Help:Reset password

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You may need to reset your wiki password. To do this, we have provided a basic guide below, which covers common questions related to password resets.

When should I reset my password?

There are different circumstances under which you may reset your password, including:

• You have forgotten your password.
• Somebody may know your password.
• You want to create a stronger password.

How do I make sure that I can reset my password?

To enable password resets, you must associate an email address with your account. There are two ways to do this:

• When you create your account, you can provide an email address on Special:CreateAccount.
• After creating an account, you can associate an email address to your account on Special:Preferences. You can navigate to the "User profile" tab, where you will see an "Email options" section. You can enter your email address in this section.

Do I need to confirm my email address to enable password resets?

No, you do not need to confirm your email address in order to generate password reset emails. However, it is highly recommended that you confirm your email address. This way, you can ensure emails are sent to the correct address, and you can set up email preferences for your account.

How do I reset my password?

1. Go to Special:PasswordReset on the wiki on which you want to reset your password.
2. Enter either your username or email address (or both).
   If you have enabled Enhanced Password Reset (see EPR information), you will always need to enter both username and email address.
3. Check your email for a password reset email.
4. Follow the instructions in the email to complete the process.

For more technical password reset processes, visit the Resetting Passwords page.

How do I reset passwords for multiple usernames at once?

If you have multiple usernames associated with one email address, you can generate password reset requests for all usernames at once. To do this, simply enter the email address only in Special:PasswordReset. You will then receive separate emails for all usernames associated with the account. Note that this will not work with accounts that have EPR enabled, as they require both the username and email address to generate the password reset email.

How do I reset the password for one account, if I have multiple usernames attached to the associated email address?

If you want to reset one account password, but you have multiple usernames attached to the same email address, you should only enter the username in Special:PasswordReset. Note that this will not work with accounts that have EPR enabled, as they require both the username and email address to generate the password reset email.

Can people actually reset my password on Special:PasswordReset?

No, they can only trigger an email via Special:PasswordReset. Somebody would need to have access to your email account to complete the password reset process.

I’m getting password reset emails that I didn’t request. How do I prevent this from happening?

You can prevent unsolicited password reset emails by enabling Enhanced Password Reset (EPR). This is a feature that requires users to provide both a username and email address on Special:PasswordReset. If both are provided and matching, a password reset email will be sent. If both are not provided or they don't match, the password reset email will not be sent. (To protect the privacy of email addresses and user preferences, the user is told that the email was sent successfully even if EPR prevented it from being sent.)

(EPR) enhances privacy because Wikimedia users may know your username (but not your email address). Meanwhile, some people may know your email address (but not your username). Consequently, spammers and trolls are less likely to generate unwanted password reset emails, if you enable this feature.

To enable the feature, go to the "Email options" section in "Preferences". You can click on the checkbox that states, "Send password reset emails only when both email address and username are provided." Once you click the checkbox and save, the preference is enabled. (The checkbox is only visible if the wiki has been configured to allow EPR. If you don't see it, your wiki needs to enable the $wgAllowRequiringEmailForResets site configuration setting.)

Once you enable this preference, users will not be informed that both the username and email addresses are required on Special:PasswordReset (for security reasons). For this reason, you must remember to enter both your username and email address on Special:PasswordReset.

Enhanced Password Reset is not a global preference by default. It is enabled per wiki. However, you can make it global in your global preferences.

I requested a password reset. Why didn’t I receive an email?

You may have not received a password reset email for many reasons, including:

• You did not add an email address to your account. If this is the case, see the instructions for how to associate an email address with an account.
• You misspelled the username or email address associated with the account. If this is the case, we recommend that you try requesting a password reset again via Special:PasswordReset.
• You only entered a username or email address (i.e., not both), and the Enhanced Password Reset feature was enabled. If this is the case, we recommend that you try requesting a password reset again, with both your username and email address.
• The email was sent to Spam or another folder that you have not yet checked.
• You requested too many password resets in a short period of time, which exceeded the password reset request limit. If this is the case, we recommend that you wait for a bit and then try again later.