Windows · Accounts & Family
View and Manage Your Sign-in Account Details
Your Info shows the account currently signed into this PC — your name, profile picture, and whether it's a local or Microsoft account — with quick links to manage your Microsoft account online.
How to open Your Info
- Open Settings > Accounts > Your info.
- Select 'Change profile picture' to update your photo, or 'Manage my Microsoft account' to open account.microsoft.com.
- If on a local account, select 'Sign in with a Microsoft account instead' to switch and enable sync.
What you should know
- Shows whether you're signed in with a Microsoft account or a local account.
- Change your profile picture from a file or camera.
- Link out to account.microsoft.com to manage payment info, subscriptions, and privacy.
- Switch from a local account to a Microsoft account, or vice versa, from this page.
Why it matters
Knowing whether you're on a local or Microsoft account explains a lot of other behavior — like why settings, files, or app purchases don't follow you to another PC. This page is the quickest way to check and change that.
Best practices
- Switch to a Microsoft account if you want your settings, files, and Microsoft Store purchases to sync across devices.
- Keep a recognizable profile picture set if this PC is shared, so it's obvious at a glance whose account is signed in.
Common problems and fixes
- Profile picture doesn't update everywhere (e.g., still old on the sign-in screen).
- Sign out and back in, or restart the PC — the sign-in screen picture is cached separately and doesn't always refresh instantly.
- Switching to a Microsoft account fails.
- Confirm you're connected to the internet and the Microsoft account isn't already the maximum number of devices for your account type; otherwise remove an older linked device first at account.microsoft.com/devices.
Tips and tricks
- Use 'Manage my Microsoft account' from this page instead of searching for account.microsoft.com separately — it signs you in automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a local and Microsoft account?
A local account stays only on this PC with no cloud sync; a Microsoft account syncs settings and enables features like Find My Device, OneDrive backup, and Microsoft Store purchases across devices.
Can I have a different name on Windows than my Microsoft account?
The display name on this PC generally follows your Microsoft account name; to change it, update your name at account.microsoft.com and it syncs back down.
Related settings
- Sign-in OptionsSign-in Options controls every way you can sign into this PC — Windows Hello face and fingerprint recognition, PIN, security key, or password — and lets you require sign-in after sleep for extra security.
- Email & AccountsEmail & Accounts lists every account — Microsoft, work/school, or other — that your installed apps (Mail, Calendar, OneDrive, and third-party apps) are allowed to use to sync data. You can add new accounts here or remove ones apps no longer need.
More Accounts & Family guides for Windows
- Family SafetyMicrosoft Family Safety lets you create a family group to manage screen time limits, content filters, spending, and location sharing for children's Windows, Xbox, and mobile devices from one place.
- Other UsersOther Users lets you add separate sign-in accounts for other people who share this PC — family members, guests, or coworkers — each getting their own desktop, files, and settings, isolated from yours.
- Access Work or SchoolAccess Work or School lets you connect this PC to an organization's Azure AD / Microsoft Entra environment so you can access company or school email, apps, and resources, and so IT can apply required security policies.
- PasskeysPasskeys let you sign into supported websites and apps using Windows Hello (your face, fingerprint, or PIN) instead of typing a password — they're stored securely on this device and can't be phished or reused if a website is breached.
- Linked DevicesLinked Devices shows phones and other PCs connected to your Microsoft account, enabling features like continuing a browser tab from your phone on this PC, or seeing your phone's photos and notifications through the Link to Windows / Phone Link app.
- Find My DeviceFind My Device uses your Microsoft account to record your PC's last known location, helping you locate it on a map if it's ever lost or stolen.