How to Change the Microsoft Account on Windows 10

If your Windows 10 sign-in screen shows the wrong Microsoft account, such as an old address or the account of whoever set up the PC, you can move your profile to the right one and keep your files. Switch to a local account in Settings > Accounts > Your info, then sign in with the new Microsoft account from the same page and set a new PIN. If only the name or email is wrong, nothing on the PC changes.

Four jobs that look like “change account”

Find the row that matches what you want; the sections follow the same order, cheapest change first.

What you want	What changes	Files and apps
Change only the name or email on the same account	What is shown; no change on the PC itself	Kept
Stop using a Microsoft account and sign in locally	Sign-in becomes a local username and password; settings stop syncing	Kept
Move this profile to a different Microsoft account	The account linked to your profile, your PIN, what syncs	Kept
Let another account use the PC	A second profile with its own desktop and folders	Not shared

Change only the name or email

If the account is right but the name or address on it is not, nothing on the PC needs to change.

• Display name: sign in to your Microsoft account online, open Your info, select Edit name, complete the check and select Save. Microsoft says the change can take up to 24 hours to show, and it does not change an Xbox gamertag. Microsoft warns that non-standard font characters, such as Wingdings, are not supported in the name and may prevent sign-in.
• Email address: in your Microsoft account’s account info, open Account aliases, select Add email and Add alias, verify the new address, then select Make primary. The primary alias is the address shown on your Microsoft devices. Microsoft’s guide to adding or changing the account email recommends adding the new address before you remove the old one.

Switch to a local account

Before any switch, back up important files and know the passwords for both accounts. A switch that goes wrong is easier to fix when you can sign in to everything. If device encryption or BitLocker is on, make sure you can find the recovery key before you switch.

A local account exists only on this PC and does not need the internet to sign in. Use this if you want off the Microsoft account entirely, or as the first half of moving to a different one.

1. Open Start > Settings > Accounts > Your info.
2. Select Sign in with a local account instead. This link only appears while you are signed in with a Microsoft account.
3. Confirm your identity with your current PIN or password when asked, then select Next.
4. Enter a username, a password and a password hint. The username must not already be used on this PC.
5. Select Next, then Sign out and finish, and sign back in with the new local name and password.

A local password cannot be reset online, so Microsoft suggests creating a password reset disk if you stay local. The steps are in Microsoft’s local and Microsoft account switching guide, which covers both directions. For a brand-new local profile rather than converting this one, see how to create a local account on Windows 10.

Move this profile to a different Microsoft account

Do the previous section first, so the profile is local. Then link the new account:

1. Signed in with the local account, open Settings > Accounts > Your info.
2. Select Sign in with a Microsoft account instead. It only appears while the profile is local.
3. Enter the email and password of the Microsoft account you want, and follow the prompts.
4. When asked for your current Windows password, enter the local password you just created.
5. Select Next and set up a PIN if Windows offers it. Sign out and back in when prompted.

Expect the PIN from the old account to stop working: a PIN belongs to the account it was set up with, so set a new one under sign-in options. If the old PIN still seems to be asked for, sign in with the password and see how to change your PIN on Windows 10.

What moves with the account and what stays behind

• Desktop, documents and installed apps stay in the same profile folder; only the sign-in changes.
• Synced settings such as themes and passwords now come from the new account, so the PC can look slightly different after the first sign-in.
• OneDrive has its own sign-in. Files that live only in the old account’s OneDrive will not appear until you sign OneDrive in to that account, and they are not deleted. The steps on Windows 11 in how to change the OneDrive account work much the same way on Windows 10.
• Microsoft Store and Office purchases stay with the account that bought them. Sign in to the Store or Office with that account to keep using them.
• Activation is tied to the hardware. In Settings > Update & Security > Activation, the status reads “Windows is activated with a digital license” or “Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account”. Linking the license to an administrator Microsoft account is what lets you use the Activation troubleshooter after a big hardware change, as Microsoft explains on its reactivation page.

Add another account instead of changing yours

If someone else needs the PC, or you want a clean start with the new account, add it as a second user rather than converting your profile.

1. Open Settings > Accounts and go to the family and other users page.
2. Choose the option to add someone else to this PC, then enter the Microsoft account email. To add a local user instead, pick the option that says you do not have the person’s sign-in information, then add a user without a Microsoft account.
3. Sign out, then sign in to the new account. It gets its own desktop and folders on first sign-in.
4. If it should manage the PC, select it on the same page and use Change account type to make it an administrator.

The full walkthrough, with local and Microsoft options, is in how to create a new user on Windows 10. Removing the old profile later deletes its files on this PC but does not delete the Microsoft account itself. The Windows 11 versions of how to remove an account and remove an administrator account follow nearly the same path.

When the switch does not take

• No “Sign in with a local account instead” link: you are already on a local account (look for the Microsoft account link instead), or the PC is set up by a work or school organization that controls sign-in.
• The new Microsoft account will not link: it may already be used by another profile on this PC. Sign in to that profile or remove it, then try again.
• Settings still shows the old email: sign out completely and back in. If you changed only the alias, the new primary address can take a while to appear.
• Sign-in fails after you renamed the account: if the new display name uses symbol-font characters, change it back to ordinary letters online; Microsoft says such characters are not supported and may prevent sign-in.
• You only wanted to leave a Microsoft account for a session: that is a sign-out, not a change; see how to log out of your Microsoft account in Windows 10.

Windows 10 after October 2025

Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Home users can keep getting security updates through October 12, 2027 by enrolling in Extended Security Updates, which requires signing in with a Microsoft account that is an administrator, so a PC you switch to a local account will ask you to sign in with one when you enroll. The account steps on Windows 11 are close to these; see how to change the Microsoft account on Windows 11.

Windows 10 account questions

Can one Windows profile use two Microsoft accounts?

Only one Microsoft account can be the sign-in for a profile. Apps such as Mail, the Store or Office can still sign in to other accounts separately.

Is changing my display name the same as changing my account?

No. The display name is a label on the same account. Your email, password, files and purchases stay exactly as they were.

Do I have to switch back to local to undo the change?

Yes. To return to the original Microsoft account, repeat both halves: switch to local, then sign in with the original account.