Accessing Windows 10 account on a PC has become easier. And thanks to the barrage of updates, it’s more usable than ever (I’m looking at you, Windows 8!) But there are still a number of privacy issues that Windows is yet to solve. Many people have a genuine privacy concern when they switch on their PC, and ‘Sign-in’ pops up. Be it the people using their devices in public account or you’ve recently changed your name if you want to change your account name on Windows 10, this step-by-step tutorial will guide you through plenty of ways.
How to Change your Account Name on Windows 10
Method 1: Control Panel
The classic Control Panel never gets old. We are glad Windows 10 hasn’t nixed this incredibly useful settings tool (fingers crossed!). You can use this option only if you are using a local account, which isn’t linked to a Microsoft account.
Open the Start Menu and search for Control Panel.
In the Control Panel’s menu, select Change account type under User Accounts.
Tap on the user whose name you want to change.
Once opened, select Change the account name. Under the blank option, type a new name and then select Change Name.
These changes will appear on the Sign-in screen.
Method 2: Settings
Being the core concept of customization, you can change or tweak almost anything inside Settings. Open the Settings in the Start menu.
Select Accounts in from the Settings menu.
Click on Your info and you’ll see some brief information about your account. Right under Billing info, family settings, etc. select Manage my Microsoft account.
You will be redirected to Microsoft’s website. Here, you can change your password and more importantly, your account name. To do that, select Edit profile.
Now select Edit name.
A new window will be on your screen.
Once you type in your First name and Last name, enter the characters for security purposes and click on Save.
You can use the first two or three letters from your first and last name to keep your information even more private.
Method 3: NETPLWIZ
You can change your account name in the User Account Settings, a.k.a. (netplwiz). To fire it up, go to Start menu and search for netplwiz.
Or press the Windows Logo + R shortcut to summon up the Run command. Type netplwiz or control userpasswords2 as a command and hit OK.
The User Accounts dialog box will be opened. Select the user whose account you want to change and click on Properties.
Under the General tab, you’ll see Username, Full name, and Description options, select Username, and type in your desired username. And then hit OK.
Users can leave the Full name section empty. Instead, you can type in your nickname.
Method 4: Local Users and Groups
The earlier method can be accessible by the mentioned command. This option is altogether a new one. Press Windows Logo + R shortcut to summon up the Run command. Type lusrmgr.msc and press Enter.
This command will open the Local Users and Groups window. Double-click on the User option and click on the account which you want to rename.
In the dialog box, select the General tab. Then type a new name in the Full name box. Then click Apply and then hit OK.
Now you have a new account name for your Windows 10 personal computer. You can also change the information of the accounts linked to a Microsoft account, but if you do so, once you hit restart, the Sign-in screen will reset this information and display your Microsoft account name.
Also keep in mind, that this change has no effect on your profile folder name. You can, of course, change it, but you might encounter certain issues if you do so. We suggest you create a new account along with a brand new name and then move all your important files over to the new account.
