How to reset your WP Password in PHPMyAdmin
I am using XAMPP to run a local version of WP on my machine for theme testing etc. I haven’t installed the PHP mail() function because its not a feature I regularly use. This presented a problem when I misplaced my login details for my local WP install and couldn’t run the ‘Lost Password’ feature. However I found a way to reset my WordPress password using a neat website and PHPMyAdmin. Here’s how.
Firstly, I logged into PHPMyAdmin and browsed the users table. I edited the entry for my ‘admin‘ account and found the ‘user_pass‘ field.
This field will by default have an encrypted version of your password, something like $P$BERsVRczS226JkUY29j72YuVSzm3yP/ .
Instead of trying to decrypt this, I just generated a new MD5 password and pasted the encrypted version in this field.
I encrypted a new password using the iWebTool website. Type in the password you’d like to have, and then click ‘Encrypt’. That then generates your MD5 password. For example I typed in ‘wpguru‘ as my password and that generated ‘f1c061320553d089aa807e975e2a936f‘.
All you need to do then is paste that encrytped password into the WP database field and presto, your lost password problem is fixed.
Paul Therond
This will also work with other Content Management systems like Drupal and Joomla. PHPMyAdmin was a life saver when I forgot one of my Joomla password recently.
Steve Johnson
No need to visit other web sites, PHPMyAdmin will create the MD5 hash for you.
Edit the row in PHPMyAdmin. In the password field, enter your desired password in plain text. Choose the MD5 option from the dropdown box to the left of the text field, hit go. PHPMyAdmin encrypts your entry and stores the MD5 hash.
MarkB
@Steve Johnson Awesome tip! thanks very much for this comment
Aravind
Do not try to decrypt MD5 – it cannot be done.
MD5 was designed to be one way encryption. That means you can encrypt a string but cannot recover that back from the encrypted text.
That’s the reason why it finds universal application to store passwords.
neville
Brilliant, thanks for this tip. Just what I was looking for! I’m running Wampserver 2, and your tip works.
Scott
Was in a bind for one of my blogs. Knew I had to change the password field in the database, but that wasn’t working. Your little tip saved the day. Thanks!
Sifiso
You can also run the following query in your database console of choice (including PHPMyAdmin):
UPDATE wp_users SET user_pass=MD5(‘yournewpassword’)
WHERE user_login = “admin”;
jay
hi i dun a stupid noooby mistake and dint think about encrytion i just put a pass in the change pass box and now when i attempt to see my main.php or index.php its sayin password no and error how can i reset back to having no password or were can i edit the bit so that a pass is automattically seen or if not posable how can i make it so i can put in the pass i made at some point so i can login this way? the 3rd is most prefered as this will help me with other projects i am planning as i am a php noob :s plz sum1 hu is clever help me in plain english
Derek Herman
You can also go to the wp_users table in PHPMyAdmin and click browse then edit your user and where it says password change it to md5 in the dropdown list of options then enter your new password and click GO!
No need to generate a md5 outside of PHPMyAdmin when the utility already exists.
joyoge designers' bookmark
helpful tip thanks..
Courtney Newton
Todays fresh passes. 4/11-09, Barely Legal Pass! Link/Download (http://sharembit.com/386/bar-legal.zip.html)
Charlotte Briggs
thank you for having such a great blog