Can't change user settings in backend as a Super User

Question

I sometimes need to change the settings (i.e the usergroup) of a user via the User Manager in the Joomla backend. Before, I remember I could easily achieve this by changing the fields required and clicking "save".

For some reason (even on a fresh installation of Joomla), whenever I try and do this, I get the following message:

Warning

The passwords you entered do not match. Please enter your desired password in the password field and confirm your entry by entering it in the confirm password field.

I can't simply go ahead and reset the password, so how can I update their settings without having to confirm a password that I don't know?

Answer 1

Make sure there is no new entry in any of the 2 passwords fields of the user tab. Most likely your browser has memorized your own Admin Password and it tries to fill it the fields. So pay attention.

I am using the Browser User/Pass saving, and I have come across of this kind of behavior pretty often. In the recent versions of Joomla, this bad habit of the browser to try inject my username/password in any password field it finds in Joomla's backend, is driving me nuts.

Especially when I have to set a different password for a whole different reason/feature and the browser notices that I have a new password and asks me, if I want to update the one of my Super User account, that is saved in the keychain.

Answer 2

In my sites, I have always two mental notes to update user profiles:

• My browser remembers passwords. It comes in handy. However, it can fill password fields when it does not have to. In this case, it may be filling the first user password. Just remember to clear it before saving.
• Akeeba AdminTools is great. So great, that disables user profile backend edition for safety. Sometimes, this feature have to be disabled.