I'll show you how to change your PC name in Windows 11 in 2 simple steps. However, before starting, I need to inform you about the naming restrictions of Windows 11 and the things you should pay attention to. Please, read them carefully before trying to rename your PC. It will only take you a minute.
Don't worry about wordiness in our community; as you know, I mean Windows11.DEV. 🤞 In this tutorial, I won't mention the history of PCs or the meaning of my PC's name to keep you more on our website. I'll show only the required information, like naming restrictions and the renaming steps. That's all. If you like our guides and tutorials, please join us and leave a comment. 😊
Table of Contents
Before Start
If you want to change your user and account name, including the user folder name, that's entirely different. To do that, please follow this tutorial.
Need to Know
Make sure you've logged in as an administrator. Otherwise, you cannot rename your PC.
Your PC's name is not only related to your PC. When it joins a network, other network members have to identify or access your PC when needed. Because there might be old PCs with the previous versions of Windows, such as Windows 7, Vista, or XP in your network, your PC name needs to be compatible with them. So;
Don't use spaces and** lowercase letters** because some Windows versions may not support them.
Don't use special characters like ~ @ # $ % ^ & ( ) = + [ ] { } | ; : , ‘ “ . < > / \ ?
Your PC name cannot consist of only numbers. For example, 1234567 cannot be a PC name.
Keep your PC name to 15 characters or less. Even if Windows 11 allows naming longer than 15 characters, compatibility issues may occur with some apps and services like NETBIOS.
Choose a unique name. There cannot be multiple devices in a network with the same name. If you're not part of a network, you don't have to worry about it. 😊
How to Change your Computer's Name?
In this section, I'll share 2 different methods with you. The first method is performed on Windows Settings and is the simplest. On the other hand, even though the second method seems hard a bit to you, it is also simple and ideal. You're going to just copy and paste a command into Windows PowerShell.
METHOD 1: Via Windows Settings
Open Start Menu and type "Rename your PC" then click on it.
You'll see the About window, which contains the basic information about your PC. Click the
Rename this PCbutton on the top right of the window, as you can see below.
The renaming pop-up window will be open. Write a proper name by following the restrictions I've mentioned above. You can choose what you wish. Then click
Next.
In this step, if you were encountered a "The PC name is invalid." error like I've experienced, although you've followed all naming restrictions, please jump to the following method in this tutorial to fix it. Suppose the error persists even with the following method; you need to try other solution steps in this tutorial. I would have wanted to share all solutions here, not to tire you out, but there are 7 different methods. 😥 So, I thought they might confusion this tutorial, and I've created a separate tutorial.
If everything were OK, you'd see the progressing window.
Restart your PC by clicking
Restart now.
Your PC's name has been changed. Congratulations. 👏
METHOD 2: Via Windows PowerShell
Open Start Menu and type "PowerShell", then focus on it with your cursor.
You'll see the options on the right panel. Click
Run as Administrator. It will prompt you to confirm Administrator privileges. ClickYesand continue.
Now, you see a blue background Windows PowerShell window.
Now, all you need to do is copy the command below, pasting it on PowerShell window, replacing the term "WINDOWS11-DEV" with the name you wish to specify as your PC name, then pressing
Enteron your keyboard.
Rename-Computer -NewName "WINDOWS11-DEV"
You'll see the yellow-colored message below. Restart your PC to make available renaming. If there is an error message instead of the message below, you need to try something else. Follow this tutorial to fix your renaming issue.
Your PC's has been renamed. Congratulations. 👏
Conclusion
If everything were OK, I think you've been able to rename your PC without any difficulties. On the other hand, if there were problems with changing your PC's name I've not mentioned in this tutorial, or your error persists even though you've followed all solution steps, please inform me and feel free to ask for help by using the discussion form below.
Top comments (1)
appreciate your guidance. it works!!