5 Easy Ways to Change or Reset Your Yahoo! Mail Password

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Learn how to update your Yahoo! Mail password
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This wikiHow teaches you how to change your Yahoo! Mail password both on desktop and in the mobile app. You can easily change a known password, or you can reset a forgotten password. We also include some expert tips on creating a strong password from computer & tech specialist Luigi Oppido.

Quick Steps

  1. Open Yahoo! Mail and sign in.
  2. Click your avatar in the upper-right corner.
  3. Click Manage your account .
  4. Click Change password .
  5. Enter your new password.
  6. Click Maybe later when prompted to review your account health to finalize the change.
Method 1
Method 1 of 5:

Changing a Password (Desktop)

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  1. 1
    Open Yahoo! Mail. Go to mail.yahoo.com/ in your computer's browser. This will open your Yahoo! inbox if you're logged into your Yahoo account.
    • If you aren't already logged in, enter your email address and click Next , then enter your password and click Sign in before continuing.
  2. 2
    Click your avatar in the upper-right corner. If you don't have an avatar, the icon will have just your first initial.
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  3. 3
    Click Manage your account > Change password . The Change password button is under the "Looking for something else" header and has an icon of a fingerprint.
  4. 4
    Enter your new password. You must create a strong password, otherwise, Yahoo! won't let you continue. Once the password is moderate strength or higher, you can click Continue .
    • Oppido says that the best way to make a strong password is to make it lengthy. "What I tell people is: take three words that you like," he explains, "words that usually don't make sense [together], three words that are just random. Those three words together will probably be more than 11 characters…[and] that will take a decrypter more than 100 years to figure out if they were trying to get into your account."
  5. 5
    Review your account health, if desired. Yahoo! will prompt you to review your account health after changing your account password. Click Review account health to do so. Otherwise, click Maybe later to return to your Yahoo! account settings.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 5:

Changing a Password (Mobile)

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  1. 1
    Tap your profile picture in the upper-left corner of the screen. If you don't have a profile picture, the avatar will have your first and last initials.
  2. 2
    Tap Manage accounts . It's near the middle of the menu and has an icon of a person.
  3. 3
    Tap Account under your Yahoo! account. If you have multiple accounts logged in, tap the Account button under the account you want to change the password for.
  4. 4
    Tap Security . You may be asked to enter your phone's PIN or use Touch ID/Face ID (iPhone only) to access this menu.
  5. 5
    Tap Change password . It's under the "Password" heading near the top of the menu.
  6. 6
    Enter your new password. You must create a strong password, otherwise, Yahoo! won't let you continue. Once the password is moderate strength or higher, you can click Continue .
    • Your password will immediately be changed.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 5:

Resetting a Password on Yahoo.com (Desktop)

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  1. 1
    Click Forgot password? . This option is below the password field when you're trying to sign in to Yahoo! on your desktop. If you've forgotten your Yahoo Mail password , you can use this method to reset it.
  2. 2
    Choose whether to get a code via text message or WhatsApp. When you signed up for your Yahoo! account, Yahoo! asked you for a phone number. Yahoo! will use this phone number to contact you so you can recover a lost password.
    • If you don't have access to that phone number, click I need more options > Call premium customer care . You'll need to speak with a Yahoo! customer care specialist to get more help.
  3. 3
    Enter the code that was sent to your phone. Open the text message or WhatsApp message that Yahoo! sent you and enter the code in the "6-digit code" field.
    • If you didn't get the code, you can try resending it after a few moments. Click the Resend code button once it appears to get a new code.
    • Once you type in the code, click Next to continue. Yahoo! will immediately sign you in.
  4. 4
    Choose if you want to enable passkey. Passkey allows you to sign in to Yahoo! using your fingerprint or the code used to unlock your device. Click Allow to enable this feature, or skip.
    • Yahoo! will immediately sign you in.
  5. 5
    Change your Yahoo! password. Once you're signed in, you'll need to change your Yahoo! password so you can easily sign in to your account again.
    • Hover your profile picture in the upper-right corner, then click Manage my account .
    • Click Change password .
    • Enter a new password. Yahoo! will prompt you to enter a new password once you access this page.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 5:

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  1. 1
    Go to the Yahoo! Sign-in Helper webpage. Yahoo! has a browser tool that can help you reset a forgotten password. Go to login.yahoo.com/forgot to open it. [1]
  2. 2
    Enter your Yahoo! email address or phone number. In the field that says "Email address or phone number," enter your email or phone number.
  3. 3
    Complete the CAPTCHA, if prompted. You may be prompted to complete a CAPTCHA before you can continue. Follow the instructions of the CAPTCHA to progress to the next step.
  4. 4
    Choose whether to get a code via text message or WhatsApp. When you signed up for your Yahoo! account, Yahoo! asked you for a phone number. Yahoo! will use this phone number to contact you so you can recover a lost password.
    • If you don't have access to that phone number, click I need more options > Call premium customer care . You'll need to speak with a Yahoo! customer care specialist to get more help.
  5. 5
    Enter the password that was sent to your phone. Open the text message or WhatsApp message that Yahoo! sent you and enter the code in the "6-digit code" field.
    • If you didn't get the code, you can try resending it after a few moments. Click the Resend code button once it appears to get a new code.
    • Once you type in the code, click Next to continue. Yahoo! will immediately sign you in.
  6. 6
    Choose if you want to enable passkey. Passkey allows you to sign in to Yahoo! using your fingerprint or the code used to unlock your device. Click Allow to enable this feature, or skip.
    • Yahoo! will immediately sign you in.
  7. 7
    Change your Yahoo! password. Once you're signed in, you'll need to change your Yahoo! password so you can easily sign in to your account again.
    • Hover your profile picture in the upper-right corner, then click Manage my account .
    • Click Change password .
    • Enter a new password. Yahoo! will prompt you to enter a new password once you access this page.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 5:

Resetting a Password in the Yahoo App (Mobile)

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  1. 1
    Open the Yahoo! Mail app and tap Sign in with Yahoo! . If you're prompted that Yahoo! Mail wants to use yahoo.com to sign in, tap Continue to move to the next step.
  2. 2
    Type your username and tap Next . If you get an error about enabling cookies, either restart the Yahoo! Mail app or tap Forgot username? , then enter your Yahoo! email to continue.
  3. 3
    Tap Forgot password? and choose a contact method. You can sign in with a code sent to your phone, either via a text message or WhatsApp.
  4. 4
    Enter the code that was sent to your phone. Open the text message or WhatsApp message that Yahoo! sent you and enter the code in the "6-digit code" field.
    • If you didn't get the code, you can try resending it after a few moments. Tap the Resend code button once it appears to get a new code.
    • Once you type in the code, click Next to continue. Yahoo! will immediately sign you in.
  5. 5
    Create a new password. Yahoo! will prompt you to immediately create a new password to get into your account. If the password is too weak, Yahoo! won't accept it.
  6. 6
    Add an account recovery option (optional). You can choose to add another account recovery option after changing your password. Since your phone number is already associated with your account, you can bypass this by tapping Done .
    • If you're having trouble remembering your passwords, Oppido suggests using a password manager like LastPass. LastPass can even create super strong passwords for you.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    No matter what I enter as a new password, it says "the password cannot include your name or username." What can I do to get past this?
    Community Answer
    This is likely occurring because your account name includes a single letter that you're also using in your password. For example, entering "John Q Public" as your name will prevent you from using "Q" or "q" in your password.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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    Yes No
    Not Helpful 1 Helpful 15
  • Question
    What if I don't remember my password and need to reset it?
    Community Answer
    Make sure you have access to your alternate email account, and have a recovery password sent. Try to create strong yet memorable passwords. You can use any snippet you can think of and assemble them piece by piece into a whole to create a strong password you'll remember.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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    Yes No
    Not Helpful 11 Helpful 19
  • Question
    How do I change my password if my account has been hacked?
    Community Answer
    Visit https://login.yahoo.com/forgot? and follow the prompts to create a new password and gain access to your account.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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      Tips

      • If you don't have the option to change your password, you might have a Yahoo! Account Key active. If this is the case, you'll need to disable it. [2] On desktop, you can do this by going to your account's Security page and clicking Turn off Account Key > Turn off > Turn off again. On mobile, open the menu and tap Account Key under your email address, then tap Manage Account Key > Disable Account Key.
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      Warnings

      • If you don't have access to your phone, you won't be able to reset your Yahoo! Mail password.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://help.yahoo.com/kb/reset-yahoo-password-sln27051.html
      2. ↑ https://help.yahoo.com/kb/disable-sln25781.html

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