SharePoint Farm Passphrase: What is that? How to Reset?

What is Farm Passphrase?
Farm Phrase is a new security feature introduced in SharePoint 2010. When you need to join the new server to an Existing SharePoint farm, you need to enter this Farm Phrase password.

While adding a new server via psconfig wizard, You have to enter the Farm’s pass phrase, and then Click next to continue.

How to reset SharePoint Farm Phrase

Forgot Farm Phrase? You can Reset SharePoint Farm Passphrase!

So, you are adding a new server to the farm, and you are unable to remember that very important password? No problem! You can use PowerShell to reset the Pass Phrase. Currently, there is no option to retrieve the farm’s existing passphrase.

To reset the forgotten farm passphrase, Run these commands to the server which is already connected to the existing Farm.

Log-in to SharePoint server and go to Start > All Programs > Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products > SharePoint 2010 Management Shell. right-click the link and run as administrator.

How to Reset SharePoint Farm Phrase

Next step:  at the PowerShell prompt enter these cmd-lets
$passphrase = ConvertTo-SecureString -String “2FJlsXghEas5vdJJKEXXwWFab” -asPlainText -Force

You will be prompted to input a new passphrase in plain text.  Enter your new passphrase. and then enter
Set-SPPassPhrase -PassPhrase $passphrase -Confirm

You will be asked to confirm the passphrase by re-entering it. Re-enter the passphrase and hit Enter You will be asked if you are sure that you want to perform this action, type Y (for Yes) and hit Enter Your farm passphrase has now been reset!

There are some rules for Pass-phrase:

  • Minimum 8 characters in length.
  • Contains at least three of the following four character groups:
  • English uppercase characters (from A through Z)
  • English lowercase characters (from a through z)
  • Numerals (from 0 through 9)
  • Non-alphabetic characters (such as !, $, #, %)

If you don’t supply the complex password, you will get the error message:
Set-SPPassPhrase: The Passphrase supplied does not meet the minimum complexity requirements. Please select another passphrase that meets all of the following criteria: blah blah.

For more details on the switches available just enter: Get-Help Set-SPPassPhrase -Detailed

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two-decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. He has held various positions including SharePoint Architect, Administrator, Developer and consultant, has helped many organizations to implement and optimize SharePoint solutions. Known for his deep technical expertise, He's passionate about sharing the knowledge and insights to help others, through the real-world articles!

One thought on “SharePoint Farm Passphrase: What is that? How to Reset?

  • What when your farm is a single server?

    Reply

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