change computer administrator

Welcome Marina!

Thank you for posting your question to the Q&A forum.

If I understand correctly, you purchased Microsoft 365 using an alias, while your PC is currently signed in with your main email. Because of this, you want Word, Excel, and Outlook to recognize that you own the subscription, and you’re considering changing the system administrator account. Please correct me if I’ve misunderstood your situation.

In most cases like this, you don’t need to change the Windows administrator account. You only need to sign in to the Office apps using the Microsoft account that owns the Microsoft 365 subscription.

That said, please clarify the exact issue you’re experiencing (for example, the license not showing, activation errors, or admin restrictions) so we can determine the most appropriate next steps.

For more information, if you want to make your alias Microsoft Account the administrator, try the following methods:

Note: The options below are valid if:

• You’re currently signed in with an existing administrator account, or
• Another administrator account exists and is used to make the change

Method 1: Use settings

Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users

Add or select the user

Choose Change account type

Set Account type: Administrator

Method 2: Use netplwiz

First, add alias in Windows via Settings > Accounts > Family & other users > Add account

Press Win + R, type netplwiz > Enter

Select the user > Properties

Group Membership tab > Administrator

Apply > OK

Note: You can also have two admins on a Windows PC.

I’m happy to assist further and look forward to your response!

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To make the Windows 11 PC recognize the same person behind different Microsoft email addresses and to change the system administrator, two separate things are involved:

1. Confirming identity across Microsoft email addresses (aliases)
2. Changing the Windows 11 administrator account on the device

From the provided information, the following are supported:

1. A Microsoft account can have multiple email addresses (aliases) that can be used to sign in and send email. These aliases all represent the same underlying Microsoft account identity. To align identities, the email address used for Microsoft 365 can be added as an alias to the main Microsoft account, or vice versa, and one of them can be set as the primary alias. This lets sign-in occur with either address while keeping the same account and subscription.
2. For a personal Microsoft account, the following can be changed:
   • Display name
   • Administrator name
   • Which email addresses can be used to sign in (by adding/managing aliases)
   • Which email addresses can be used to send email (aliases)
   • Birthdate
   • Account picture
   These changes are done in the Microsoft account profile and sign-in preferences. See:
   • “What can I change on my Microsoft account?”
   • “How to change your Microsoft account name or address” (linked from the user account name article).
3. On Windows, user accounts (including local or Microsoft accounts) and their roles (standard vs administrator) are managed separately from Microsoft 365 licensing. To change the administrator on the Windows 11 PC, the administrator role must be changed in Windows user account settings. The context provided only links to general guidance for managing user accounts in Windows and creating local or administrator accounts, via:
   • “Manage user accounts in Windows”
   • “Create a local user or administrator account in Windows”
   • “Add or remove accounts on your PC”
   These documents describe how to:
   • Create a new local or Microsoft account on the PC
   • Make that account an administrator
   • Switch between accounts
4. For work or school accounts, some organizations do not allow users to change their own names or certain account details. In that case, the Microsoft 365 or Entra administrator must make changes. If the account is work/school and changes are blocked, the organization’s IT admin or help desk must be contacted, as described in “Find the administrator for your work or school account.”

Putting this together for the scenario:

• To show Microsoft that the Microsoft 365 purchase and the Windows sign-in identity belong to the same person, the email addresses can be consolidated by using aliases on a single Microsoft account and setting the preferred primary alias. This keeps subscriptions and identity under one account.
• To change the Windows 11 system administrator, a user account with administrator rights must be created or designated in Windows using the standard “manage user accounts” and “create a local user or administrator account” flows. The Microsoft 365 purchase itself does not automatically change which Windows account is an administrator.

For detailed, step-by-step actions, the linked articles under “How to change your user account name” (See also) and “What can I change on my Microsoft account?” provide the supported operations for aliases and Windows user account management.

References:

• What can I change on my Microsoft account?
• How to change your user account name
• Find the administrator for your work or school account