Access phpMyAdmin through your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel) and open your WordPress database. 2. Locate the users table (typically wp_users, but prefix may vary) and click to view its data. 3. Find your admin user, click "Edit", enter a new password in the user_pass field, select MD5 from the Function dropdown, then click "Go" to save. 4. Log in to WordPress with the new password, and optionally update it again via the dashboard to ensure stronger hashing. 5. If issues arise, verify the correct database, table prefix from wp-config.php, and that MD5 was selected during the reset. This method reliably restores access when standard password recovery fails.

If you're locked out of your WordPress site and can't reset your password through the usual "Lost your password?" link, you can manually reset it using phpMyAdmin — a tool commonly provided by web hosts for managing MySQL databases. Here's how to do it safely and effectively.

1. Access phpMyAdmin via Your Hosting Control Panel

Log in to your web hosting account (e.g., cPanel, Plesk, or your provider’s dashboard). Look for the phpMyAdmin icon under the Databases section and click it to open the database management interface.

?? Make sure you know which database belongs to your WordPress site if you have multiple databases.

2. Locate the WordPress Users Table

Once in phpMyAdmin:

• Select your WordPress database from the left-hand column (usually named something like yourname_wordpress).
• Look for the table called wp_users.
  (Note: The prefix might be different if you changed it during installation — e.g., wp123_users, myblog_users, etc.)

Click on the table name to view its data.

3. Edit the User Password Field

In the wp_users table, you’ll see a list of users. Find the row for the admin or user account whose password you want to reset.

• Click the "Edit" button (pencil icon) next to the desired user.
• Locate the user_pass field.
• In the input box, enter your new password.
• To the right of the password field, you’ll see a dropdown — select MD5 from the "Function" column.
  (WordPress stores passwords as MD5 hashes, so this ensures the password is properly encrypted.)

? Example:

• Password: mypass123
• Function: MD5

Scroll down and click "Go" to save the changes.

4. Test Your New Password

Go to your WordPress login page (yoursite.com/wp-login.php) and log in with the username/email and the new password you just set.

If it works — great! You're back in.

Optional: Use a Hashed Password for Better Security

While MD5 is accepted by WordPress for backward compatibility, it’s not the most secure hashing method. However, WordPress automatically re-hashes the password using stronger methods (like bcrypt) the next time you log in. So once you log in successfully, WordPress will upgrade the hash behind the scenes.

To be extra safe:

• After logging in, go to Users > Your Profile and change the password again through the WordPress dashboard.
• This ensures the password is stored using modern hashing.

Troubleshooting Tips

• ? "Access denied" after reset? Double-check the username and password. Make sure you selected MD5 as the function.
• ? Can’t find wp_users? Check the table prefix. Look at your wp-config.php file and find the $table_prefix value to confirm.
• ? Wrong database selected? Confirm the database name in wp-config.php under DB_NAME.

That’s it. Resetting your WordPress password via phpMyAdmin is a reliable fallback when other methods fail. Just remember to keep your database access secure and avoid using simple passwords.

Basically: edit user_pass, set the password, choose MD5, and save.

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