How to Remove MS Word Password Without Software?

author Written By Deep Sikha
author Approved By Sonika Rawat
Updated on 12th Sep 2024
Reading Time 8 minutes

Users set the password encryption to their crucial Word files for protection purposes. However, sometimes they may forget, misplace, or not remember the MS Word document password. So, the question arises how to remove passwords in MS Word? Or how to unlock the Microsoft Word document? Here, this write-up describes different ways by which users can easily remove MS Word passwords. Also, you will learn about a VBA Password Recovery Wizard that helps you seamlessly recover your passwords.

About MS Word

MS Word is a word processor program introduced by Microsoft. It allows users to type, save documents, make professional-quality documents, letters, and reports, and store sensitive information. MS Word provides the features of a password-protected Word document. It is essential as it helps to keep the files safe from unauthorized access or other threats. However, losing a password can be troublesome. You cannot edit, access, or share without its key. Therefore, we need to break MS Word Password.

Methods to Remove MS Word Password

If you have forgotten the password, you have to find ways to remove the password. Removing the Word document password is one of the ideal methods to access the Word document. Follow the two different cost-free solutions to unlock MS Word manually. Furthermore, find a convenient expert solution at the end for ease.

Solution 1: Unlock the MS Word Password Protected Document by Modifying the Details

Users have to modify some details of the MS Word document to crack the password-protected document. Here are the steps to do that:

  1. Open the MS Word document.
  2. Then, Click File>>Save As option, select the file type to Word XML Document (*.xml), and close the Word.
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  3. Now, open the newly saved XML Document using a text editor like WordPad, NotePad, or other text editor programs.
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  4. Here, click the Ctrl+F option to Find the dialogue box.
  5. Further, search for (enforcement) in the text field.
  6. You will find, w:enforcement="1" or w:enforcement=on
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  7. To unlock the Word document, change "1" with "0" and "on" with "off" to disable enforcement.
  8. Afterward, hit Save and close XML documents.
  9. Now, open the saved XML document with MS Word.
  10. After opening it, click on the File>>Save As option, and select Word Document (*.docx).
  11. At last, click Save. The password-protected Word document will unlock.
Solution 2: Unlock the MS Word Password Protected Document by VBA Code

Users can use this method, whose MS Word document password is not longer than three characters using a VBA code. Remember, if it is longer than three characters, the VBA code will not respond. Follow these steps:

  1. Firstly, create a new Word document and open it.
  2. Press "Alt+F11" to open the Microsoft Visual Basic Applications.
  3. Afterward, click Insert>>Module.
  4. Enter the following code in the Module:
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  5. Click F5 to run the code
  6. Now, select the locked MS Word file and open it in File Explorer.
  7. After some time, the password-protected document will open. The password will appear on the screen.

After applying the above-defined steps, users can unlock the password-protected Word document.

Limitations of the Above Methods

  • The VBA code works when the password is no longer than three characters.
  • Modifying the detailed methods works only when there is no opening password document.
  • These methods are a bit complicated, and lengthy, and require technical expertise.
  • Moreover, the chances of MS Word document data loss are quite high.

These are some vulnerabilities of the above-defined methods. To avoid these reasons and solve the query of how to remove passwords in Word. You have to use a third-party tool.

Unlock the MS Word Password Protected Document using the Automated Tool

The SysInfo VBA Password Recovery tool is an ideal solution to remove MS Word passwords from documents. The software offers different features like reliability and efficiency. It decrypts the MS Word password and saves it into a text file. Additionally, it supports password recovery of any length and complexity. Some additional specific features of this tool are:

  • Removes Passwords from single as well as multiple VBA files.
  • Restore Password Protected Excel Files and other Office files.
  • It is compatible with all the versions of Windows operating system.

Steps to Recover Password from MS Word

  1. Launch the tool on your system as an administrator.
  2. Click Open and add the Word files from which you want to recover the password.
  3. Preview the selected file. In addition, click the File Properties button to check file size, type, etc.
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  4. Further, click the Recover button to receive the password of your file.
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  5. At last, click the Copy to Clipboard button to copy the password and Exit.

Now, using the recovered password, easily unlock your MS Word documents.

Conclusion

MS Word is a popular format used for documents. It can be easily encrypted and thus is considered secure. However, password protection sometimes can cause interruptions. Therefore, they must be removed carefully. This blog provides all the reliable solutions that can help to remove MS Word passwords. We learned that though the manual method is free, it has limitations. Furthermore, we discussed the tool, which provides the complete solution to remove the vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How can I remove protection from a Word document?

Ans. To remove protection from a Word Document, you can go for either of the given methods:
  1. Modifying the details of the Word Document
  2. Using the VBA Code to Unlock

However, these methods are tiring and complex. Instead, you can use the VBA Password Recovery Tool to quickly restore your file password. Further, you can use the recovered password to unlock your document without any worries.