Cannot rename User Profile folder in Windows 11

If you cannot rename a User Profile folder in Windows 11/10, the solutions provided in this article will help you. You cannot rename a user profile folder directly from the File Explorer. Doing this can corrupt that user account. This article will show you the right way to rename a user profile folder in Windows 11.

Cannot rename User Profile folder in Windows 11

You cannot rename a User Profile folder in Windows 11/10 if one or more of the following conditions are true:

• You are not signed in as an administrator.
• You are signed in to the same user account, whose user profile folder’s name you want to change.

To change the name of a user profile folder in Windows 11, sign out of that user account and sign in with another user account. Also, make sure that you are signed in as an administrator. If another account is a Local account, you can create another administrator account or enable the hidden administrator account.

After signing in as an administrator with another user account, do not try to rename the user profile folder from File Explorer. Yes, you can do so by pressing the F2 key but doing this can corrupt that user account. This is because the new name of the user profile does not match the original name of the user profile saved in the Windows Registry. In this case, Windows will show you the following message when you sign in to the user account, the name of which you have changed through File Explorer.

We can’t sign in to your account

The correct way to change the name of your user profile folder is as follows.

• Open the Registry Editor
• Rename the user profile
• Rename the user profile folder in File Explorer

First, you have to change the name of the user profile in Windows Registry. For this, you should have the SID of that user profile. Open the Command Prompt and type the following command. After that, hit Enter.

wmic useraccount get name,SID

The above command will list the SIDs of all the user accounts that exist on your system. Note down the SID of the user profile, the name of which you want to change.

Now, open the Registry Editor and go to the following path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Expand the ProfileList key on the left side. You will see different SIDs there. Each SID is associated with a particular user account. Therefore, make sure that you select the right SID. Now, select the SID that you have noted down in the Command Prompt.

Select the ProfileImagePath value on the right side in the Registry Editor. Double-click on it. You will see the original user profile name in its Value data. Change its user profile name. In my case, I renamed it from Test User to Test User 1. Click OK to save changes.

Now, open File Explorer, then open the C drive. Now, open the Users folder. Right-click on the profile folder, the name of which you changed through Registry. Give it the same name.

You have successfully renamed the user profile folder on your Windows 11 computer.

Read: How to change User Account and Folder Name in Windows

Cannot rename a user account in Windows 11

If you cannot rename a user account in Windows 11, the solutions provided below will help you:

1. Change the user account name through the Control Panel
2. Change the user account name in your web browser

Below, we have explained all these fixes in detail.

1] Change the user account name through the Control Panel

You can change the name of a user account on your Windows 11 computer through the Control Panel. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Select Category in the View by mode.
3. Select User Accounts, then select User Accounts again.
4. Now, click Manage another account.
5. Select the user account, the name of which you want to change.
6. Click Change the account name.
7. Type the new user account name and click Change Name.

The user account name has been changed. This new user account name will also be reflected in your system Settings.

2] Change the user account name in your web browser

If you want to change the user account name of your Microsoft account but cannot do so, you can change its name by signing in to your Microsoft account in your web browser.

1. Open your web browser.
2. Go to https://account.microsoft.com.
3. Click on the Sign in button and enter your Microsoft account credentials.
4. Select Your info from the left side.
5. Click on the Edit name link.
6. Enter your new profile name.

This will change your account name. The changes may take some time to reflect.

That’s it. I hope this helps.

Read: How to fix a Corrupted User Profile in Windows

Why can’t I rename a folder in Windows 11?

You cannot rename a folder in Windows 11 due to some reasons, like corrupted system image files, a conflicting third-party background application or service, etc. You can try restarting File Explorer and see if it helps.

How do I rename a folder easily?

You can rename a folder easily by pressing the F2 function key. Select the folder you want to rename, then press the F2 key. Now, type a new name of the folder. Alternatively, you can also right-click on the folder and select the Rename option.

Read next: How to set a default User Logon Picture for all Users in Windows.