Forgot the administrator password (on-premises server)

This applies only when BusinessSensor runs on your own server (on-premises). If nobody can sign in as an administrator any more — the password is forgotten, the only administrator left the company, or their account was deactivated — you can set a new password yourself, on the server. You do not need the internet or a call to BusinessSensor.

If another administrator can still sign in, you do not need this page: they can reset any user's password in Setup → Users.

Before you start

• You must be at the server — sitting at it, or connected to it with Remote Desktop. This does not work from any other computer, tablet or phone.
• You need a Windows administrator of the server: someone who can approve "Do you want to allow this app to make changes?" on it, or who knows the password of a Windows administrator account. This is your proof that you are allowed to reset the BusinessSensor administrator.
• BusinessSensor must already be set up on this server (a company created).

Steps

1. On the server, open the Start menu, then BusinessSensor Server → Reset administrator password.
2. Windows asks whether to allow it. Click Yes (or enter a Windows administrator's name and password if it asks).
3. A window shows a recovery code like ABCDE-23456. Leave the window open. The code works once, for 30 minutes.
4. On the same server, open a browser at http://localhost:5090/server-setup (Start menu → BusinessSensor Server → BusinessSensor Server setup).
5. At the bottom, click Forgot the administrator password?
6. Type the recovery code and click Continue.
7. Choose the administrator whose password you are resetting. A deactivated one is marked deactivated — will be switched back on.
   • Nobody listed, or none of them is you? Choose Add a new administrator and enter a user name and full name.
8. Enter the new password twice (at least 8 characters) and click Reset password (or Add administrator).
9. Click Sign in and sign in with the user name and the new password.

Tips

• The new password also works in the BusinessSensor desktop program, if you still use it on the same company database.
• Anyone who was signed in as that administrator — on any device — is signed out. If you think someone else knew the old password, this is how you lock them out.
• Once you are signed in, check Setup → Users for other people who need their passwords reset, and consider making a second administrator so this does not happen again.
• Every reset is recorded on the server and in the audit trail. The password itself is never recorded.

Common problems

• The Start menu has no "Reset administrator password" → your server was installed before this was added. Install the latest BusinessSensor Server, or open PowerShell as administrator and run & "C:\Program Files\BusinessSensor\Server\tools\Reset-ServerAdmin.ps1".
• Windows does not let me continue at the "allow this app" question → you are not a Windows administrator of the server. Ask your IT support to do steps 1–3 and give you the code.
• "Open this page on the server" → you opened the page on another device. Use a browser on the server itself.
• There is no "Forgot the administrator password?" link → the server has not been set up yet; complete Server setup first, which creates the first administrator.
• "There is no recovery code on this server" → run Reset administrator password first (steps 1–3).
• "That code is not right. N tries left" → check the code in the window. Dashes, spaces and capitals do not matter, and a code never contains the letters O, I or L or the digits 0 and 1.
• "Too many wrong codes" or "That code has expired" → the code was thrown away. Run Reset administrator password again for a new code.
• "'name' is not an administrator" → only an administrator's password can be reset here. Reset an administrator (or add one), sign in, then reset the other user's password in Setup → Users.
• "The new password must be at least 8 characters" → choose a longer password.
• "This company has no Administrator group…" → the company's security groups were changed in a way this tool cannot repair. Contact BusinessSensor support.
• I can sign in but some menus are missing → you signed in as a user who is not in the Administrator group. Sign in as the administrator you reset.