There are 6 ways you can change your user account type to an administrative account, and vice versa, in Windows 11. This will allow you to control which user accounts have the authority to make changes to your machine, and which don’t. You can also change your account type from standard to administrator if you experience a lot of User Account Control (UAC) prompts, such as the one below:
Types of User Accounts in Windows 11
There are primarily 2 types of user accounts in Windows 11 (and Windows 10 as well): Standard user account and administrative user account. As we mentioned earlier, both have different kinds of authority and privileges over the computer. These types of accounts are not defined by the preconfigured user groups in Windows 11, which we will be discussing further in this post.
Types of User Accounts in Windows 11 How to Change User Account Type in Windows 11 Change User Account Type using Settings App Change User Account Type using Control Panel Change User Account Type using User Accounts (netplwiz) Change User Account Type using Computer Management Change User Account Type using Command Prompt Change User Account Type from Standard to Administrator using Command Prompt Change User Account Type from Administrator to Standard using Command Prompt Change User Account Type using Windows PowerShell Change User Account Type from Standard to Administrator using PowerShell Change User Account Type from Administrator to Standard using PowerShell Final thoughts
Standard account: A standard user account in Windows has limited privileges to perform tasks. For example, they cannot change the properties of other user accounts, or install computer-wide software, etc. When you create a new user account in Windows 11, it is a standard account by default, which then needs to be manually changed (using one of the methods given below) to an administrator account if required. Note: An administrative account and built-in administrator account are two different things. Administrative account: Administrative accounts have complete control over the computer, as well as the other user accounts on it. The first account created while installing Windows 11 always has administrative privileges and is a member of the Administrators group. This can be downgraded to a standard user later.
How to Change User Account Type in Windows 11
Change User Account Type using Settings App
To change another user account type, you must first be logged in from an Administrator account. Only then will you have the privilege to change another account’s properties. Here are the steps to change a user account’s type through the Settings app: The account will now switch its type to the one you have selected. You can also apply the same method to switch the user account type back if ever required.
Change User Account Type using Control Panel
If you are more comfortable using the traditional Control Panel in Windows, below are the steps to change the user account type using it: The account type will now be changed and so will its privileges.
Change User Account Type using User Accounts (netplwiz)
Netplwiz is a command you can enter into Run that will launch the User Accounts window directly. It can then be used to change the type of any account, as long as you are logged in from an administrative account. Here is how to use it: The user account type will now be successfully changed.
Change User Account Type using Computer Management
Another great way to change a user account type is through its Group Management. The type of account is defined by which group it belongs to, as the account inherits its properties, such as privilege level, from the group. You can use the Computer Management console to define which user(s) is a part of which group, hence controlling its type. As you may have noticed, since we changed the type of the account to administrator, we removed the Users group from the list. We shall be doing vice versa if we want to make the user account of standard type – Enter Users in Step 5 and remove the Administrators group in Step 7.
Change User Account Type using Command Prompt
You can also change the account type using the Command Line Interface (CLI) in Windows. This can be done through Command Prompt as well as Windows PowerShell. The logic for this method is to make a user account a member of the Administrators group to give it administrative privileges or remove it from the group to make it a standard user account type.
Change User Account Type from Standard to Administrator using Command Prompt
Here is how to change the user account type from standard to administrator in Windows 11 using Command Prompt: The user account will now be added to the Administrators group and hence become an administrative account type.
Change User Account Type from Administrator to Standard using Command Prompt
Here is how you can change a user account from an administrator account to a standard account in Windows 11 using the Command Prompt: Launch the Command Prompt with administrative privileges and use the following command to remove the user account from the Administrators group. Remember to replace AccName with the name of the user account that you want to convert to a standard account.
Change User Account Type using Windows PowerShell
Change User Account Type from Standard to Administrator using PowerShell
You can also change the user account type from standard to administrator and vice versa. Below are the steps to convert a standard user account in Windows 11 to an administrator account: The user account has now been successfully added to the Administrators group, meaning it has been converted to an administrator account type.
Change User Account Type from Administrator to Standard using PowerShell
To make an account type as standard, you need to remove it from the Administrators group. This is how to do it using Windows PowerShell: Launch PowerShell with administrative privileges and then use the following command to remove the account from the Administrators group. Remember to replace AccName with the name of the account that you want to change to a standard account type:
Final thoughts
You can change the user account type using any of these methods. Some may prefer doing so through the Legacy Control Panel, some through the Command Prompt, and some through any 4 other methods. Some may prefer a single-lined cmdlet in the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell over navigating here and there within the operating system. Therefore, it is up to our readers to choose the method they would like. Regardless, all of the 6 methods to change the user account type in Windows 11 discussed in this article have the same results.
