How to Remove Network Credentials in Windows 10

If the cached network username and password is causing the problem, follow these steps to completely clear the network credentials in Windows 10.

When you first log in to network shares, Windows might store those credentials in Credits Manager. This is called caching network credentials. Since the login credentials are already available in the Credential Manager, Windows won't prompt you to re-enter the network share's password or username. This makes the life of the administrator or network user easy as they don't have to enter the username and password every time to access the network folder.

However, if the network share password is changed or if the original username and password are wrong, the cached network credentials can be a problem. In those cases, you can remove the network username and password from the credential manager.

In this quick guide, let me demonstrate the process of clearing cached network credentials using Credential Manager and Command Prompt.

Remove network credentials from Credential Manager

Windows saves all usernames and passwords in Credential Manager. To remove the cached network username and password, you must remove the network sharing entry from Credential Manager.

1. Open Get Started. Find and open Control Panel.

2. Set View by in the upper right corner to Large icons to see all the items in the dashboard.

3. Click the option Credential Manager.

4. After opening the Credential Manager, select the tab Windows Credentials in it.

5. Here, click the Network Sharing password you want to remove.

6. From the credentials options, click the Remove link.

7. Click Yes in the confirmation / warning window to confirm that you want to remove the cached network password from the credential manager.

That's it. As soon as you click yes and confirm the action, Windows will delete the network credentials. When you try to log in to a network share, you will be prompted to enter a username and password again. If you select the Remember option, Windows stores the network share login details in Credential Manager.

Use Command Prompt to clear the cached network share password and username

To clear cached network share credentials, this is the command you should use. When you execute the below command, Windows will delete all network share passwords.

use net * / DELETE

1. Open the Start menu. Search for Command Prompt. Right click on Command Prompt and select the option Run as administrator.

2. In the Command Prompt window for the administrator, execute the net use \\ ServerName / del command to delete the network share specific credentials. Replace ServerName with the computer name that is on the actual network.

3. To delete all cached network credentials, use the command net use * / DELETE.

4. Close Command Prompt.

As soon as you execute the command, Windows will remove all the network share passwords and username or a specific network share depending on which command you executed. If there are no cached network credentials, the Command Prompt will display the message "There are no entries in the list".