How to Reset Your Proton Mail Password (Without Losing Your Emails)
Reset a forgotten Proton Mail password with your recovery email, phone or recovery phrase — and how to unlock your encrypted emails afterwards, which a normal reset doesn't do.
Read this before you reset. Proton encrypts your mail so that even Proton can’t read it, and your password is part of how it’s unlocked. Resetting the password with a recovery email or phone gets you back into the account, but your existing emails, contacts and files can stay locked unless you also have a way to recover the data — such as your recovery phrase.
Choose the right method
| Method | Gets you into the account | Unlocks your existing emails |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery phrase (12 words) | Yes | Yes — data is restored automatically |
| Recovery email | Yes | Not on its own |
| Recovery phone (SMS) | Yes | Not on its own |
| Emergency contact (if you set one up) | Yes — they request access for you | Depends on the access granted |
If you have your recovery phrase, use it. If not, reset with email or phone, then follow the data-unlocking steps below.
Reset the password
- On the Proton sign-in page, select Trouble signing in? and then Forgot password (in some apps this is under Help). You can also go straight to account.proton.me/reset-password.
- Enter your email address or username and continue.
- Choose a recovery method:
- Recovery email: enter the verification code Proton sends there.
- Recovery phone: select Send code and enter the code from the text message.
- Recovery phrase: enter your 12 words.
- Set a new, strong password and confirm it.
Unlock your emails after an email or SMS reset
If your mail shows as locked after signing in, open Recovery in your account settings and select Unlock data. Then use whichever of these you have:
- Your old password: if you've remembered it, choose the Password tab, enter it and select Recover data.
- A recovery file you downloaded earlier: choose the File tab, select Browse and upload it, then Recover data.
- A device that's still signed in: sign in to any Proton web app on a device where you stayed signed in. Proton uses its stored backup to decrypt your data.
If none of these were set up before the reset, Proton warns you risk permanently losing access to the old data.
Make the next reset painless
Proton's minimum recommendation is a recovery phrase, plus one more password-reset method (email or phone) and one more data-recovery method (such as a recovery file). Set them up at account.proton.me/recovery — details in Proton Mail security.
Still can't sign in after the reset? See signing in to Proton Mail.
How this guide was checked · October 2026
Verified against 3 official sources
Every step, setting and limit in this guide was checked against the provider’s own documentation on proton.me. Anything we couldn’t confirm was left out.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my emails if I reset my Proton password?
Not if you use your recovery phrase, which restores your data. With an email or SMS reset, old emails stay locked unless you unlock them with your old password, a recovery file or a still-signed-in device.
Where do I reset my Proton Mail password?
At account.proton.me/reset-password, or select Trouble signing in? › Forgot password on the sign-in page.
Can Proton support unlock my old emails?
No. Proton's encryption means it can't read or decrypt your data — only your recovery phrase, old password, recovery file or a signed-in device can.
What is the Proton recovery phrase?
A 12-word phrase from your recovery kit. It resets your password and decrypts your existing data in one step.
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