Change your Yahoo password from the Account Info page

To change your Yahoo Mail password, sign into your account, go to Account Info, select Security, and choose Change Password. You will enter your current password once, then type your new password twice. Yahoo will confirm the change immediately, and you will stay signed in.

The entire process takes about two minutes. Your new password takes effect right away across all Yahoo services — Mail, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, and any other Yahoo product you use with that account.

Key Takeaways

  • You change your password in Account Info under the Security section, not in Mail settings.
  • Yahoo requires your current password before you can set a new one, so you must remember it or reset it first.
  • A strong password includes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, and is at least 8 characters long.
  • If you forget your current password, use the account recovery process to reset it before you can change it again.
  • After you change your password, you may need to sign in again on your phone or other devices.

Step-by-step instructions for the web browser

Open a web browser and go to mail.yahoo.com. Sign in with your Yahoo email address and current password. Once you are in your inbox, click your profile picture or initial in the top right corner of the screen.

From the dropdown menu, select Account Info. On the left side of the page, click Security. Look for the Change Password option and click it. Enter your current password in the first field, then type your new password in the second field. Type it again in the third field to confirm. Click Change Password to save your new password.

What makes a strong Yahoo password

Yahoo requires passwords to be at least 8 characters long. A strong password includes a mix of uppercase letters (A–Z), lowercase letters (a–z), numbers (0–9), and symbols (!@#$%^&*). Avoid using your name, email address, or common words that appear in the dictionary.

Do not reuse a password you have used before on Yahoo, and do not use the same password across multiple accounts. If one account is compromised, a unique password on each account keeps your other accounts safe. Write your new password down in a secure place, or use a password manager to store it.

Signing back in on your phone or tablet

After you change your password, you may see a sign-in prompt on your phone, tablet, or other devices where you use Yahoo Mail. This is normal. Open the Yahoo Mail app or go to mail.yahoo.com on your phone's browser, and sign in with your email address and your new password.

If you use Yahoo Mail on multiple devices, you may need to sign in again on each one. This can take a few hours to happen on all devices, so do not be alarmed if one device still shows your old password for a short time.

If you cannot remember your current password

If you forget your current password, you cannot change it directly — you must reset it first. Go to login.yahoo.com and click Trouble signing in? Follow the account recovery steps, which usually involve confirming your phone number or recovery email address. Yahoo will send you a link to create a new password.

Once you have reset your password and signed back in, you can follow the normal change password steps above if you want to use a different password. Account recovery can take a few minutes to a few hours depending on which recovery method you use.

What happens to your Mail after you change your password

Your existing emails, folders, and contacts stay exactly as they are. Changing your password does not delete anything or move anything. The only thing that changes is the password you use to sign in.

If you use Yahoo Mail with other apps or services — like your phone's built-in mail app, Outlook, Thunderbird, or a third-party email client — those apps will stop working until you sign in again with your new password. Some apps may ask for your password immediately; others may wait until the next time they try to sync.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my password on my phone?

Yes. Open the Yahoo Mail app or go to mail.yahoo.com in your phone's browser, sign in, tap your profile picture, select Account Info, tap Security, and choose Change Password. The steps are the same as on a computer.

How often should I change my Yahoo password?

Change your password if you think someone else knows it, if you used it on a website that was hacked, or if you have not changed it in over a year. You do not need to change it more often than that unless Yahoo sends you a security alert.

Will changing my password sign me out of Yahoo Mail?

No. You will stay signed in on the device where you changed your password. Other devices may ask you to sign in again within a few hours.

What if I change my password and then forget the new one?

Use the account recovery process at login.yahoo.com. Click Trouble signing in? and follow the steps to reset your password. You will need access to your recovery phone number or recovery email address.

Can I undo a password change?

No. Once you change your password, the old one no longer works. If you change it by mistake, you can set a new password immediately by going back to Account Info and Security, but you cannot go back to the old one.