It’s easy to forget one’s own password on the best of days and that isn’t something that changes when we’re setting up a new project and going through the process of an Umbraco installation.

The first user of any Umbraco installation is the default admin user. At this stage of the installation, we’re fully prepared with both a complex and unique password that can sit safely in our password manager as we continue forward, right?  

Well, if you fall into the other camp that is often scurrying around trying to scribble down the ‘temporary’ password that will be the placeholder until you’re all set up and ready, then you also know that sometimes things are forgotten.

Never fear! It might seem like a monumental failure, but the steps to reset are relatively simple, and we have you covered whether you’re working on v9 and above, or an even earlier version.

Take note: Before we go any further, it must be highlighted that when making changes to a live production site or a site currently upgrading, there are security issues to consider and plan for.  Resetting the password to default opens your webpage to be hijacked by anyone who accesses it in that time so please be cautious when preparing to undertake the below steps.

Umbraco V7 + V8

The below three steps will get you up and running again for Umbraco version 7 and 8:

1. First, you want to clear the configuration status in the web.config file. This will later trigger the installation wizard when you launch your site again in the browser. Your web.config file should look like this:

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2. Using SQL Server Management Studio, open the database and find the ‘umbracoUser’ table. Once you’ve found it, you’ll need to do the following, depending on the version of Umbraco you’re using:
   1. Umbraco v7: find the user with the column id of '0', clear the field and change the userpassword field to 'default'
   2. Umbraco v8: find the user with the column id of '-1', clear the field and change the userpassword field to 'default'
3. The next and final step requires you to open your browser, navigate to your web page and you’ll see the installer launch. You can now enter your new details and then you’re set!mbraco v7: find the user with the column id of ‘0’, clear the field and change the userpassword field to ‘default’

V9 and beyond

The below two steps will get you up and running again for Umbraco version 9 upwards:

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1. Firstly, you need to clear the connection string to the database in the configuration file (we are doing this to trigger the installation wizard and you will need this string value on the final stage). Your appsettings configuration file should look something like this:

2. The second and final step requires opening your browser and navigating to your webpage. This will now trigger the installer to launch. Here you can enter your new details, using the original connection string that was previously set.

Hopefully this has resolved any issues or curiosities when it comes to forgotten passwords. Mistakes happen and thankfully Umbraco users have a few, simple steps to reverse those actions. As stated before, always take caution when undertaking these types of procedures as they do come with security issues.

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If you would like help or advice with anything Umbraco related, then reach out to us!