Best Methods to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC

Let’s check the easiest way to Rename Windows 11 PC (or Cloud PC). There are multiple ways to Rename Windows PCs. Rename your device to make it easier to identify if you use multiple computers with your Microsoft account or in your network.

Windows 11 will assign a random name if you don’t name it accordingly. It is always better to use unique words to identify and communicate. The supported method to rename Cloud PC is changing the display name of the Cloud PC (not the computer name).

More Details Cloud PC Remote ActionsRemotely Manage Windows 365 Cloud PC Business Edition.

It’s best to keep computer names short Maximum name length is 15 characters and easily recognizable. It is recommended that you use only Internet-standard characters in the PC name.

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The familiar characters are the numbers 0 through 9, uppercase and lowercase letters from A through Z and the hyphen (-) symbol. PC games cannot consist entirely of numbers, nor can they contain spaces.

The name also cannot contain special characters, such as ` ~ @ # $ % ^ & ( ) = + [ ] { } | ; : , ‘ “ . < > / ?

There are several ways to rename Windows 11 PC. Depending on your requirements, you can use the Settings, Control Panel, Command prompt, Windows Terminal, and PowerShell.

Automation to Rename Windows 11 PC or Cloud PC

Let’s understand the options Automation to Rename Windows 11 PC or Cloud PC. Being a system admin, If you’re looking for an automated way to rename your PC, You can check out the different available options from SCCM or Intune.

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Intune Method to Rename Windows 11 Azure AD Joined devicesLearn How to Rename Device in Intune a Quick Walk Through

SCCM Method to Rename Windows 11 PCs (new build process)- SCCM OSD Computer Name Prompt In Task Sequence Deployment

The following screenshot is from the Azure AD portal, where the manual rename of Cloud PC is getting reflected correctly (step by step process to rename is explained below) even though it’s not supported. I don’t recommend doing this action in a production environment.

*NOTE! – Renaming Hybrid Azure AD devices is not supported even though it’s technically possible to rename hybrid Azure AD joined Windows 11 and Cloud PCs. The remote action to rename Cloud PCs that are Azure AD joined is also disabled in the MEM admin center (Intune) portal.

Best Methods to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 1
Best Methods to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 18

Difference Between Cloud PC Display Name Vs. Computer Name

Let’s check what the difference is Between Cloud PC Display Name Vs. Computer Name. The changing of the display name is supported. The end-users can change the Cloud PC display name from Windows 365 web client portal -> Windows365.Microsoft.com.

The following is the Display Name of the Windows 365 Cloud PC, and end-users and admins can change this. This Display name won’t appear in any of the management tools such as Azure AD, Active Directory, Intune, SCCM, etc.

Best Methods to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 2

The Computer name of the Windows Cloud PC is the same as the computer name for normal Windows 11 or Windows 10 PCs. Changing the computer name is the topic that is discussed in this post.

You can log in to Cloud PC and Launch the Settings app -> System to check the computer name of the Cloud PC. The computer name is being used in all the management tools.

Best Methods to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 3

Rename Windows 11 or Cloud PC from Windows Settings

Let’s look at how to rename a Windows 11 PC to be easier to manage. On Windows 11 device, Click Start and then open Settings.

Note – You can open the Windows 11 Settings directly by using the keyboard shortcut Windows key + I.

  • You can use the below option for the quick process. Click on Rename option on the System page top-left side.
  • Once you click, you will be prompted to provide the computer name, and all the processes will remain the same as mentioned below.
Rename PC in Windows 11 - Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 1
Rename PC in Windows 11 – Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 1

Navigate to System, Scroll down and select About on the right side.

Rename PC in Windows 11 - Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 2
Rename PC in Windows 11 – Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 2

Click on Rename this PC.

NOTE – To open the about section directly, type Rename your PC in Search.

Rename PC in Windows 11 | Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 3
Rename PC in Windows 11 | Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 3

A prompt will appear to Enter a new name for your PC, then click on Next.

Rename your PC – Windows 11
Rename your PC – Windows 11 | Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 4

Once you have done, you will get a popup with a restart or Restart later. Click Restart now; your PC name will change to the newly assigned name after you restart.

Rename your PC – Windows 11
Rename your PC – Windows 11

Rename Windows 11 PC from Control Panel | Cloud PC

Follow these steps to rename the computer name from Control Panel on Windows 11.

  • Open Control Panel, Click on System and Security. Under the System, click on the Allow remote access.

Note – To quickly open System Properties, Open Run from the start menu and type sysdm.Cpl.

Allow remote access – Windows 11
Allow remote access – Windows 11

In the Computer Name tab, click on the Change button.

Rename PC in Windows 11
Rename PC in Windows 11

Specify a new computer name for your PC, and click on OK.

Rename PC in Windows 11
Rename PC in Windows 11

Click on OK.

Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 6
Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC

Click on Close.

System Properties – Windows 11
System Properties – Windows 11

When ready, click on restart now to restart the computer and apply the name change immediately.

Restart Your Computer – Windows 11
Restart Your Computer – Windows 11

Once you complete the steps, the computer will reboot, and upon restart, it will assign the new name to the PC.

Rename Windows 11 PC using PowerShell | Cloud PC

Let’s follow the steps below to rename Windows 11 PC name with PowerShell

  • Open PowershellRun as administrator.
  • Type the following command to rename your PC and press Enter. For example – We renamed PC to “HTMD-Win11”.
Rename-Computer -NewName "New PC Name"
Rename PC – Windows 11 Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 8
Rename PC – Windows 11 – Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC

The changes will take effect after you restart the computer. You can manually restart or type the following command to restart the device and press Enter – Restart-Computer.

Windows Terminal to Rename Windows 11 PC

You can use Terminal (aka Windows Terminal) to rename the Windows 11 PCs. This is the same as PowerShell because Terminal uses the same PowerShell commands to rename the Windows 11 PC or Windows 365 Cloud PC.

NOTE! – The domain user name and password are required if you rename the domain-joined Windows 11 or Cloud PCs. If you are trying to rename workgroup joined devices, there is no need to use the “-DomainCredential” parameter.

Rename-Computer -NewName "JiteshWin11New" -DomainCredential HTMD\Jitesh01 -Restart

Rename Windows 11 Cloud PCs Remotely

You can use Windows Terminals and PowerShell command to remotely rename the Windows 11 PCs. You can also force the restart. However, make sure that there is no user is logged into the Windows 11 or Cloud PC to ensure there is no data loss.

The following command is for Domain Joined, or Hybrid Azure AD Joined* Windows 10 or 11 PCs. Of course, you must have network connectivity and Firewall ports opened between the Cloud PCs to perform the remote PowerShell commands. I recommend using Intune to perform this rename activity for managed devices.

*NOTE! – Renaming Hybrid Azure AD devices is not supported even though it’s technically possible to rename hybrid Azure AD joined Windows 11 and Cloud PCs.


Rename-Computer -ComputerName "JiteshWin11New" -NewName "JiteshWin11New123" -DomainCredential HTMD\Jitesh01 -Force
Rename Windows 11 PCs Remotely Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 9
Rename Windows 11 PCs Remotely – Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 9

The following is for workgroup or Azure AD joined (?) Windows 10 or Windows 11 device or Cloud PCs. The Get-Credential and -LocalCredential are the main differences in the below PowerShell command line.

Rename-Computer -ComputerName "JiteshWin11New" -NewName "JiteshWin11New123" -LocalCredential Get-Credential -Force
Rename Windows 11 PCs Remotely - Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 10
Rename Windows 11 PCs Remotely – Easy Ways to Rename Windows 11 PC and Cloud PC 10

Conclusion

I don’t recommend changing Cloud PC computer name properties because it’s not a supported scenario (I guess). This is applicable for both Azure AD joined, and Hybrid Azure AD Joined Cloud PCs. However, there are several supported methods to change the Display Name of the Windows 365 Cloud PC.

Changing the Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer name is supported by Microsoft, and it’s available through Intune remote actions as well.

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