Bug that forces you to set a pin when installing Windows 10

Anonymous

You guys might want to step up your testing efforts. This is a pretty obvious bug IMO. To be clear, I want to use my password and not a pin. But the UI says, "We think you will like it."... well I don't. Normally there is an option to set a pin later.... Well, this goes away permanently if you initially try to authenticate using the Windows Authenticator app.

I am prompted to set a pin, with no button to skip or proceed without one. If I bring up the dialog and cancel, that doesn't help either... You are basically stuck on that screen. I can't finish the installation because the only option to proceed is to create a pin which will replace my password -- I don't want to do that.

So to be clear:

Install Windows 10 and enter your name and password during installation... You can skip setting a pin.

Install Windows 10 and enter your name and then select authenticate with the authenticator... I successfully authenticate and then I am asked to set a pin. The option to skip is not there as in the first scenario. Starting the process over and entering a password instead does not help. It seems the option to skip is never available again. The only thing I could do was to wipe the install and start over.

Sure I could have set a pin and removed it later, but I didn't want to do that. I don't want it messing with my login.

Also asking me to file an issue on connect is not going to happen -- sorry. If you guys want to take the time to file it, then go for it. Hopefully you guys will investigate.

Ironically even this forum has a bug... When you edit an issue -- it resets the Windows version and topic.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous

Hi Arap,

Setting up a pin on your device makes it more secured. One important difference between a password and a Hello PIN is that the PIN is tied to the specific device on which it was set up. Read more in this documentation:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/hello-for-business/hello-why-pin-is-better-than-password

Thus, you still have option to remove it once you've done setting it up for the first time. Kindly follow the steps below:

Open the Settings app, and click/tap on the Accounts icon.
Select Sign-in options on the left side, and click/tap on the Remove button under PIN on the right side.
Click/tap on Remove to confirm.
Type in your Microsoft account password to verify, and click/tap on OK.

Additionally, you can refer answers mentioned in this thread:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update/i-dont-want-a-pin-number/902c5b3d-42d4-4fc8-b34e-71200e0b362d

Let us know how it turns out.

Note: Microsoft has updated the information in this reply to benefit users facing this issue.

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141 additional answers

Anonymous

2018-06-14T21:57:23+00:00

I ran into this very problem this week with our household computers. Dad's is a 2013 desktop, Mom's is a laptop bought last week, and mine is a three year old laptop. All are HP brand computers. Quite simply, I do not want to give you a PIN, folks. It might be more convenient for you, but it isn't for me. Or my parents. It seems to us that you are making things very much easier for hackers to get our information; after all, choosing a PIN from a logarithm HAS to be easier than a password with letters AND numbers, right? Most folks will want to choose something easy to remember. Maybe you would like the same PIN I use for my banking? Sure, why not, I'll just give you that. You've certainly made it impossible to do much else, and those of us who would prefer to keep our computers safe with a password certainly don't have any options. I used the "letters and numbers" option when I was forced to choose a PIN this week, and I input my old password just because I was feeling grumpy at the dictatorial way you've designed this new software. Tonight, my computer barely gave me access unless I practically promised to create a new PIN before I shut this thing down for the night. If I can find a way to thumb my nose at this new design flaw, I will do it in numbers for you, Microsoft. <Removed Inappropriate Content>
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Anonymous

2018-06-01T18:57:45+00:00

There is no conceivable universe in which any PIN I am capable of remembering is more secure than the password I am using.

I do not want to set a PIN. If this is a deliberate design choice, reverse it. It's a bad one.
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Anonymous

2018-05-24T13:50:19+00:00

What's not altogether clear here is that there are two ways you can set up windows 10 to deal with logins. You can either sign in using a Microsoft account, or a "local" account which just lives on the one machine - which is what Windows has done previously for years. This PIN hoo-haa is a function of using a Microsoft login rather than a local one, so you need to swap back. Full instructions here:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-tip-switch-back-to-a-local-account-from-a-microsoft-account/

This might throw up some issues if you're using Microsoft cloud services - I don't know, don't use them myself. But it took me two days to work this out, and I've been blessedly free of the PIN hassle since.
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