How to Fix: Disable Windows 10 Password Reminder

Infopackets Reader Dan A. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I upgraded to Windows 10 last year and now all the sudden I keep receiving popup notifications from the Windows 10 Action Centre that my Windows 10 password is about to expire. I have never received this password expire notification before. How can I disable these notifications? "

My response:

I also started receiving these notifications some time in the last two weeks and I'm not sure why. Perhaps there was an update to Windows 10 that caused these notifications to appear.

How to Fix: Disable Windows 10 Password Reminder

There are a few ways you can disable (and re-enable) the 'your password will expire' notifications - either using the command prompt, or through "Local Users and Groups" (lusrmgr.msc). Both options require Administrator access. Note that Option #2 (Local Users and Groups) may not be available to Windows 10 Home users, as previous editions of Windows only made this feature available in Pro editions only. If that is the case, the Windows 10 Home users will have to follow Option #1 below.

Option #1: Disable Password Expiration Notification using the Command Prompt

If you are the only one that uses the PC, OR if you share the PC but don't want passwords to expire for all user accounts on the machine, the easiest way to disable the 'your password is about to expire' notifications is through an elevated command prompt. Doing it this way will apply to most home PC users, as the only time passwords are ever set to expire is in a corporate environment (most of the time).

To disable the 'your password is about to expire' notification for all users on the PC:

1. Click Start, then type in "CMD.EXE" (no quotes); wait for CMD.EXE or Command Prompt to appear in the list, then right click it and select "Run as Administrator".
    
2. If you want to disable password expiry for ALL users on the PC, highlight the text below using your mouse:
   
   wmic UserAccount set PasswordExpires=False
   echo this is a dummy line
   
   If you want to disable password expiry for one user at a time, highlight the text below using your mouse and change 'username' to match the target user name you want to modify:
   
   wmic UserAccount where Name='username' set PasswordExpires=False
   echo this is a dummy line
    
3. Right click over top of the highlighted text above, then select "Copy" from the dialogue menu.
    
4. Next, right click in the middle of the command prompt window and select "Paste" from the dialogue menu. The text you copied in Step #2 should now be output to the command line, and the expired password notification should be disabled.

Note: if you want to revert back to using expired passwords, copy and paste the following into the command prompt:

wmic UserAccount set PasswordExpires=True
echo this is a dummy line

Option #2: Disable Password Expiration Notification using the GUI

If you want to disable or re-enable the 'your password is about to expire' notification on a per user basis, you can also manage this through the Local Users and Groups Manager, which does not use the command prompt. I am however not 100% certain if the lusrmgr.msc command (below) is available with Windows 10 Home; if not, you will have to use Option #1 above.

To do so:

1. Click Start, then type in "lusrmgr.msc" (no quotes); wait for "lusrmgr" or "Local Users and Groups Manager" to appear in the list, then click it.
    
2. The Local Users and Groups Manager window should appear. Click the "Users" folder near the top left of the window.
    
3. In the middle of the window you will see a list of user names. Double click a user name to edit it.
    
4. Check mark the "Password never expires" to disable the "your password is about to expire" notification. Un-check mark it to re-enable the notifications.
    
5. Click Apply, then OK, then close all the Local Users and Groups Manager windows.

I hope that helps.

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About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.