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WordPress & Apps

How to Reset a WordPress Admin Password with phpMyAdmin

If you cannot use the "Lost password" email, you can reset a WordPress admin password directly in the database. It takes a couple of minutes in phpMyAdmin.

Step-by-step

  1. Open Databases → phpMyAdmin in cPanel.
  2. Select your WordPress database on the left (if unsure which, check wp-config.php via finding your database name).
  3. Open the wp_users table (the prefix may differ, e.g. wpxx_users) and click Browse.
  4. Click Edit on your admin user row.
  5. In the user_pass field, choose MD5 from the Function dropdown and type your new password in the Value box. Selecting MD5 hashes it correctly for WordPress.
  6. Click Go. Log in to wp-admin with the new password immediately.

💡 Good to know

  • Always take a quick database export before editing tables.
  • WordPress upgrades the MD5 hash to a stronger one automatically on your next login — this method is safe.
  • Still locked out? The user_email field in the same row shows which address the reset email would go to.

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