by In this tutorial, we will show you how to change the password for your user on Raspberry Pi OS.
To keep your Raspberry Pi secure, you should always make sure that you use a secure password for your user. A secure password typically involves letters, numbers and symbols and should be at least 12 characters long.
The longer and more complicated a password is, the harder it is for an attacker to break into your device. However, if you find keeping complex passwords challenging, we recommend trying a password manager such as NordPass (Affiliate Link).
Changing your user’s password is straightforward whether you are using the desktop or command line variants of Raspberry Pi OS.
Changing the Password using the Raspberry Pi OS Desktop
This section will show you how to change your user’s password without leaving the Raspberry Pi’s desktop interface.
This process is made super simple thanks to the inbuilt “Raspberry configuration” application. This tool lets you change various system settings, including the password for your user.
1. To get to the “Raspberry Configuration” app, we need to start by opening the start menu.
You can find the start menu on Raspberry Pi OS by clicking the raspberry icon at the top-left of the screen.
2. With the start menu open, you must hover over the “Preferences” (1.) option.
After hovering over that option, you will see “Raspberry Pi Configuration” as an option (2.). Click it to open the application.
3. To change your user’s password on Raspberry Pi OS, click the “Change Password...” button, as shown below.
4. You can now set a new password for your Raspberry Pi user. You must enter your password twice (1.) before continuing.
Ensure that when you set a new password, you make it secure. Try and use a mix of letters, passwords and symbols.
Once you have typed in the password twice, click the “OK” button (2.) to confirm the change.
5. If you have successfully changed the password for your user, you will see the following prompt appear.
Next time you are prompted to log in, you must enter your new password. As you are done you can now click the “OK” button to continue.
Using the Terminal to Change Your Users Password on Raspberry Pi OS
It is also possible to change the password of your user on Raspberry Pi OS by using the terminal. It is a much faster process than using the desktop GUI.
1. If you use a desktop variant of the operating system, you will need to open the terminal before continuing.
The easiest way to open the terminal on your Raspberry Pi is to press CTRL + ALT + T on your keyboard.
2. To change the current user’s password using the terminal, you must utilize the “passwd” command.
passwd3. Upon running the previous command, you will be prompted to enter the current password for your user.
Changing password for pi.
Current password:4. Next, you will be required to enter the new password for your user twice. The second time is to ensure you don’t accidentally set an incorrect password.
New password:
Retype new password:5. The following message appears within the terminal if you successfully changed your Raspberry Pi user’s password.
passwd: password updated successfullyConclusion
Hopefully, at this point, you will now have a good understanding of how you can set a new password for your Raspberry Pi OS user.
As you have seen, changing your Raspberry Pi user’s password is straightforward if you are using the terminal or desktop.
Please comment below if you have run into any issues with changing the password for your user.
If you found this tutorial useful, be sure to check out our many other Raspberry Pi tutorials and guides.
