Fix: Unable to Update the Password Message on Windows 10/11

Keeping your PC password protected is important, but sometimes you might be unable to update the password. This can be a problem, and in today’s article, we’ll show you how to fix this issue.

Unable to update the password message can cause problems for users, and speaking of this message, here are some similar issues that users reported:

• Unable to update the password. The value provided as the current password is incorrect – This issue can appear if your new password doesn’t match. To fix the issue, be sure that you carefully correctly enter your new password in both fields.
• Unable to update the password the value provided Server 2012 – This issue can occur on Windows Server as well, and it’s usually caused by your security policies. To fix the issue, you need to readjust your policies.
• Windows 10 password doesn’t meet complexity requirements – To fix this problem, you can create a stronger password or disable this security policy.
• Unable to change password does not meet complexity requirements – Sometimes, this problem can occur if your password isn’t complex enough. We mentioned in one of our solutions the necessary requirements for a strong password, so be sure to check them out.
• Unable to update password for computer account – This issue can occur for various reasons, but you should be able to fix the problem with one of our solutions.
• This password does not meet the length, complexity, or history requirements of your corporate password policy – Sometimes, the problem might occur because your password doe not meet the requirement of your organization. To fix this, you need to set a stronger one that conforms to the standard.
• Unable to update password. The password provided does not meet the length – In some cases, this issue might occur because your password does not meet the required length. The solution to this is to add more characters to your password.

Unable to update the password. The value provided message on Windows 10 and how to fix it?

1. Wait for 24 hours and try again

If you get Unable to update the password message, this could be due to certain policies on your PC. Some systems allow you to change your password every 24 hours, so if you changed your password recently, and you want to change it again, you won’t be able to do it.

The simplest solution, in this case, is to wait for 24 hours and then try to change the password. Although this is the simplest solution, many users might be impatient and don’t want to wait 24 hours to change their password. If that’s the case, you can move on to the next solution.

2. Change the Minimum password age policy

1. Press Windows key + R and enter gpedit.msc. Now press Enter or click OK.
   
2. When Local Group Policy Editor opens, in the left pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Account Policies > Password Policy. In the right pane, locate the Minimum password age policy and double-click it.
   
3. Set the Password can be changed immediately to 0 days. Now, click Apply and OK to save changes.
   

As we mentioned in our previous solution, some PCs have a security policy that allows users to change their password only once in 24 hours.

If you keep getting Unable to update the password message on your PC, you might be able to fix this problem simply by changing the Minimum password age policy.

To do so, you need to edit this policy in Group Policy Editor. Remember that this feature might not be available in the Home versions of Windows. After making this change in Group Policy Editor, you should be able to change your password whenever you want.

3. Check the password strength

In order to set a password, it must meet certain criteria. Having a strong password is important since it will prevent malicious users from cracking it. As for the password requirements, these are the necessary requirements:

• At least six characters in length.
• Contain uppercase characters.
• Contain lowercase characters.
• Contain numeric characters.
• Contain non-alphabetic characters.

Although these requirements might seem unnecessary to a home user, having a strong password that meets the security standards in a business environment is crucial since it will prevent unauthorized users from accessing your account.

If you don’t want to deal with security standards and password strength, we’ll show you how to disable this policy completely in the following solution.

4. Disable password complexity requirements

1. Open Group Policy Editor.
2. In the left pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Account Policies > Password Policy.
3. In the right pane, double-click the Password must meet complexity requirements option.
   
4. Set this policy to Disabled and click Apply and OK to save changes.
   

As previously mentioned, sometimes Unable to update the password message can appear if the password doesn’t meet the security standards. Group Policy settings enforce this policy; if you want, you can easily disable it.

Remember that disabling this policy for your network might make it more vulnerable. On the other hand, if you’re not a network administrator and want to disable this policy on your PC.

After disabling this policy, you should be able to set any password that you want, regardless of its complexity.

This isn’t the best security policy, but if you have just a single PC in your network, you can disable it. Even if this policy is disabled, it’s still advised to use hard-to-guess passwords to be safe.

5. Make sure that the Change password at the next logon option is enabled

1. Press Windows key + R and enter lusrmgr.msc. Now, press Enter or click OK.
   
2. From the left pane, select Users. In the right pane, double-click the account whose password you wish to change.
   
3. Uncheck Password never expires option.
4. Now, check User must change password at next logon.
5. FInally, click Apply and OK to save changes.
   

If you getting Unable to update the password message on your Windows 10 PC, you might be able to fix this problem simply by forcing the user to change its password by enabling Change password at next logon option.

Several users reported that this solution worked for them, but sometimes this feature can leave you on the login screen with the same error message as before.

To be on the safe side, make sure that you can access Safe Mode or have a different administrative account available that you can use to disable this feature if anything goes wrong.

After doing that, you’ll be forced to change your password as soon as you try to login to the selected account. If you can’t change the password on the login screen, you’ll need to go to Safe Mode or use a different account to revert these changes.

Read more about this topic

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6. Try changing the password from Command Prompt

1. Press Windows key + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the list. If Command Prompt isn’t available, you and also use PowerShell (Admin).
   
2. Type the command below (replace User_name with the appropriate username) and press Enter to run it: net user User_name *
3. Now you’ll be asked to enter the new password twice.
   

After doing that, your password should be successfully changed.

If other methods didn’t work and you’re still getting Unable to update the password message, you might be able to fix the problem by trying to change the password using the Command Prompt.

There’s a command available in Command Prompt that allows you to manage your user accounts easily, and we’ll use it to change the account password.

7. Install the latest updates

1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app and select Update & Security.
   
2. Click the Check for updates button. Windows will now check for available updates and download them in the background.
   

Sometimes Unable to update the password message can appear if you don’t have the latest updates installed. There might be a bug or glitch with your system that can cause this error to appear.

The best way to deal with bugs and glitches is to keep your system up to date, and speaking of updates, Windows 10 usually installs the missing updates automatically.

However, you can check for updates manually by following the steps above. Once the updates are installed, check if the problem is still there.

Unable to update the password message can be annoying, but your security policy usually causes this message. To fix the problem, ensure your password matches the security criteria or disable certain security policies.

In the same vein, if your computer won’t let you type your password, check our detailed guide to restore normal service on your PC.

Feel free to let us know the solution that helped you fix this issue in the comments below.