If you’ve been using Windows 8, you are most likely familiar with different user accounts types. In short, a user account is your digital identity when you sign into a PC. In Windows 10, you can sign in with a Microsoft account to sync your settings, apps, pictures, documents and other stuff across PCs, mobile phones and tablets via the cloud. If on the other hand, you only use your PC for local purposes and don’t want your data stored in the cloud, you can opt for a Local account. In Windows 10 Microsoft has collated all user management settings in one central location, making it more more intuitive and sensible to manage them. We take a look at how to setup user accounts in Windows 10 and manage them easily without a fuss.
User Accounts in Windows 10
There are two main user accounts in Windows 10 as I mentioned earlier.
Microsoft Account
A Microsoft account is an account created with a Hotmail, Outlook.com or Live.com email address and used to sign in to Microsoft services on Windows 8 and Windows 10 PCs and devices. Setting up a Microsoft account offers a number of advantages:
- It is free and easy to set up.
- You can access, save, share and sync your documents, photos, music, and video files by signing in with the same Microsoft account on multiple devices.
- You can download, install and restore Windows Store apps.
- You can sync all your Windows settings across devices by signing in with the same Microsoft account.
- You can verify your identity using two-step verification to stay secure.
- You can apply better parental controls and kids monitoring when you set up a child account using Microsoft credentials.
- You can access all your up to date notes and reminders on any device from the OneNote app.
- You can sync your Xbox Music Pass collection and playlists across devices.
- You can use your Windows phone as a controller for your Xbox console.
Local Account
A Local account is created with a single email address and an optional password and allows access to only one account on one PC. The disadvantage of using a local account is that you cannot do many of the things mentioned above including syncing files and downloading apps.
How to Access All the User Account Settings in Windows 10
Although you can and have usually accessed your Windows User accounts from the Control Panel, in Windows 10 its much more easier to find them in the Settings Center. Just go to Settings in the Start menu and select Accounts to get there. In the Accounts screen, you have a few tabs on the left pane that hold all the user accounts related data.
Your Account Tab
The Your account tab is where you manage your Microsoft account, verify your PC, change your profile picture, or sign in with a local account. Here, you can also use your web cam to add a new profile picture to your account and set up additional Microsoft accounts, or work or school accounts.
Sign in Options Tab
This section is where you set up your PC to show the sign in screen when you are away or your PC wakes up from Sleep mode. This is also where you change your account password, set up a PIN to sign in to Windows apps and services, or create a picture password. If your PC comes with a fingerprint or card reader, you will also see sign-ins for those options as well.
- Tip: Using a PIN instead of a password is not advisable as it is less secure, so take care when using this method of sign in.
- Tip: Creating a picture password requires using a favorite photo and adding a series of swipes, circles and gestures to sign in. This method works best if you are using a touchscreen device to sign in.
Work Access Tab
This section lets you connect your PC to a computer at work or school so that you can easily access shared apps, network or email. You will need your work or school account credentials to set this up and some tech support from the school management or workplace.
Family & Other Users Tab
This is the section where you add a family member or non family member to your PC. You can create an account for your kids and set up parental controls, or you can give access to adults and non family members. The set up process is fairly simple and the wizard will make the whole process as easy as pie.
Here is where you also set up Assigned Access which can restrict an account’s access to the the apps in the Windows App Store to just one app. This feature will probably come in handy when you want to restrict your kids from accessing apps from the Windows Store.
Sync Your Settings Tab
If you signed in to your PC using your Microsoft account, here is where you can enable or disable syncing of various Windows settings. You can switch off the Sync settings button at the top to completely turn off all sync options or you can individually turn off the Theme, Web Browser, Passwords, Language preferences, Ease of Access and Other Windows Settings options. Personally I switched off just the Theme syncing options as I wanted to have a different Windows theme on my laptop and desktop PC.
Now let's take a look at some of the key things you might want to change in your Windows user accounts:
How To Set up a Child Account in Windows 10
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the left pane, select the Family & other users tab.
3. On the right pane, click Add a Family member.
4. In the wizard that pops up, select Add a child and in the text box that follows, enter the child’s email address. If the child does not have an email address you can click The person I want to invite doesn't have an email address link to create one.
5. Click Next and then confirm the email address.
6. Your child must now accept the invitation (which will be sent to their email account) within 14 days.
7. In the next screen, the child can then sign in with their Microsoft user name and password to see who is in the list of family members. The child can also remove him/her self by clicking the Remove link here.
The child will now be listed as a family member on the Your account section.
How to Set up an Adult Family Member account in Windows 10
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the left pane, select the Family & other users tab.
3. On the right pane, click Add a Family member.
4. In the wizard that pops up, select Add an adult and in the text box that follows, enter the adult’s email address. If the adult does not have an email address you can click the The person I want to invite doesn't have an email address link to create one.
5. Click Next and then confirm the email address.
6. The individual must now accept the invitation (which will be sent to their email account) within 14 days.
7. In the next screen, the person can sign in with their Microsoft user name and password to see who is in the list of family members.
The person will now be listed as a family member on the Your account section.
To Add a Local Account in Windows 10
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the left pane, select the Family & other users tab.
3. On the right pane, click Add someone else to this PC.
4. In the wizard that pops up, enter the Microsoft email address of the person you want to add. If they don’t have a Microsoft account, click The person I want to invite doesn't have an email address link to create one.
5. In the next screen, click the Add a user without a Microsoft account link and click Next.
6. In the next screen, enter a username, password and password hint in the respective text boxes and click Next.
- Tip: It is not compulsory to use a password for a local account, but is still advisable to do so.
Your local user account is now created with Standard user permissions. A Standard user can use most of the apps on the PC and can change their system settings( but not others.)
How to Delete a User Account
If your child or family member has just bought a new PC or is no longer using your PC, you may want to delete the user account you created in your Windows 10 PC. Before you delete a user account keep in mind the following points:
- You must be signed in as the Administrator to delete the account.
- You must ensure that the user account you want to delete is signed out.
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the left pane, select the Family & other users tab.
3. In the Other users section, select the user account you want to delete and click Remove.
4. In the next screen, confirm the deletion by clicking Delete account and data.
To Delete a Family Member User Account
1. Sign in to your Microsoft account.
2. Click the Remove link next to the or above the account you want to remove.
3. In the next screen, select the user account and click Remove.
How to Check if You are Signed in to a Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10
If you are not sure whether you are signed in to your PC with your Microsoft account or your local account: here’s what you need to do:
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the Your account tab, on the right pane, if you see a Microsoft email account just below your name, you are signed in via a Microsoft account. Instead if you see the words Local account under your name, you are signed in via a local account.
How to Convert a Local Account to a Microsoft Account in Windows 10
If you set up your PC with a local account initially but wanted to make the switch to a Microsoft account, here’s what you need to do:
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the Your account tab, on the right pane, click Sign in with a Microsoft account.
3. In the next screen, enter your Microsoft account credentials and click Next.
4. You must then verify your account using one of the options available on screen.
Once the verification is complete, click Switch to start the conversion process. Your local account will now be converted to a Microsoft account.
You can now sign out and sign back in with your Microsoft account.
How to Change the User Account Type in Windows 10
1. Go to Settings and select Accounts.
2. On the Family & other users tab, on the right pane, select the user account you want to change and then click Change account type.
3. In the next screen, from the Account type drop down menu, select the account type you want to assign to that user and click OK.
Final Thoughts
The new user account settings in Windows 10 aren’t too different from Windows 8.1, but there are enough changes therein that make it worth taking a closer look. If you are migrating from Windows 7 or earlier to Windows 10 I hope this post will help bring you up to speed with all the changes.
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