How to change username on Windows 11
Wondering how to change your username on Windows 11? Then you are definitely at the right place. How about we start with a few words about Windows 11…
About Windows 11
If you are new to Windows 11 and would like to get an overview of information about it, you can read this section of the post. However, if you would just like to skip this part and go straight to why you are here, you can go to the next heading.
Windows 11 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and already been adopted by many users. It comes as a free upgrade to its closest predecessor; Windows 10 and is available for installation on any system that meets its minimum requirements. Written in C, C++, C#, and Assembly language and available in over 100 global spoken languages, Windows 11 features major changes to the Windows 10 interface design and features including a redesigned Start menu. The new Windows OS also features separate widgets panels on the taskbar which comes as the replacement of its “live tiles” while giving users the ability to create tiled sets of windows that can be minimized and restored from the taskbar as a group. It also comes with new gaming technologies inherited from Xbox Series X and Series S such as Auto HDR and DirectStorage on compatible hardware.
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Additionally, just as seen on Windows 10, the Internet Explorer (IE) has been replaced by the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge as the default web browser followed closely by the integration of Microsoft Teams is integrated into the Windows shell. Microsoft also announced plans to allow more flexibility in software that can be distributed via Microsoft Store and to support Android applications on this new Windows. This will be backed by a partnership with Amazon to make its app store available for the function.
How to locate your username on Windows 11
Having a preferable username on a PC gives it a touch of personalized experience. With this, it just feels like this is truly a personal computer that is meant to be our companion in this ever-growing world of tech. Hence, it has become the norm to see PC users utilize usernames to sign in to the PC. Regardless of how close you are to your PC, sometimes you can forget your username. This happens especially when you have multiple user accounts on the computer system. In a world where you have different utilities on your PC, having different user accounts to separate stuff; programs, and files can make things easy to work with. As well, this is useful when there is more than one person using the computer system. We often see this in a work environment where different users use the same PC for a certain project or work.
However, forgetting your username is not a problem as you can easily locate it anytime you need or want to. Here are four ways you can find your username on the Windows operating system in general, regardless of the version you are using.
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During the system startup
The PC startup login screen provides one of the easiest ways to find your username. Once the system is powered on and boots to the user login screen, you will see your username appear right at the beginning on top of the password box. In a case where there are multiple user accounts using the PC, the username of the last login user account would be displayed.
You do not have to restart your computer just to get your account username. Continue reading to find out other methods you can use to get the same result.
View your username from the Windows start menu
If you are already logged in, you can easily locate your account username without stress by clicking on the start icon on your screen. However, if your PC is updated to the latest version, you might have to add a couple more steps which are added later in the post.
- Get started by clicking on the start button from your desktop or anywhere you are.
- Hover over the profile picture on the left panel and your username will appear there.
Using the Echo command on the command prompt
The echo command is generally used to display its arguments on the standard output. This command can be leveraged to display the computer username. Follow the steps below to do that.
- Press the Windows + R keys to open the run dialog box.
- Type cmd in the input box, and press enter.
- Now type echo %USERNAME% and press enter.
- The computer username should appear in the next line
Using the Task Manager
The task manager screen features a tab called users from where you can find the login account username. Follow the steps below to get your username through the task manager.
- To open the tasks manager, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- The screen may appear in a compact view. Simply click on the arrow next to more details.
- Then go to the users’ tab.
- If the PC only has a single user account, you will see your username displayed here. In the event of the computer having multiple user accounts, all the usernames displayed. However, your account username placed at the top.
Using the control panel
Among the information that housed by the control panel is the user accounts. You can find your user account details including your username and full name here. You can as well add new user accounts if you are willing to have multi accounts. To find your username through the control panel, follow the steps below.
- Press the Windows key and type “control panel” to search for this program from the Windows start menu.
- From the query results, you will see the control panel program placed at the top. Click to
- Open it.
- Now go to User Accounts.
- Click on User Accounts again. On the next screen, your username will appear right next to your display picture.
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How to change username on Windows 11
For some reason, you may decide to change the name of your Windows 11 account at any time. Sometimes the name spelled wrongly after a recent username update, you want to make the username more personalized, or you use a local account and wish to display your real name instead of a nickname. Irrespective of the reason, Windows 11, like any other version of Windows allows you to update the account name in different ways, depending on the account type you use.
In this section of the guide, we will walk you through the different ways you can update your account in the Sign-in screen for a Microsoft and local account. Enjoy the ride.
How to change account username using Settings
When you are creating a Windows 11 account with a Microsoft account, the system will utilize the name from your logged-in Microsoft account. If this is the case, and you intend to use a different name for the local computer, you would have to change your online settings to change the name on your computer.
To change the account username on Windows 11, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings page.
- Click on Accounts.
- Now click the Your info page on the right side.
- Under the Related settings section, click the Manage my accounts option.
- Now sign with your credentials if applicable.
- Next, click the Your Info tab.
- Then under the current name of the account, click the Edit name option.
- Now you can change the account’s first and last name. You can actually use anything you want, but if you are looking at making your information a little more private, you can just use the first six letters of your name and the first two letters of your last name.
- Now you required to confirm that the operation not done by a robot by solving the challenge pushed to your screen.
- Then click the Save button to apply the new changes.
- Now restart the computer to make the new champagnes take effect.
- Having completed the steps above, the Sign-in screen will update the information and display the new name as the PC starts up.
It is worthy of note that the process above will also update the information on every service provided by Microsoft such as Outlook mail, Microsoft 365, and Xbox network.
How to change account username using Control Panel
Now we move to how you can change your username on Windows 11 without using a Microsoft account. For this, you do not need connected to your Microsoft online account. What is more, there are multiple methods you can use to change the account username on Windows 11 without using your Microsoft account. They explained below.
- Through User Accounts
To modify the account name through the User Accounts settings, follow the steps given below.
- Open the Control Panel screen
- Find your way to the User Accounts section, and click the Change account type option.
- Select the local account you want to update.
- Now select the Change the account name option.
- Type a new account username and confirm it.
- Click the Change Name button to apply the changes.
After you complete the steps, the new username reflected on the screen the next time you sign into the account. You can verify these changes by restarting the computer.
- Using Netplwiz
Another method to change the username on Windows 11 without the Microsoft account affected is by using the legacy user manager to change the account name. This requires you to use Netplwiz and to do that, you have to follow the steps below.
- Open the Windows Start screen.
- Search for netplwiz and select the top query result to open the legacy account manager tool.
- On the screen that appears, click the Users tab.
- Now select the account you want to update.
- Then click the Properties button.
- Optionally, you can change the Username information to change the account nickname.
- Now check and confirm the new account name in the Full Name field. If you want to display a nickname instead of your real name, leave the Full Name field as it is.
- Click the Apply button, and follow that with the OK button click.
- Now click the OK button again.
Once the completion of the above steps, the Sign-in screen will reflect the new name on Windows 11. Also, the settings will display your Microsoft accounts if applicable, but the cloud settings will overwrite the information if you try to change your account name with this tool.
- Using Computer Management
To change the account name through the Computer Management app, use these steps:
- Open the Windows Start screen.
- Search for Computer Management and select the top query result to open the program.
- Double-click to expand the System Tools branch.
- Also, double-click the Local Users and Groups branch to expand them.
- Now click on Users.
- Right-click the account, and select the Properties option. Here, you can use the Rename option to change the profile username.
- Click the General tab.
- Lastly, confirm a new name for the account in the Full Name field.
- Click the Apply button and follow that by clicking the OK button to apply the changes.
By completing the steps above, the new local account name will appear on the Sign-in screen and across the experience.
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Departing Thoughts
Changing your username on Windows 11 is and simple straightforward as seen above. However, you need to be aware that while it is possible to change the account name in more than one way, there is not an option that will rename your profile folder inside the Users folder on the local disk. In the situation that you also want to change the name of your profile folder, it is best to create an entirely new account and transfer the information to the newly created profile.