How do I reset a WorkSpaces password?

Resolution

Reset a forgotten or expired password as a WorkSpaces Personal user

If you're a WorkSpaces Personal user and your password is expired or you forgot your password, then see (Optional) Change your password.

Note: If you don't see the password reset request email in your inbox, then check your spam and junk folders. If you still don't see the password reset request email, then contact your WorkSpaces administrator to check that your AWS account user email address is accurate.

When you reset your password, you might receive the following error: "We couldn't update your password. The token that you have provided is invalid or has expired. Please generate another one." To resolve this issue, use a different browser, or turn on incognito or private browsing mode.

If your WorkSpace is registered with an AD Connector directory, then the Forgot Password? link isn't available in the WorkSpaces client. You also can't access the Forgot Password? link if you're based in the AWS GovCloud (US-West) AWS Region. To change your password, you must first connect to the WorkSpace. Or, contact your administrator to reset the password from the Active Directory domain controller.

Change or reset a password when you're connected to the WorkSpaces client as a WorkSpace Personal user

If you're already connected to a WorkSpace as a WorkSpace Personal user, then complete the following steps to change or reset your password.

Windows WorkSpace

Complete the following steps:

1. Open your WorkSpaces client.
2. In the navigation pane, choose View, and then choose Send Ctrl + Alt + Delete.
3. Choose Change a password.
4. Enter the old password and new password, and then confirm the new password.
5. Choose the right arrow next to the Confirm password field.
6. Choose OK.

Linux WorkSpace

Complete the following steps:

1. Open the Linux WorkSpace.
2. Open the terminal.
3. Enter the passwd command.
4. When prompted, enter your current password.
5. Enter your new password, and then confirm the new password.

After you update your password, you receive the following message: "passwd: password updated successfully".

Use the AWS Management Console, Windows PowerShell, or the AWS CLI as an administrator

Important: If you used quick setup to launch your WorkSpaces, then the first account that you created is your admin account. If you use the AWS Directory Service console or the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) to reset the user password, then you might receive the following error: "User: username does not exist". If you receive this error, then use the WorkSpaces client to change your password.

If you use Simple AD, then you can't use Windows PowerShell or the AWS CLI to reset the password for users in specific AD groups. For more information, see ResetUserPassword.

To reset user passwords, administrators must be part of the Domain Admins group or have password reset permissions. If you use an on-premises Microsoft Active Directory and don't have access to the domain controller, then take the following actions to reset your password:

• Install the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT).
• Activate the "Active Directory Users and Computers" Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in or use the Set-ADAccountPassword Windows PowerShell script. For more information about the Windows PowerShell script, see Set-ADAccountPassword on the Microsoft website.

AWS Management Console

Use the Directory Service console to reset your user's password.

Windows PowerShell

Use Windows PowerShell to reset your user's password.

AWS CLI

Use the AWS CLI to reset a user's password.

Note: If you receive errors when you run AWS CLI commands, then see Troubleshoot AWS CLI errors. Also, make sure that you're using the most recent AWS CLI version.

To use the AWS Management Console or the AWS CLI, the AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) user must have the ds:ResetUserPassword and ds:DescribeDirectories permissions.

Use Active Directory Administration Tools as an administrator

Note: You must have directory administrator account credentials to complete the following steps.

To use Active Directory Administration Tools to reset a password, complete the following steps:

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console.
2. Launch the EC2 Windows instance in the same Region as your directory service.
   Note: Join the instance to your AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory or your Simple AD. Use the instance as a directory management server.
3. Install the Active Directory Administration Tools.
4. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.
5. Expand your domain, and then choose Users.
6. Identify the WorkSpaces user. Open the context (right-click) menu for the user, and then choose Reset Password.
   Note: Make sure that the new password aligns with the password policies in your Active Directory.