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Reset a staff member's Google Workspace password in the Admin console

Updated For Google Workspace

Reset a staff password (0:22)

If a staff member forgets their password and cannot get back in, an admin can reset it directly in the Admin console, without needing the old password.

Reset the password

Section titled “Reset the password”

You need a Google Workspace admin account. You do not need the user’s old password.

  1. Go to Directory → Users.

  2. Point to the user in the list and click Reset password, or open their account page and choose it there.

    Users list with Reset password shown on a staff member row

  3. Choose Automatically generate a password (the user must change it at next sign-in), or choose Create password and type one (at least 8 characters by default, or longer if your password policy requires it).

    Reset password box with Automatically generate a password selected

  4. If you created the password, keep Ask user to change their password when they sign in ticked. It is ticked by default.

  5. Click Reset.

    Create password selected, Ask user to change their password ticked and the Reset button

This is the admin-side option for when a user’s own forgot password recovery does not work.

Click Copy password to share it, ideally by phone or WhatsApp rather than email if you suspect compromise.

If the user is also stuck at 2-Step Verification

Section titled “If the user is also stuck at 2-Step Verification”

Do not disable 2-Step Verification to work around this. Instead, open the user’s account, go to Security → 2-step verification, and click Get Backup Verification Codes to generate a new set. Share one code with the user so they can sign in and reconnect their verification method themselves.

User Security tab with the 2-step verification row

If the account may be compromised

Section titled “If the account may be compromised”

Reset the password first, then on the user’s Security page, find Sign-in cookies and click Reset. Together with the new password, this signs them out of active browser sessions, and on phones they must sign in again. Third-party mail apps such as Outlook or Apple Mail stop syncing until the user signs in with the new password.

Sign-in cookies panel with the Reset button

Still stuck

Section titled “Still stuck”

WhatsApp our support team at +60 16-916 3324.

Common issues

Can an admin see a staff member's current password?

No. The Admin console does not display a user's existing password. You can only set a new one from Directory → Users and pass that on instead.

Does resetting the password sign the user out of their phone and apps right away?

Not completely on its own. Third-party mail apps stop syncing until the user signs in with the new password. To sign them out of browsers and phones too, also reset their Sign-in cookies on the user's Security page.

Sign-in cookies panel with the Reset buttonSee it in the steps
Should I turn off 2-Step Verification if the user is locked out of it too?

No, that weakens the account. Generate a backup verification code instead so the user can sign in once and set up their verification method again.

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