2 Methods to Change Hostname on Windows

A hostname is a unique identifier that is assigned to a device (host) which connected to the network. It provides a way to differentiate one device from another on a specific network. This tutorial shows 2 methods how to change hostname on Windows.

Method 1 - CMD

Assign new hostname to variable:

set NEW_HOSTNAME=john-pc

To change hostname, run the wmic command as administrator:

wmic computersystem where name="%computername%" call rename name="%NEW_HOSTNAME%"

Reboot system to apply changes.

Method 2 - PowerShell

Assign new hostname to variable:

$NEW_HOSTNAME='john-pc'

Execute the Rename-Computer command as administrator, to change hostname:

Rename-Computer -NewName "$NEW_HOSTNAME"

To make changes to take effect, reboot the system.