After creating your email account in cPanel, you may find yourself needing to change the email account password. This tutorial will take you through all the steps required to do so.
There are two ways to change your email password. Your chosen method will depend on whether or not you know your current password:
- Current password unknown - You can only change your email password via cPanel.
- Current password known - You can use either cPanel or webmail to change your password.
We have included instructions for both methods below.
Preparation
- Log in to the cPanel dashboard, or the webmail account depending on your chosen method.
- Ensure you have a pen and paper or some other method of recording your new password safely.
How to change your email password in cPanel
The first step is to access the email account administration area screen by clicking on the Email Accounts icon.
This is boxed red in the image under the Mail section of cPanel.
As you can see on the next screen, there are various actions you can take, including the option to change your password, as shown edged red in the screenshot.
This is the option we need.
Once you click the “Password” option, a new section will expand below, allowing you to set a new password.
You will need to confirm the password by entering it a second time. You will see a “strength” field, which will show a number between 0 and 100, indicating the complexity of your password.
The higher the strength, the safer your password will be. By default, cPanel will not let you set a password with a strength lower than 40, but your web hosting provider may have changed this to require a stronger password.
If you wish for cPanel to auto-generate a strong password for you, click the “Generate” button next to the first password field. There is a dropdown box with some advanced options. These allow you to specify the length, capital, symbols, and number usage when generating the password.
Once you are happy with your chosen password, click the “Change Password” button.
You should ensure you see the confirmation stating that the password has been changed.
How to Change your Webmail Password
As there are several different webmail clients (SquirrelMail, Horde, and Roundcube), you will need to choose your preferred webmail client.
These can be accessed from within the email section of your cPanel control panel. You will need to choose a default webmail application the first time you access it. Click here for a summary of the differences.
Click your email address in the top-right corner, then click the Password & Security link.
Type your new password in both boxes, then click the Change Password button. See the comments above regarding setting a strong password.
Further Reading
Troubleshooting \ FAQs
Can you Force an Email Password Change?
While you can force a user to change their cPanel Account Password, the same is not true for Email passwords.
That said, you can set a max age for Email account passwords, which upon expiry, will force the user to change it the next time they log in. They will then need to input their old password and their new password.
Do you have to be logged into cPanel to change your email password?
No.
You can also change your email password via webmail.
Do you need to know your email password to change it?
No. There are two ways to change your password.
- Password Unknown - You can reset your email password in cPanel.
- Password Known - You may also reset or change your password via the cPanel webmail interface.
Is cPanel Webmail password recovery possible? Can I check my email account password in cPanel?
No.
Please reset or change your email account password as per the instructions above. There is no way to see your email password in cPanel.