How to Open Password Protected Word Document?: 4 Safe Methods

You saved a Word document with a password months ago and now you have forgotten it. A teammate left the organization and handed over you a locked Word document with a password. One of your clients sent you a contract via email but forgot to share the password. An old backup Word document file is asking for a password you can’t remember.

In all these scenarios, you need to open password protected Word document file without losing any important content. Microsoft Word encrypts your Word document file when you set a password and you can unlock it only using that exact password.

This blog will guide you on how to open password protected Word document files. You will also discover what to do first, which manual options you can try and how to recover Word document password if those manual options don’t work for you.

Table of Contents:

1. Why Does Microsoft Word Ask for a Password Before Opening a File?
2. What to Check Before You Try to Open Password Protected Word Document?
3. Recover Word Document Password – 4 Easy Methods
   2.1 Method 1: Ask the Author or Sender
   2.2 Method 2: Try to Find an Older Copy of The Document
   2.3 Method 3: Ask Your IT Admin About DocRecrypt
   2.4 Method 4: Use a Dedicated Recovery Tool – The Best Solution
4. Why Recovery Tool Beats Manual Methods?
5. How to Prevent the Locking of Passwords in the Future?
6. Final Thoughts
7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Also Read: How to Remove Document Open Password from PDF File?

Why Does Microsoft Word Ask for a Password Before Opening a File?

The author has chosen the option to protect a document with a password under File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password. It means Word requires that exact password to be entered before displaying any content. Passwords are case-sensitive and can be up to 15 characters in length.

Microsoft officially says that it does not provide any service to retrieve passwords. No one can open password protected Word document without the correct password.

What to Check Before You Try to Open Password Protected Word Document?

If the Caps Lock key is enabled, turn it off and type the passwords you commonly use.
Look for the password in your browser’s saved logins, Password Manager, notebooks or old emails.
Make sure you are using desktop Word. Microsoft says Word’s web version cannot edit an encrypted document.

Recover Word Document Password – 4 Easy Methods

You have two main options to open password protected Word document:

1. Manual Methods
2. Dedicated Software

• Manual methods only work when you can reach the original author, an IT admin or find an unprotected copy of that password protected Word document.
• A dedicated recovery tool recover Word document password when the manual options fail.

Method 1: Ask the Author or Sender

• The easiest way to get the password of Word document is to ask the author or the one who sent it to you.
• Ask them for an unprotected copy of the Word document.

Method 2: Try to Find an Older Copy of The Document

• If someone previously sent you an unprotected copy of this file, it may still be saved on your computer or in your email, so check that first.
• You can also look at the history of changes for files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, where the file may have been saved before it was encrypted.

Method 3: Ask Your IT Admin About DocRecrypt

• Microsoft’s DocRecrypt is a tool that allows administrators to decrypt files encrypted with Microsoft 365.
• This method only works if your organization’s administrator set it up for you beforehand.

Method 4: Use a Dedicated Recovery Tool – The Best Solution

Revove’s Word Password Recovery tool lets you recover the exact password from DOC and DOCX files. You can easily open password protected Word document using these four steps:

Note: You must have Microsoft Word installed on your computer (This tool works on Windows and Mac both).

Start by downloading this tool on your computer.

Step 1: Install and launch this tool on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2: Add the encrypted Word file.

Step 3: Choose the Brute Force Attack option if you don’t even know the single character of the password or the Mask Attack option if you know some characters of it.
Note: The Mask Attack Option takes less time to recover Word document password.

Step 4: There is a Recover option button, click on that and the tool will show you the password. Now copy and paste the password to open password protected Word document.

Why Recovery Tool Beats Manual Methods?

Manual methods won’t work if you don’t have access to the author, an IT admin or a backup copy. Microsoft doesn’t even provide a default option to reset the password, so you may be searching for a solution for a long time

A dedicated software runs directly on your PC to recover the password of DOC/DOCX files. This solves your problem easily. This tool lets you recover password protected Word file access and open password protected Word document files without losing data or needing a backup.

How to Prevent the Locking of Passwords in the Future?

You have to save the password right away when you set it. This will help you avoid any problems when you try to open password protected Word document files later:

• Use a secure Password Manager to save your passwords.
• Always make a password you can easily remember within the 15 characters limit.
• Store a backup copy of password protected Word documents in a secure location.
• Reopen the Word document to check that the password is working properly.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft Word doesn’t offer any option to reset or recover a lost password. You should start with the basics such as checking the Password Manager, asking the author or finding older copies. You must try a dedicated recovery tool if manual options do not work.

To prevent future password losses, store your password safely so that you can open password protected Word document files without delay.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Is my Word document password the same as my Microsoft account password?
Ans: They are not the same password. When you reset your Microsoft account password, it does not unlock the encrypted Word document.

Q2. Why is Word showing that the password is wrong when I am entering the right password?
Ans: The passwords are case-sensitive and it may be possible that you have the Caps Lock key enabled.

Q3: Can I open password protected Word document files in Word’s web version?
Ans: Microsoft’s official support says you need to use the desktop version of Word if you want to open or edit an encrypted Word document.

Q4: What if I partially remember the password?
Ans: Make sure to note any information about the length of the password or what letters it starts or ends with. This will help recovery tool to recover Word document password faster.