How to change or reset your Mozilla account password
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- Revision id: 288553
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- Creator: Lucas Siebert
- Comment: New intro/ reordered content/ changed headings
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Need to update or reset your Mozilla account password? Whether you’re enhancing security with a new password or recovering access, this article provides clear steps for both options. Follow along to regain or maintain secure access to your account quickly.
Table of Contents
- 1 Change you Mozilla account password
- 2 Restore passwords, bookmarks, and settings after a Mozilla account password reset
- 2.1 Restore data on the same device
- 2.2 Restore data on a new device
- 2.3 Move data to a new device or use an older Firefox version without sync support
- 2.4 Recover data without the original device or after data loss
- 2.5 Reset Mozilla account password without saved passwords, bookmarks, or settings
- 2.6 Reset your password
- 3 Difference between browser data and encrypted data
- 4 Related content
Change you Mozilla account password
Below are different scenarios for changing or resetting your Mozilla account password. Click the heading that matches your situation to expand and see the steps.
Change my Mozilla account password while signed in
If you can sign in to your Mozilla account, you can change your password by following these simple steps:
- Go to Mozilla account Sign in.
- Sign in with your current password.
- In the Security section, next to Password, click
- Enter your old password, then your new password.
- Click
Reset my password if I’m locked out of my account
If you can't sign in to your account, you can reset your password by following these steps:
- Go to Mozilla Account Sign in.
- Click Forgot password? and follow the prompts.
Reset my password with saved data (passwords, bookmarks, etc.)
You can use your account recovery key to complete your password reset and preserve your encrypted data in case you forget your password.
Use my recovery key to reset my password
If you forgot your password, follow these steps to reset it:
- Go to the Mozilla account password reset page (or click Forgot password? from the sign in page).
- Enter your email address and click
- You will receive an 8-digit confirmation code via email. See I'm having problems confirming my Mozilla account for help confirming your account.
- Enter the confirmation code and click
- Enter your account recovery key.
- Create a new password.
- After resetting your password, a new account recovery key will be generated for you.
Recovery keys expire after every use, so it’s important to replace the previous one you had saved.
Reset your password without your account recovery key
To perform this password reset without a recovery key, it’s best to reset the Mozilla account from the same device where you last signed in and backed up your data. This allows Firefox to retrieve your browser data, which is necessary for the recovery process.
- Go to the Mozilla account password reset page (or click Forgot password? from the sign in page).
- Enter your email address and click
- An 8-digit confirmation code will be emailed to you. See I'm having problems confirming my Mozilla account for help confirming your account.
- Enter the confirmation code and click
- If you have Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) enabled, you will be asked to enter the code from your application at this time.
- Create a new password.
For users with a recovery key configured:
If you have a recovery key but clicked Can't find your recovery key?, you will see a slightly different message regarding data recovery. In this case, you will be prompted with a screen guiding you to retrieve your recovery key or continue without it.
For users with a recovery key who clicked Can't find your recovery key?:
For users without a recovery key:
Restore passwords, bookmarks, and settings after a Mozilla account password reset
If you’re using the same device, your data is already safe! Just sign in to Firefox with your new password and click Sync now in the Firefox menu.
If you are moving to a new device or if you are using a version of Firefox that no longer supports sync, you can transfer your data via the Firefox backup assistant.
Restore data on the same device
If you’re using the same device, your data is already safe!
- Sign into Firefox with your new password.
- Click Sync now in the Firefox menu.
Restore data on a new device
- Sign in with your new password on your original device first.
- Click Sync now in the Firefox menu.
- Sign in with your new password on the new device and sync.
Move data to a new device or use an older Firefox version without sync support
If you are moving to a new device or using a version of Firefox that no longer supports sync, you can transfer your browser data via the Firefox backup assistant as long as you still have your original device.
Recover data without the original device or after data loss
Regrettably, if your original device is unavailable or the data was erased during a crash or wipe, there is no way to restore your passwords, bookmarks, etc.
Reset Mozilla account password without saved passwords, bookmarks, or settings
If you just need to reset your password reset but don’t have any browser data to restore (passwords, bookmarks or settings) you can reset your password by following these steps:
Reset your password
- Go to the Mozilla account password reset page (or click Forgot password? from the sign in page).
- Enter your email address and click
- An 8-digit confirmation code will be emailed to you. See I'm having problems confirming my Mozilla account for help confirming your account.
- Enter the confirmation code from the email and click .
- If you have Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) enabled, you will be asked to enter the code from your application at this time.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to create a new password.
- After signing in with your new password, you’ll need to sign in again on all of your devices.
Difference between browser data and encrypted data
Browser data
This data is stored on your computer or device. It includes things like your browsing history, passwords, bookmarks, and settings. As long as you still have access to the device and haven't erased the data, it will remain available.
Encrypted data
When you use Firefox’s sync feature, your data is stored on Mozilla's secure servers and encrypted for protection. This encrypted data can be accessed from any Firefox browser that device you sign in to (on Desktop or Mobile) with your Mozilla account.
Impact on data after a password reset
If you previously enabled an account recovery key and you use it to reset your password, you will retain access to your encrypted data on Mozilla servers.
However, if you forget your password and reset it without using an account recovery key, your encrypted data will be erased for security reasons. Your existing browser data remains unaffected and can be used to replace your encrypted data after you’ve reset your account password.
Resetting your password does not affect your subscriptions or payment information, as that information is stored separately.