Resetting a user password
From Joomla! Documentation
Joomla!
3.x
Resetting a user password can be done a number of ways:
Frontend[edit]
The user can do it by themselves through the front end of your site:
- Make sure the Login Module is published and active on the front end of your site. If not, log in to the Administrator back-end and go to the Module Manager to enable it.
- Find the Login Form on the front-end of your site. If you need to reset your password, click "Forgot your Password?" and you will be prompted to enter your email address. A confirmation code will be emailed to you so you can enter a new password.
- If you can't remember your username, click "Forgot your username?" and it will be emailed to you.
Backend[edit]
The site administrator can perform the following steps:
- Log into the Administrator back-end of your site (e.g. www.yoursite.com/administrator)
- In the menu Users, select the sub-menu Manage.
- Click the User's name you want to edit.
- Enter the new password into the Password field and type it again in the Confirm Password field.
- Click Save.
Resetting in PhpMyAdmin[edit]
If you have lost your admin password and you can't log into the backend, then you're able to reset the password in your PhpMyAdmin. Complete the following steps:
- Select your database in PhpMyAdmin
- Select the prefixofyourtable_users table.
- Click "Browse" and select "Edit" (the small pen icon) on the user whose password you wish to reset
- You will now see all user data in a form. Under the "password" field, you will see a long list of encrypted letters. Delete these letters, and type in a new password.
- BEFORE saving, remember to select "MD5" in the "function" dropdown list.
- Save your new password and log into the backend of your Joomla site. Remember to reset the password again from the back-end, as the MD5 encryption is much more secure this way.