---
title: "Temporarily upgrade a Standard user to Admin user and then downgrade it."
slug: "temporarily-upgrade-a-standard-user-to-admin-user-and-then-downgrade-it"
description: "Learn how to temporarily upgrade a standard user to an admin user and then downgrade it for specific tasks on Windows devices with Scalefusion."
updated: 2023-09-27T14:00:55Z
published: 2023-09-27T14:00:55Z
canonical: "help.scalefusion.com/temporarily-upgrade-a-standard-user-to-admin-user-and-then-downgrade-it"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.scalefusion.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Temporarily upgrade a Standard user to Admin user and then downgrade it.

These PowerShell scripts allow Admin to temporarily elevate a local Standard User to an administrator on a device and then downgrade the same user to a Standard user.

There are two ways an Admin can choose to elevate Standard User to Admin and then downgrade after some time. Below are the 2 PowerShell scripts to achieve this.

## PowerShell Script 1

This script takes two inputs, the **name** of the **standard user** who is supposed to be elevated and the **duration** (in minutes) for which the user will be an admin before being downgraded back to a standard user.

- Create a file on your desktop, for example, **elevate_std_user_to_admin_temporairly.ps1** and open it in a text editor like notepad++
- Copy the contents below to the file or [click here](https://cdn.document360.io/175c0eac-012f-4410-bdc5-ac60794f82d8/Images/Documentation/elevate-std-user-to-admin-temporarily.ps1) to download the file.ShellShell

```shell
#Script to temporarily elevate local standard user to admin on device

#Input: Specify name of standard user who is supposed to be elevated
$Username = "user_name"

#Input: Specify how long (in mins) this user will be Admin and then will be downgraded
$DurationInMins = 00_min

#<----Script Code (Don't Modify)

# Get members of local administrators group
$isInGroup = (Get-LocalGroupMember 'Administrators').Name -contains $user

if($isInGroup) #user is already part of Admin group
{
	Write-Output "user is already part of Admin group"
}
else
{
	Write-Output "Adding user to Admin group"
	Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member $Username

	$DurationInSecs = $DurationInMins * 60
	Write-Output "Waiting for '$DurationInSecs' secs"
	Start-Sleep -Seconds $DurationInSecs
	
	Write-Output "Removing user from Admin group"
	Remove-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member $Username
}

#---->
```
- The script first checks if the user is already part of the local Administrators group. If the user is already part of the group, the script prints a message saying so.
- Otherwise, the script adds the user to the local Administrators group using the **Add-LocalGroupMember** cmdlet.
- The script then calculates the duration in seconds and waits for that duration using the **Start-Sleep** cmdlet.
- After the duration is over, the script removes the user from the local Administrators group using the **Remove-LocalGroupMember** cmdlet.
- Replace **"user_name"** with the name of the Standard User who is supposed to be elevated. For example:ShellShell

```shell
$Username = "TestUser"
```
- Replace **00_min** with the time duration (in mins) on how long this user will be Admin and then will be downgraded. For example:ShellShell

```shell
$DurationInMins = 15
```
- Do not change any other fields in the script.
- Follow [our guide](/docs/deploy-powershell-scripts-using-scalefusion) to upload & publish the PowerShell script using Scalefusion Dashboard.
- Once the script is successfully executed, you will be able to see the status of the same in the **View Status** report on the Scalefusion dashboard.

This script only elevates the user to local administrator privileges and does not grant any additional privileges beyond what a local administrator can do.  

## PowerShell Script 2

The following two scripts work in two phases.

- Deploy the **first script** to elevate the Standard User to Admin.
- Create a file on your desktop, for example, **change_std_user_to_admin.ps1** and open it in a text editor like notepad++
- Copy the contents below to the file or [click here](https://cdn.document360.io/175c0eac-012f-4410-bdc5-ac60794f82d8/Images/Documentation/change-standard-user-to-admin.ps1) to download the file.ShellShell

```shell
$User = "user_name"
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member $User
```
- This script adds a specified user to the local Administrators group using the **Add-LocalGroupMember** cmdlet. This effectively elevates the user to a local administrator on the device.
- Replace **"user_name"** with the name of the Standard User who is supposed to be **elevated**. For example:ShellShell

```shell
$User = "TestUser"
```
- Once work is done, deploy the **second script** to downgrade the user back to Standard User.
- Create a file on your desktop, for example, **downgrade_admin_user.ps1** and open it in a text editor like notepad++
- Copy the contents below to the file.ShellShell

```shell
$User = "user_name"
Remove-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member $User
```
- This script removes a specified user from the local Administrators group using the **Remove-LocalGroupMember** cmdlet. This effectively downgrades the user from a local administrator to a standard user on the device.
- Replace **"user_name"** with the name of the Standard User who is supposed to be **downgraded**. For example:ShellShell

```shell
$User = "TestUser"
```
- Follow [our guide](/docs/deploy-powershell-scripts-using-scalefusion) to upload & publish the PowerShell script using Scalefusion Dashboard.
- If the scripts are successfully executed, you will be able to see the status of the same in the View Status report on the Scalefusion dashboard.

Please note that to use the PowerShell scripts, the Scalefusion MDM Agent Application must be installed on the device(s). Please follow [our guide](/docs/scalefusion-mdm-agent-application) to publish and install the Scalefusion MDM Agent Application.  
Notes:

1. The scripts and their contents are sourced from various albeit authenticated Microsoft sources and forums.
2. Please validate the scripts on a test machine before deploying them on all your managed devices.
3. Scalefusion has tested these scripts, however, Scalefusion will not be responsible for any loss of data or system malfunction that may arise due to the incorrect usage of these scripts.