An Administrator account in Windows offers you plenty of benefits that Standard user accounts do not. That includes the ability to change security settings, install software for all users, access all the files on the device, make changes to other user accounts, and lots more. While new user accounts created in Windows 11 are Standard by default, you can change them to Administrator at any time.

We will show you how to change the administrator on your Windows 11 computer in this article. With our guide, you can assign admin privileges to any user on a Windows 11 PC so they can also carry out the same changes that you can. We will also tell you about all important things to remember before granting administrative privileges to a standard user account. So let’s get started.

  • Changing Account Type in Windows 11: Things to Remember
  • Method 1: Change Account Type via Settings
  • Method 2: Change Administrator Account via Control Panel
  • Method 3: Change Account Type Using User Accounts Panel
  • Method 4: Change Administrator Account Using Command Prompt
  • Method 5: Change Account Type Using PowerShell

Changing Account Type in Windows 11: Things to Remember

  • As mentioned above, when you create a new account in Windows 11, it defaults to the “Standard” type, which comes with limited privileges. A Standard account user can run existing applications (provided they were installed for all users), perform basic tasks, and modify system settings only related to their account.
  • On the other hand, admins have far-reaching powers that let them make virtually any system-wide change affecting all user accounts. An account with administrative privileges can carry out many changes, ranging from software installation to hardware addition, from accessing protected system files to changing security settings, etc.
  • Another important thing to note here is that only users with administrative rights on Windows 11 can change the account type of other users. So whether you want to elevate a Standard user to Admin or demote an Administrator account to a Standard user, you need to log in from an Administrator account to be able to do that.
  • Finally, the original user account in Windows 11 always has administrative rights by default. To revoke those rights, you first need to create another admin account on your computer. Then, you can log in from the new admin account to change the original user account from Administrator to Standard.

Now that you know the basics about the two types of user accounts on Windows 11, let’s check out how you can change an account from Standard to Administrator.

The easiest way to grant or revoke administrator permission for an account is through Windows 11 Settings. Here’s how:

  • Open your PC Settings using the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut Windows key + I. On the Settings panel, click on “Accounts” on the left sidebar and select “Family & other users” on the right pane.

You can also change a Standard user to Administrator from the Control Panel on your Windows 11 computer. This is how you do it:

  • Open Control Panel on your Windows 11 PC. To do that, search for “control” (without quotes) in the Windows search bar and select “Control Panel” from the results.

  • Now, click on “Change the account type“.

The third method to change administrator in Windows 11 is through the User Accounts Panel. Follow the guide below to learn how:

  • In the User Accounts window, select the account you want to grant Administrator rights to, and click on “Properties“. This will open the Properties window for that account.

The Command Prompt is yet another way you can change administrator on a Windows 11 computer. Here’s how you go about it:

  • First off, open a Command Prompt window in Admin mode. To do that, search for “cmd” (without quotes) in the Windows search bar and select “Run as Administrator“.

Another way to change a Standard user account to Administrator in Windows 11 is by using Windows PowerShell. Here’s how you do it:

  • Now copy + paste the following command and press Enter: Add-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators” -Member “Demo User”.

A Standard account is all you need when handing over your PC to a child or friend. That ensures they won’t have the ability to snoop through your files or change settings that could wreak havoc on your device. However, if you are convinced that you need to elevate someone’s user account to administrator, you now know how to do that. On the subject of user accounts in Windows 11, you can also check out some of our other related tutorials, including how to remove your Microsoft account from your Windows 11 PC and how to change your computer’s name in Windows 11.