How to Log In as Administrator in Windows 11

The administrator account is the most powerful account on a Windows 11 computer. Logging into an administrator account gives you additional permissions to make changes to the system, install and uninstall programs, and manage user accounts.

By default, every Windows 11 computer has at least one administrator account. The account is created automatically during the installation process and is given full permission to change the system. This guide will show you how to log in as an administrator in Windows 11.

Note: To use these methods, you must first be logged in as an administrator user. There’s no way to log in as an administrator if you don’t have an administrator account or don’t know the existing administrator account’s password.

Set the standard user account to administrator

If you have a standard user account, you can set it to an administrator. This method is usually used when the hidden administrator account is disabled.

1. Click Start, type “control panel” in the Start Search box, and press Enter.

   

2. In the Control Panel window, click User Accounts.

   

3. In the User Accounts window, click User Accounts.

   

4. Five options will appear. Click Change your account type.

   

5. Select Administrator, and then click Change Account Type. This will immediately change your basic user account to an administrator without any confirmation windows or the need to be signed in to the account you want to modify.

   

Create a new local account and set it as administrator

If you don’t have an existing account with administrator rights, you can create a new local account and set it as administrator. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then select Settings.

   

2. In Settings, click Accounts.

   

3. Click Family & other users.

   

4. Under Other users, click Add account.

   

5. You can log in with a Microsoft account or without one. If you want to log in with a Microsoft account, enter your email address and click Next. If you don’t want to log in with a Microsoft account, click I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.

   

6. In the next window, click Add a user without a Microsoft account.

   

7. Fill in the Who’s going to use this PC section and the Make it secure section, then click Next.

   

8. Your local account is now created.
9. To set the account as administrator, go to the Family & other users window, then click the account you just created.
10. Click Change account type.

    

11. In the Change account type window, click Administrator, then click OK.

Enable the hidden administrator account

Each Windows 11 computer has a hidden administrator account. This account is created automatically during the installation, and it has full access to all of the files and settings on the computer.

By default, the administrator account is hidden and disabled. To log in as administrator, you must first enable the hidden administrator account. There are different ways to enable this account, below are four methods:

Via the Command Prompt

1. Click Start, and type “cmd” in the search box. Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as administrator.

   

2. In the command prompt, type net the following command and press Enter.

   net user administrator /active:yes

   

3. Exit the command prompt and press the Windows key, then click the user icon in the lower-left corner of the screen.

   

4. Now you should see the Administrator account. Click on it to log in.

Using the Local Users and Groups

1. Click Start, type “lusrmgr.msc” in the search box, and press Enter.

   

2. In the Local Users and Groups window, click on Users in the left pane.

   

3. Right-click Administrator and select Properties.

   

4. In the Administrator Properties window, uncheck the Account is disabled option and click OK.

   

5. Exit the Local Users and Groups window.
6. You should now be able to see the Administrator account when you click the user icon in the lower-left corner of the Start screen.

Using Registry Editor

This method is only available in Windows 11 Pro and higher. If you have another version of Windows 11, you’ll need to use one of the other methods.

1. Click Start, type “regedit” in the search box, and press Enter.
2. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogonSpecialAccountsUserList

   

3. Right-click UserList and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. For the new value, type Administrator and press Enter.

   

5. Double-click on the new Administrator value and set the Value data to 1, then click OK.

   

6. Exit Registry Editor.
7. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
8. You should now be able to see the Administrator account when you click on the user icon in the lower-left corner of the Start screen.

Using the Group Policy Editor

This method also isn’t available for windows 11 home version and below. However, for the windows 11 pro and enterprise versions, you can follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type “gpedit.msc” in the search box, and press Enter.

   

2. In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following path:

   Computer ConfigurationWindows SettingsSecurity SettingsLocal PoliciesSecurity Options

3. In the right pane, double-click Accounts: Administrator account status.
4. In the Accounts: Administrator account status window, select Enabled and click OK.

   

5. Exit the Group Policy Editor.
6. You should now be able to see the Administrator account when you click the user icon in the lower-left corner of the Start screen.