Don’t Get Locked Out: How To Change Or Reset Your Email password In Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and More.

Passwords are the first line of protection for your information, and after having been in use for more than sixty years, you’d have thought we had the hang of them. However, a list of the most common passwords in 2022 revealed that the top ten were:

None of those exactly scream “security,” and if you’ve suddenly flushed with nerves after reading that list, it’s probably time to change your password! We know strong passwords are important, so why do so many of us still use such lousy alternatives? What about an email without a phone number attached?

A lot of it seems to come down to memory: strong passwords are easy to forget, and with most people having dozens, if not hundreds, of digital accounts, it can feel impossible to keep track of them all.

So, faced with this, you can either use super-simple passwords (which isn’t really an option), employ a dedicated service to manage your passwords (which comes with its own set of risks), or stick to strong passwords and have a backup plan in place.

This guide is that backup plan, walking you through how to change or reset your email password in Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and more, whether you’re looking to add security or have simply forgotten your email password.

How to Change or Reset Your Email Password in Gmail

Gmail remains one of the most popular email providers, and if you’re looking to change or reset your password, it’s relatively simple to do. First, if you’re using a computer to change your email password, you need to:

• Open your Google Account and sign in if you aren’t already
• Go to “Security”
• Select “Signing in to Google”
• Choose “Password” (you might need to enter your password again)
• Enter your new password
• Select “Change Password”

If you’re using an Android device to change your Gmail password, you need to:

• Open the device’s “Settings”
• Select “Google” then “Manage your Google Account”
• Tap Security
• Navigate to “Signing in to Google”
• Tap “Password” (you might need to sign in)
• Enter your new password
• Tap “Change Password”

To change your Gmail password using an iPhone or iPad:

• Open the Gmail app
• Tap your profile picture or initials
• Select “Google Account”
• Tap “Personal info”
• Navigate to “Basic info”
• Tap “Password”
• Enter your new password
• Select “Change Password”

If you’re changing your password on an Android mobile device or an iPhone, the first letter isn’t case-sensitive when you enter your password.

If you don’t have access to your Gmail account and need to reset your Gmail password on any device, go to Google’s Account Recovery and follow the onscreen instructions. You’ll be required to answer various questions to verify that you are the account owner. When doing so, remember to:

• Answer as many questions as possible and avoid using the “skip” feature. Even if you don’t remember the answer, a good guess is better than nothing.
• Reset your password using a device (computer, phone, or tablet), browser, and location that you normally sign in from.
• Focus on the details. Gmail requires you to be exact, so no typos in your old passwords or security questions.

How to Change or Reset Your Email Password in Yahoo

Yahoo has been one of the go-to email providers for decades, with hundreds of millions of users as of 2022. If you’re one of them and looking to update your email password on a computer or mobile web browser, then you need to:

• Sign in to your Yahoo Account security page
• Click “Change password”
• Enter a new password
• Click “Continue”

If you’re using a Yahoo mobile app to change your email password, you must:

• Tap the menu icon
• Tap “Manage Accounts”
• Click “Account info”
• Tap “Security settings”
• Enter your security code
• Tap “Change password”
• Confirm that you want to change your password
• Enter the new password
• Tap “Continue”

How to Change or Reset Your Email Password for iCloud

Apple’s iCloud email is tied to your Apple account, so changing or resetting your email password means changing your entire account password. That said, it doesn’t make it harder than with other email account providers, and Apple has numerous ways to accomplish it, depending on your situation.

If you’re looking to change your Apple email password on the web, you need to:

• Sign in to appleid.apple.com
• Navigate to the “Sign-In and Security” section
• Click “Password”
• Enter your current password
• Enter your new password and confirm
• Select “Change Password”

To Change your Apple email password on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch:

• Tap Settings
• Tap on your name
• Select “Password & Security”
• Tap “Change Password”
• Enter your current password or device passcode
• Enter your new password and confirm
• Tap “Change” or “Change Password”

To change your email password on an Apple Mac computer, not using a web browser, you can:

• Enter the Apple menu
• Select “System Settings” or “System Preferences”
• Select your name / Apple ID
• Click “Password & Security”
• Choose “Change Password”
• Enter the password for your Mac
• Enter your new password and verify
• Click “Change”

If you need to reset your Apple email password but don’t have a device logged in to your account, you need to use Apple’s “I forgot” site. To do so:

• Navigate to iforgot.apple.com
• Enter your Apple ID
• Click “Continue”
• Select “I need to reset my password”
• Click “Continue”
• Select “Get an email”
  • Navigate to the backup email account associated with your Apple ID
  • Open the email you received from Apple
  • Click “Reset Now”
  • Enter your new password and confirm it
  • Click “Reset Password”
• OR select “Answer security question”
  • Verify your birthday and click “Continue”
  • Answers the security questions you are presented with
  • Click “Continue”
  • Enter your new password and confirm it
  • Click “Reset Password”

How to Change or Reset Your Email Password in Outlook

If you’re an Outlook webmail user, you’ll need to log into your Microsoft account to update your email password. Doing so is relatively simple, just:

• Go to Microsoft account security
• Select “Password security”
• You could be asked to verify your identity with a security code. If you have an email without a phone attached, select to receive the security code by email otherwise, you can use your cell phone.
• Verify your email address or phone number as appropriate
• Click “Send code”
• Enter the code you get
• Select “Submit”
• Enter your current password
• Enter your new password
• Select “Save”

If you don’t remember your Outlook email password and need to reset it, the process is a little longer but still relatively simple. You need to change your Microsoft password, which requires you to:

• Select “Forgot password” at the sign-in page or go to the “Reset password” page and enter your username
• If you have previously associated the account with a phone or alternative email address, you will have access to verification options. If so, select where to send the verification code and click “Next”
• Verify your email address or phone number as appropriate
• Click “Get code”
• Enter the code you get
• Select “Next”
• Enter your new password
• Select “Next”

Spike: A Better Way to Manage Your Email Accounts

Keeping track of all your email passwords can be daunting, and using simple words or phrases isn’t a secure option. The guide above is a great way to change or reset your email password if you’ve forgotten it, but what if you want to access all your email accounts in one place without having to worry about remembering a long list of passwords?

Spike offers a unified inbox that houses all your email messages, from any account, in a single easy-to-use application. That way, you can use strong passwords on your email accounts, keeping them secure while being easy and enjoyable to use for you! What’s more, Spike doesn’t just house your emails; it supercharges them, offering productivity tools like Video Meetings, Tasks & To-Do Lists, Online Notes, Voice Messages, and more without the need for another account (which means one less password to remember!).

Available on Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, and via the web, you never have to worry about trying to remember passwords while logging into email accounts on different devices again. Everything is automatically synced across every platform, so you can think less about how to log in and more about the important stuff.
Read more about Spike’s security