Whether or not you share your computer with other people, maintain separate user accounts on Windows it can be a real lifesaver. Creating a user account is a simple and equally easy process convert it to an administrator account. Which could act as a backup plan in case you run into problems while trying out new features, especially if they’re work-related and require a Microsoft account.
To elevate a user account to administrator status you can choose between several methods valid for both Windows 10 and Windows 11 and accessible through Settings, Control Panel, Computer Management, Netplwiz command, Command Prompt or PowerShell.
However, it is essential to lend be careful when considering this change, especially if you use a shared computer. Converting a user account to an administrator account can ensure theunlimited access to system settings and sensitive data. Privilege that could pose security risks. If necessary, however, you can at any time disable the user or administrator account to restore the previous configuration.
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1. Change account from user to administrator with the Settings app
Act from Windows 10 or 11 “Settings”. is an easy way to change an account from user status to administrator status. The essential prerequisite to proceed with this change is to have administrator privileges on the computer.
Then, press the key combination “Windows+I” to open the app “Settings“. Select the option “Account” from the left column and then press on the box “Family” o “Other users” in the section “Account settings”.
On the page that opens, click on the drop-down menu next to the standard user account on which you intend to make the change. Press the ” buttonChange account type” and press “Yes” to allow the “Settings” app to make changes.
In the window “Change account type“, use the drop-down menu to select “Administrator“. At the end, press the button “OK“. This will update the status of the standard user in an administrator account.
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2. How to switch from user to administrator account via Control Panel
Another method to convert a user account to an administrator involves using Control Panel. Click the Windows 10 or Windows 11 Start button, type “Control Panel” in the search bar and press “Sending” from the keyboard.
When the window opens “Control Panel“, to select “User accounts“. Then, click on the item “Change account type“.
In the window that opens, select the user account you want to edit. Then, press on the wording “Change account type“.
All that remains is to tick the “Administrator” and click on the ” button againChange account type” to confirm the change.
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3. Convert a user to an administrator account using Computer Management
Alternatively, you can use the Computer Management app. This is a slightly more complex method but which ultimately leads to the same result. However, it doesn’t work if you use the Home version of Windows 10 or 11.
What you need to do is click on the Start button, type “Computer management” in Windows search and press “Sending”. When the Computer Management window opens, you need to select “Local users and groups” from the left column and “Users” from the central column.
Subsequently, double-click the user account to change to administrator account from the central column. When the account properties window appears, go to the “Member of“.
From here you will notice that the selected user account appears only as a member of the “Users” group. Next, press the “add“. To type “Administrators” in the text field and select the ” buttonOK“.
From the account properties window, select “Administrators“, then press the “” buttonOK” to add the user account to the Administrators group.
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4. The Netplwiz command to switch between user account and administrator account
Using Netplwiz offers an experience similar to that of Computer Management but within an environment with a simplified interface.
The first thing to do is press the keyboard combination “Windows+R” which opens the “Run” dialog box. Once that’s done, just type “netplwiz” and press “Ctrl+Shift+Enter” to launch the command with administrator privileges.
From the window “User accounts“, select the account you want to upgrade from user to administrator account and click on the “”Property“. In the window that opens, go to the “” tabGroups“, to select “Administrator“, then confirm with the ” buttonOK“.
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5. How to use Command Prompt to change user to administrator account
You can also use Command Prompt to change a standard user account to administrator.
To open the Command Prompt, you need to click on the Start button Windows 10 e Windows 11to type “cmd” in the search bar and select the item “Run as administrator“.
In the command prompt, type the following command, then press “Sending”:
net localgroup administrators “UserAccountName” /add
Of course, you need to change the text in quotes to the username of the account on your computer.
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6. PowerShell to change account from user to administrator
The last method available to change the privileges of an account on Windows 10 or 11 is to rely on PowerShell. After clicking the Start button, type “windows PowerShell” in Windows search and select “Run as administrator“.
Then, type the following command in Windows PowerShell. Then press “Enter”:
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators” -Member “username”
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