diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/bin/hivectl.rs b/hive-c0re/src/bin/hivectl.rs
index a3b8f3e5..52e4eafd 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/bin/hivectl.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/bin/hivectl.rs
@@ -478,7 +478,6 @@ async fn matrix_reset_password(name: &str) -> Result<()> {
         );
     }
     let admin_token = hive_c0re::matrix::read_admin_token()?;
-    let new_password = hive_c0re::matrix::random_password().context("generate random password")?;
     let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
         .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(30))
         .build()
@@ -486,15 +485,10 @@ async fn matrix_reset_password(name: &str) -> Result<()> {
     let server_name = hive_c0re::matrix::discover_server_name(&client)
         .await
         .context("discover matrix server_name")?;
-    hive_c0re::matrix::reset_user_password(
-        &client,
-        &admin_token,
-        name,
-        &server_name,
-        &new_password,
-    )
-    .await
-    .with_context(|| format!("matrix reset-password {name}"))?;
+    hive_c0re::matrix::reset_user_password(&client, &admin_token, name, &server_name)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("matrix reset-password {name}"))?;
+    // Password is persisted by reset_user_password.
     let pw_path = PathBuf::from("/var/lib/hyperhive/matrix-creds").join(format!("{name}-password"));
     println!("matrix: password for @{name}:{server_name} reset");
     println!("password persisted at: {}", pw_path.display());
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs b/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs
index 03d94775..579ecf9c 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs
@@ -299,12 +299,247 @@ async fn auto_reset_password(client: &reqwest::Client, name: &str) -> anyhow::Re
     let server_name = discover_server_name(client)
         .await
         .context("matrix: discover_server_name for auto-recovery")?;
-    let new_password = random_password()?;
-    reset_user_password(client, &admin_token, name, &server_name, &new_password)
+    let effective_password =
+        reset_user_password(client, &admin_token, name, &server_name)
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| {
+                format!("matrix: admin-room password reset for {name} (auto-recovery)")
+            })?;
+    tracing::info!(%name, "matrix: auto-recovered password via admin-room reset");
+    Ok(effective_password)
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Admin-room fallback for password reset
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// Percent-encode a matrix room ID for use in a URL path segment.
+/// Only `:` needs encoding; `!` and alphanumerics are path-safe.
+fn encode_room_id_for_url(room_id: &str) -> String {
+    room_id.replace(':', "%3A")
+}
+
+/// Look up the room ID for the `#admins:<server>` alias.
+async fn discover_admin_room_id(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    admin_token: &str,
+    server_name: &str,
+) -> Result<String> {
+    // #admins:server → %23admins%3A<server>
+    let encoded_alias = format!("%23admins%3A{server_name}");
+    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/directory/room/{encoded_alias}");
+    let resp = client
+        .get(&url)
+        .bearer_auth(admin_token)
+        .send()
         .await
-        .with_context(|| format!("matrix: admin API password reset for {name} (auto-recovery)"))?;
-    tracing::info!(%name, "matrix: auto-recovered password via admin API reset");
-    Ok(new_password)
+        .context("matrix: GET admin room alias")?;
+    let status = resp.status();
+    let json = resp
+        .json::<serde_json::Value>()
+        .await
+        .context("matrix: parse admin room alias response")?;
+    if !status.is_success() {
+        anyhow::bail!("matrix: admin room alias lookup failed: HTTP {status}, body: {json}");
+    }
+    json["room_id"]
+        .as_str()
+        .map(|s| s.to_owned())
+        .ok_or_else(|| {
+            anyhow::anyhow!("matrix: admin room alias response missing room_id: {json}")
+        })
+}
+
+/// Try to parse the new password from an admin-room bot response.
+/// Conduwuit/tuwunel responds with a message like:
+/// "Done: Password of user @user:server has been reset. The new password is: <password>"
+///
+/// Uses [`str::to_ascii_lowercase`] for case folding — unlike `to_lowercase`,
+/// ASCII lowercasing is guaranteed to produce a same-byte-length string, so the
+/// byte offset from `find` is always a valid index into the original `bot_message`
+/// and we never slice at a non-char boundary.
+fn extract_new_password(bot_message: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    // ASCII lowercase: same byte length as the original, so positions from
+    // `lower.find(marker)` are valid byte indices into `bot_message`.
+    let lower = bot_message.to_ascii_lowercase();
+    for marker in &[
+        "new password is: ",
+        "new password is:",
+        "password is: ",
+        "password is:",
+    ] {
+        if let Some(pos) = lower.find(marker) {
+            let rest = &bot_message[pos + marker.len()..];
+            let rest = rest.trim_start();
+            let end = rest
+                .find(|c: char| c.is_whitespace() || c == '\n')
+                .unwrap_or(rest.len());
+            let pw = rest[..end].trim();
+            if !pw.is_empty() {
+                return Some(pw.to_owned());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    None
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod extract_new_password_tests {
+    use super::extract_new_password;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tuwunel_style_response() {
+        let msg = "Done: Password of user @atlas:pr1ma.darkest.space has been reset. The new password is: abc123XYZ!";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg).as_deref(), Some("abc123XYZ!"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn case_insensitive_marker() {
+        let msg = "Password reset complete. New Password Is: S3cr3tP@ss";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg).as_deref(), Some("S3cr3tP@ss"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn marker_without_trailing_space() {
+        let msg = "new password is:hunter2";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg).as_deref(), Some("hunter2"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn shorter_marker_variant() {
+        let msg = "Your password is: Tr0ub4dor&3";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg).as_deref(), Some("Tr0ub4dor&3"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn no_match_returns_none() {
+        let msg = "Command not recognised. Please try again.";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn empty_after_marker_returns_none() {
+        let msg = "new password is: ";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn password_stops_at_whitespace() {
+        let msg = "New password is: abc123 (save it now)";
+        assert_eq!(extract_new_password(msg).as_deref(), Some("abc123"));
+    }
+}
+
+/// Reset a user's password via the Matrix admin room as a fallback for
+/// homeservers that do not implement the Synapse admin REST API (e.g.
+/// tuwunel 1.6.x). Sends `reset-password @<localpart>:<server>` to
+/// the `#admins:<server>` room as @hive, then polls for the bot's
+/// response message containing the new password.
+///
+/// Returns the new password on success; the caller is responsible for
+/// persisting it to [`password_path`].
+async fn admin_room_reset_password(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    admin_token: &str,
+    server_name: &str,
+    localpart: &str,
+) -> Result<String> {
+    let room_id = discover_admin_room_id(client, admin_token, server_name).await?;
+    let room_url = encode_room_id_for_url(&room_id);
+
+    // Get the current messages end-token so we can poll forward for the
+    // bot's response without re-reading old messages.
+    let msgs_back_url = format!(
+        "{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/messages?dir=b&limit=1"
+    );
+    let msgs_back = client
+        .get(&msgs_back_url)
+        .bearer_auth(admin_token)
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .context("matrix: admin room messages (back)")?
+        .json::<serde_json::Value>()
+        .await
+        .context("matrix: parse admin room messages response")?;
+    let mut from_token = msgs_back["end"]
+        .as_str()
+        .ok_or_else(|| {
+            anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "matrix: admin room messages response missing 'end' token: {msgs_back}"
+            )
+        })?
+        .to_owned();
+
+    // Send the password-reset command.
+    let txn_id = random_hex(8)?;
+    let send_url = format!(
+        "{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/send/m.room.message/{txn_id}"
+    );
+    let command = format!("reset-password @{localpart}:{server_name}");
+    let send_resp = client
+        .put(&send_url)
+        .bearer_auth(admin_token)
+        .json(&serde_json::json!({"msgtype": "m.text", "body": command}))
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .context("matrix: PUT admin room message")?;
+    if !send_resp.status().is_success() {
+        let body = send_resp
+            .json::<serde_json::Value>()
+            .await
+            .unwrap_or_default();
+        anyhow::bail!("matrix: admin room send failed: {body}");
+    }
+
+    // Poll for a bot response containing the new password (up to 5 × 1 s).
+    for attempt in 0..5_u8 {
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+        let from_encoded = from_token.replace(':', "%3A").replace('+', "%2B");
+        let poll_url = format!(
+            "{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/messages?dir=f&from={from_encoded}&limit=10"
+        );
+        let poll_json = client
+            .get(&poll_url)
+            .bearer_auth(admin_token)
+            .send()
+            .await
+            .context("matrix: admin room poll")?
+            .json::<serde_json::Value>()
+            .await
+            .context("matrix: parse admin room poll response")?;
+
+        if let Some(events) = poll_json["chunk"].as_array() {
+            let own_user_id = format!("@{HIVE_ADMIN_LOCALPART}:{server_name}");
+            for event in events {
+                if event["type"].as_str() != Some("m.room.message") {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                // Skip our own command message.
+                if event["sender"].as_str() == Some(own_user_id.as_str()) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                let body = event["content"]["body"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
+                if let Some(pw) = extract_new_password(body) {
+                    tracing::info!(
+                        %localpart,
+                        attempt,
+                        "matrix: admin room reset-password response parsed"
+                    );
+                    return Ok(pw);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        // Advance the pagination token so we don't re-read the same events.
+        if let Some(end) = poll_json["end"].as_str() {
+            from_token = end.to_owned();
+        }
+    }
+
+    anyhow::bail!(
+        "matrix: admin room reset-password for @{localpart}:{server_name}: no password \
+         response received within 5 seconds. Command sent: '{command}'. \
+         Verify the admin room accepts 'reset-password @user:server' commands."
+    )
 }
 
 /// Ensure `name` has a matrix user + token file on the local
@@ -587,45 +822,41 @@ pub async fn promote_user_to_admin(
     )
 }
 
-/// Call `PUT /_synapse/admin/v2/users/@{localpart}:{server_name}` with
-/// `{"password": new_password}` to reset a user's password.
-/// Writes the new password to the non-purgeable creds path so
-/// [`ensure_user_for`] can re-login on next provisioning sweep.
+/// Reset a user's password via the Matrix admin room (`#admins:<server>`).
+///
+/// Sends `reset-password @<localpart>:<server>` to the admin room as @hive,
+/// polls for the bot's response containing the new password, and persists
+/// it to the non-purgeable creds path so [`ensure_user_for`] can re-login
+/// on the next provisioning sweep.
+///
+/// Returns the new password for use in subsequent `login_user` calls.
 pub async fn reset_user_password(
     client: &reqwest::Client,
     admin_token: &str,
     localpart: &str,
     server_name: &str,
-    new_password: &str,
-) -> Result<()> {
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_synapse/admin/v2/users/%40{localpart}%3A{server_name}");
-    let resp = client
-        .put(&url)
-        .bearer_auth(admin_token)
-        .json(&serde_json::json!({"password": new_password}))
-        .send()
+) -> Result<String> {
+    let pw = admin_room_reset_password(client, admin_token, server_name, localpart)
         .await
-        .context("matrix: PUT /_synapse/admin/v2/users (reset password)")?;
-    let status = resp.status();
-    if status.is_success() {
-        // Persist the new password so ensure_user_for can re-login.
-        let pw_path = password_path(localpart);
-        if let Some(parent) = pw_path.parent() {
-            std::fs::create_dir_all(parent).ok();
-        }
-        if let Err(e) = std::fs::write(&pw_path, format!("{new_password}\n")) {
-            tracing::warn!(%localpart, error = ?e, "matrix: failed to persist reset password");
-        } else {
-            use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
-            let _ = std::fs::set_permissions(&pw_path, std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600));
-        }
-        return Ok(());
+        .with_context(|| {
+            format!("matrix: admin-room password reset for @{localpart}:{server_name}")
+        })?;
+    persist_password(localpart, &pw);
+    Ok(pw)
+}
+
+/// Persist the matrix password for `localpart` to the non-purgeable creds path.
+fn persist_password(localpart: &str, password: &str) {
+    use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+    let pw_path = password_path(localpart);
+    if let Some(parent) = pw_path.parent() {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(parent).ok();
+    }
+    if let Err(e) = std::fs::write(&pw_path, format!("{password}\n")) {
+        tracing::warn!(%localpart, error = ?e, "matrix: failed to persist reset password");
+    } else {
+        let _ = std::fs::set_permissions(&pw_path, std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600));
     }
-    let body = resp.json::<serde_json::Value>().await.unwrap_or_default();
-    anyhow::bail!(
-        "matrix: reset password for @{localpart}:{server_name}: HTTP {status}, body: {body}\n\
-         note: tuwunel must implement /_synapse/admin/v2/users; if 404 use the conduit admin room instead"
-    )
 }
 
 /// Discover the matrix `server_name` from the running homeserver via