How to Reset the WordPress Password from the phpMyAdmin
WordPress passwords are your first line of defense against unauthorized access. Having the strongest password does not, however, mean that you can use it for the entirety of your website’s lifespan. To improve security, you need to keep changing your passwords every once in a while. Other times, you may pick a password that is so random that you end up forgetting it. The good news is that you can reset the password within minutes. But how do you do that? In this post, we shall be looking at the process of resetting your passwords through phpMyAdmin.
Resetting a password is easy. However, there are times when resetting the password becomes problematic. If this is the case, you can reset the password directly in the WordPress database using the phpMyAdmin.
Why reset the password from the phpMyAdmin?
When you have forgotten your password, you can easily reset it by clicking on the ‘Lost your password’ link. You do this on the login screen. Clicking on this link will direct you to the page where you can reset the password. You will be required to either enter your email address or your username to reset your password. A password reset link will be sent to your email address.
There are times when you no longer have access to the email address you used when setting up your account. Other times, you may not receive the reset email. In this situation, your WordPress passwords should be reset directly in your database. The best way of doing this is through the phpMyAdmin.
How to reset via phpMyAdmin
The first thing you should do is to get to your WordPress hosting account and login to your cPanel dashboard. Under the database, select the phpMyAdmin icon. This will activate the phpMyAdmin app. Select your database. From the list of tables you find, search for the {table-prefix}_users and select browse. Next you need to click the edit button next to the username where you need to change the WordPress password.
PhpMyAdmin will show you a form with user information fields. Delete the value under ‘user_pass’ field then replace with your preferred password. Move on to the function column and select MD5 then click on Go button. The MD5 will encrypt your password and store it on your database. You are done.
Getting locked out of your account is no longer a big issue. Following the above steps will help you change your password and get back to work fast. It is always good to pick passwords that are alphanumeric. You should also include some characters like @ and #.