Reset your Acme network password · Knowledge Article
Knowledge Article
Reset your Acme network password
Use Microsoft Self-Service Password Reset to change or recover the password tied to your Acme account. The new password syncs to laptop login, VPN, ERP, and the warehouse handheld scanners within five minutes.
| Document Owner | Sam Reyes — Service Desk Analyst II |
| Department | Information Technology |
| Date | |
| Document Type | Knowledge Article |
| Classification | Internal · All Employees |
Reset your Acme network password · Knowledge Article
Article metadata
| Title | Reset your Acme network password |
| Article ID | KB-IT-0042 |
| Article type | How-to · Self-service |
| Affected system | Microsoft Entra ID (SSPR), Active Directory, Cisco AnyConnect, Acme ERP, Zebra DataWedge |
| Module / area | Identity & Access Management |
| Category | Account & Password |
| Subcategory | Password reset |
| Keywords / tags | password, reset, locked out, sspr, expired, vpn, mfa, authenticator |
| Audience | All employees and contractors |
| Author | Sam Reyes — Service Desk |
| Created date | 2024-08-02 |
| Last reviewed date | 2026-04-12 |
| Review cadence | Every 12 months |
| Status | Published |
| Related ticket(s) | INC-22847, INC-23104, PRB-0188 |
| Version / release | 2.1 |
Revision history
| Version | Date | Author | Summary |
| 2.1 | 2026-04-12 | Sam Reyes | Updated screenshots for the new SSPR portal. Added Zebra handheld re-pair step. |
| 2.0 | 2025-09-30 | Sam Reyes | Switched primary verification from SMS to Authenticator push following MFA policy refresh. |
| 1.3 | 2025-02-10 | Joelle Park | Added "What if I can't verify" branch and Service Desk callback path. |
| 1.0 | 2024-08-02 | Joelle Park | Initial publication. |
1. Issue summary
| Summary | Employees and contractors can reset their own Acme network password without contacting the Service Desk. The reset is performed at passwordreset.acmecorporation.com using Microsoft Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR), with identity verified via Microsoft Authenticator, SMS, or a backup security question. Once submitted, the new password propagates to all Acme systems within five minutes. |
2. Symptoms / how to identify
| Exact error message(s) | "Your password has expired" — Windows / macOS login "AUTH_FAILED — bad credentials" — Cisco AnyConnect "Account locked — too many failed attempts" — Acme ERP "Bad credentials — re-pair device" — Zebra handheld scanner |
| Observed behavior | Outlook prompts repeatedly for the password and rejects valid input. VPN connects, then drops within 5 seconds. ERP shows the locked banner on every login attempt regardless of password. |
| Affected users / conditions | Any Acme employee or contractor whose password has expired (90-day policy), been forgotten, or had the account locked after five failed sign-ins. |
3. Resolution narrative
| Prerequisites | • Be near the phone you registered for MFA — you will receive an Authenticator push or SMS code. • Use a personal device, phone browser, or kiosk. You cannot run the portal over corporate VPN — the reset requires public-internet path to login.microsoftonline.com. • New password must be at least 14 characters, contain a number or symbol, and not match your last 12 passwords. |
| Expected output at completion | The user signs in to Windows / macOS, Outlook, VPN, ERP, and the warehouse handheld with the new password within five minutes of reset. Service Desk receives an automated notification but takes no action unless the user reports continued lockout. |
Reset your Acme network password · Knowledge Article
Resolution steps
Step 01
Open the reset portal from a personal device or phone browser.
Go to passwordreset.acmecorporation.com. Do not use your Acme laptop if you cannot sign in — the portal needs you to be off the corporate network. Enter your work email and complete the captcha.
https://passwordreset.acmecorporation.com/
Acme · Sign-in recovery
Reset your password without calling the help desk
Step 02
Verify your identity using one of your registered methods.
The portal lists the methods you registered at hire. Most employees pick Microsoft Authenticator — accept the push, type the two-digit number shown on screen, then approve. If you can't reach Authenticator, SMS works as a fallback.
Suspicious push: If you get an Authenticator push you didn't request, tap "Deny" and report fraud. Then call the Service Desk at x4357 (HELP) immediately — your account may be under attack.
Step 03
Choose a new password that meets the Acme policy.
Your new password must satisfy the Acme password policy: at least 14 characters; at least one number or symbol; cannot match any of your last 12 passwords; cannot contain your name or the word "acme".
Tip: A short sentence is stronger and easier to remember than random characters. "blue.forklift.runs.fast9" beats "P@ssw0rd!" any day.
Step 04
Sign back in on every device that uses your Acme credentials.
The new password syncs to all Acme systems within five minutes. Sign back in on each device:
- Windows laptop — lock with Win+L, then sign in with the new password.
- MacBook — sign out and back in. Keychain will prompt once; click "Update Keychain Password".
- Outlook — quit and reopen; enter the new password when prompted.
- Cisco AnyConnect VPN — disconnect, reconnect.
- Zebra handheld scanner — power-cycle, re-enter creds at the login prompt.
Reset your Acme network password · Knowledge Article
4. Workaround
| Workaround | Documented (see fields below) |
| Tracked in | KB-IT-0042-WA1 |
| Workaround steps | If the SSPR portal is down or login.microsoftonline.com is unreachable, employees should call the Service Desk at x4357 (HELP). An agent will perform an in-person or video-verified manual reset using the legacy password tool while the SSPR outage is in effect. Manual resets log to INC-* tickets and are reviewed weekly. |
| Limitations / risks | Manual resets bypass the user-driven password-history check; agents must paste the proposed password into the validator on the Service Desk wiki before applying. Manual resets are also rate-limited to 30 per hour during a Microsoft outage. |
5. Verification / confirmation
| Verification steps | Ask the user to sign in to Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com) with their new password. A successful sign-in confirms the password change propagated through Entra ID. Then ask them to connect to VPN and confirm at least one ERP page loads. |
| User confirmation required | Yes — the user must reply to the auto-generated INC ticket within 24 hours confirming successful sign-in on all required devices. |
6. Escalation
| Escalate to | Identity & Access Management — [email protected] (group manager: Joelle Park) |
| Assignment group | IAM-OPS (ServiceNow) |
| Include in ticket | User's employee ID; ticket number; timestamp of the failed reset attempt; the error banner verbatim; whether the user has working MFA methods on file; last successful sign-in time from the Entra audit log. |
7. Related articles & references
| References | KB-IT-0041 — Set up Microsoft Authenticator on a new phone KB-IT-0050 — Why VPN keeps disconnecting after a password reset KB-IT-0078 — Re-pair a Zebra handheld scanner after a credential change KB-IT-0102 — Manager-led account unlock (for People Leaders) POL-IT-007 — Acme password policy & MFA standard Microsoft Learn — Self-service password reset deployment guide |