Top 7 Fixes for Computer Name Invalid Error on Windows 10

Calling your computer by a nickname sounds good, and what makes it even more fun is to give it an official name. You must have seen your computer appear on your home or office network with a strange name (like LAPTOP-AE12A1). This is your computer or device name and your user account is different. Have you tried changing your computer’s name recently and recently got the ‘computer name is invalid’ error? Don’t worry, we went through a similar process and found solutions that worked.

Changing your computer’s name to an easily identifiable name makes it easier for other people and devices to retrieve it from the network. Note that even if you cannot change the name, the user account will continue to function normally. Your daily work/private life will not be affected. Therefore, if you cannot change your computer name and Windows thinks it is invalid, we will help you resolve it.

Let’s start.

1. Update and Restart

This golden trick has worked for me from the start. I saved all my work and restarted my computer. Then I tried renaming my computer and it worked. You should try this first and hopefully it fixes things mostly allowing you to rename your computer.

If you are delaying pending updates for Windows, you must first install them and restart your computer. You can do this under Settings > Update & Security.

Note: Even if the computer name change is successful, you must restart your computer once for the new name to take effect.

2. Character Limits

Your computer name cannot exceed 15 characters. Unfortunately, you can’t even add special characters, except for hyphens, alphabets (a to z), and numbers (0 to 9). You can try using an alphanumeric name instead of using simpler names or just numbers. You cannot leave the name field blank either. Microsoft does not allow this as a computer name is required to identify it.

3. Turn Sync Off

One of the benefits of using a Microsoft account is that it syncs your settings across devices. It can also prevent your device from being renamed.

Stage 1: Press Windows key+I to open Settings and go to Accounts > Sync your settings.

Step 2: Turn off sync settings. Wait a few minutes before turning it back on. You can also try renaming your computer when sync is turned off.

4. Command Prompt

Stage 1: Press and type Windows Key+S to start Windows Search Command prompt. Open it with administrator rights by selecting the Run as administrator option.

Step 2: Type the following command and wait for it to run its route. In this command, you must replace the text ‘New-PC-Name’ with the name you want to assign.

wmic computersystem where name=”%computername%” call rename name=”New-PC-Name”

PowerShell users should try this command instead.

Rename-Computer -NewName “New-PC-Name”

5. Remove Device from Microsoft Account

As surprising as it may sound, this trick has worked for a few users.

Stage 1: Sign in to your Microsoft account to find a list of all connected devices. Select the one you are trying to rename.

Step 2: Click Manage and select Remove laptop/computer from the list to delete it from your Microsoft account.

It will take a maximum of 24 hours for the change to take effect. Give it a day or two and then change your PC name. Adding your device is easy and works the same on the same page. Go back to your Microsoft account and click Add device to start the process.

6. Local User Account

Switching to a local user account and back again helps too. If that doesn’t work, you can also try creating a new administrator account. The following method will work whether you have a local account or not.

Stage 1: Open settings again and go to Accounts. click Sign in with a local account instead connection.

Step 2: You will be prompted to enter the current administrator account password first. Next, you will see a list of all available local accounts. Choose one if available or you will be given the option to create one first. Just follow the on-screen instructions from here.

7. Built-in Administrator Account

Most Windows users never find out, but every Windows installation has a built-in but hidden administrator account. There is one that is created and appears to you when you install Windows. not him. There is another one but it is usually disabled by default. Enable this administrator account and then try renaming your computer. Make sure to disable or delete this account when you’re done. Otherwise it can be used by hackers to hijack your computer.

what’s in your name

Now that you know how to name your computer, you won’t see the dreaded ‘computer name is invalid’ error again. Renaming devices makes it easier to identify and connect to them over the network or with Bluetooth devices. If you use a Microsoft Account to sign in to your computer and allow the changes to take effect as solution 5, you may have to wait a day. Also, this could be the reason why you’re having trouble. Let us know if you found another easy trick to rename your computer in the comments section below.

Next: Want to install Windows apps without setting Microsoft as your default Windows account? Click the link below to learn how to do this.