[Fix] “Your Password has Expired and Must be Changed” Error Message on Login Screen in Windows

If you are receiving “Your password has expired and must be changed” error message on Login Screen in your Windows device and you regularly need to change the expired password, this article will help you in fixing this annoying issue.

[Problem 1] Your Password has Expired and Must be Changed

Recently when I tried to log into my Windows 11 device, Windows displayed following error message on the Login Screen (also known as Welcome Screen, Sign-in Screen and Logon Screen):

Following screenshot shows the error message displaying on the login screen:

There were 2 buttons given to select: OK and Cancel. If I clicked on “Cancel” button, Windows re-loaded the login screen and then same error message appeared again while trying to login.

If I clicked on OK button, Windows asked me to create a new password for my account.

This problem might occur regularly after a few days in all versions of Windows including Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows 11.

[Problem 2] Consider Changing Your Password Notification

Before the password expires, Windows starts displaying a notification just after you sign into your user account which is as following:

This notification is displayed by “Windows Logon Reminder” service and you start receiving this notification before a few days of password expiration.

[Problem Reason] The User Account is Set for Automatic Password Expiry

It happens when your user account is set for auto password expiry. Many times the system administrator applies automatic password expiry policy for all users and when the password expires, the users are forced to set a new password for their accounts.

By default, the password expiry days are set to 42 days and users are required to change their password after every 42 days.

I noticed that the issue occurred in my Windows 11 device which was installed using a bootable USB drive created using Rufus utility. May be Rufus tool implemented password expiry policy while Windows setup. It might happened as newer versions of Rufus utility allow users to automatically create a local user account in the new Windows installation. May be Rufus utility applied the password expiry policy while automatically creating the new local user account so that the user can change the predefined password.

More Info: [Tip] Create Unattended Windows 11 Setup with All Requirements Checks Disabled

[Workaround] Change the Expired Password at Login Screen

This is a temporary workaround for people who can’t follow the solutions given later in this article.

When the error message is displayed on login screen, click on OK button and type a new password on the next screen and press Enter key. It’ll create a new password for your user account and the error message will stop displaying for a few days.

PS: You can use the same existing password. Windows will not check whether the new and old passwords are same.

[Solution 1] Set Your User Account to Never Expire Password

You can customize your user account setting and set it to never expire the password. Once you do it, Windows will never expire your account password and you’ll never receive the “Your password has expired and must be changed” error message on login screen.

1. First of all, we’ll need to open Computer Management window which can be opened using any of following methods:

Right-click on Computer icon on Desktop and select Manage option, it’ll open “Computer Management” window.

OR

You can also open it by giving compmgmt.msc command in RUN dialog box or Start Search box.

OR

Windows 8 and later users can also open it using Win+X menu. Right-click on Start button or press WIN+X keys together and select “Computer Management” option.

2. Now go to “Local Users and Groups -> Users” section. In right-side pane, double-click on your user account which is having password expiry issue.

It’ll open account’s Properties window.

3. Now enable “Password never expires” option and apply the changes.

That’s it. Now your account password will never expire and you’ll no longer need to change the password at regular intervals.

[Solution 2] Permanently Disable Automatic Password Expiry Feature in Windows

You can also permanently disable or turn off the automatic password expiry policy in your Windows device. It’ll allow all user accounts to use their password forever without any need of changing it at regular interval. The password will never expire for any user account.

You can disable the password expiry feature using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) or Local Security Policy Editor (secpol.msc) as mentioned in following steps:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box, type Secpol.msc and press Enter. It’ll open Security Policy Editor.

2. Now go to “Security Settings -> Account Policies -> Password Policy“.

3. In right-side pane, double-click on “Maximum password age” option. By default, it’s set to 42 days.

4. In “Maximum password age properties” window, set the days value to 0 and apply the changes.

PS: You can set the days value between 1 and 999 to apply automatic password expiry days amount. Since we are setting its value to 0, it’ll completely disable password expiry feature.

Once you disable password expiry policy, your user account password will never expire.

NOTE: You can also use gpedit.msc to change the same policy. Just go to “Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Account Policies -> Password Policy” page and customize “Maximum password age” option.

Turn Off “Consider Changing Your Password” Notification in Windows

If you only want to turn off the annoying “Consider changing your password” notification from Windows Logon Reminder service, click on 3-dots button present on the notification pop-up and select “Turn off all notifications from Windows logon reminder” option.

It’ll remove the annoying password expiry notifications from Windows Logon Reminder permanently.

Also Check:

How to Enable / Activate Hidden Built-in Administrator Account in Windows

[Fix] “Windows cannot Change the Password” Error Message in User Accounts