administrator and hit OK.

And that’s about it. You can repeat the above steps to change the account type back to Standard.

2. Control Panel

Like all other major settings in Windows, you can also change the administrator account by accessing the Control Panel. Here’s how.

Stage 1: Open the start menu, type control Paneland press Enter.

Step 2: In the Dashboard window, switch to Category view and click ‘Change account type’.

Stage 3: Here you will find all the user accounts on your PC along with their account types. Go to the account for which you want to change the type and click on ‘Change account type’.

Step 4: Next, select a new account type and click the Change Account Type button.

Once complete, restart your computer to apply all the changes.

3. User Accounts

Another way to change the account type in Windows is to use the User Accounts utility. Here’s how.

Stage 1: Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. Medicine netplwiz and press Enter.

Step 2: In the User Accounts window, select the account in question and click Properties.

Stage 3: In the Properties window, switch to the Group membership tab and click Standard or Administrator as the account type.

You can set the account type as Event Log Reader, Remote Desktop User, Guest User, Authorized User, etc. You can also select Other to set as

4. Command Prompt

You can also change the account type with a command if you use Command Prompt to process batch files, fix errors, and fix corrupt system files. Read on to find out how.

Stage 1: Open the start menu, type cmdand click Run as administrator on your right to open it with administrator rights.

Step 2: Type the following command in the console and press Enter.

net localgroup Administrators ‘AccountName’ /add

Replace ‘AccountName’ in the above command with the real name of the account.

Once completed, the account will be converted to the Administrator account and installed with administrator privileges.

Similarly, if you want to change the account type to Standard, type the command mentioned below and hit Enter.

net localgroup Administrators ‘AccountName’ /delete

5. PowerShell

If you prefer omnipotent PowerShell over Command Prompt running commands and scripts, it can also help you change the type of account to Administrator with a single command. Here’s how.

Stage 1: Press Windows key + X and select PowerShell (Admin) from the menu that appears.

Step 2: In the console, type the below-mentioned command and press Enter to change it to Administrator.

add-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators" -Member ‘AccountName’

Replace ‘AccountName’ in the above command with the real name of the account.

And voila! The account name entered will now have administrator privilege.

Again, if you want to change the account type to Standard, use the command given below.

remove-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators" -Member ‘AccountName’

More Power to You

You can use any of the above methods to change the administrator in Windows. Moreover, it is considered best practice to keep multiple Administrator accounts in case the account is deleted or you get locked out.