Surface won't let me log in "Your PIN is no longer available due to a change in security settings."

Anonymous
2018-06-11T15:32:25+00:00

Greetings,

I have a Surface Pro running Windows 10.  When I opened it this morning Hello did not recognize me and said "Your PIN is required to sign in."  When I tried to put my PIN in it says "Your PIN is no longer available due to a change in security settings..."  I have not created a USB boot drive.  How do I get logged in?

**Moved to Windows Hello as this is not a problem with the Surface**

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows Hello, lock screen and sign-in

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Anonymous
2018-07-01T16:34:05+00:00

I had this same issue on a family member's computer. I chatted with Microsoft and the only way we could get it fixed was a system reset. I'd say try a restore if you have a restore point first. This was a fairly new computer (Surface Laptop purchased a month ago). After the reset, facial recognition started working again as did the option for a PIN.

Reset this PC.

  1. From the sign-in screen, press and hold the shift key on the keyboard, select the power icon in the lower-right corner of the screen, and then select Restart. Keep holding the shift key until the device restarts and the Choose an option screen appears on a blue background.
  2. Once Windows Recovery loads, release the shift button, and then select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Reset this PC> Keep my files.
  3. You should now be able to sign-in again.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-09-06T18:58:07+00:00

    I have this same issue.

    its says 

    ‘Your PIN is no longer available due to a change to the security settings on this device. You can set up your PIN again by going to settings > Accounts > Sign-in options’

    but i can not do anything on the laptop at all, not even reset 

    The only way to correct this seemingly all too frequent problem is a full factory reset. It seems stupid to lose all your files just to fix a PIN issue. I've talked with Microsoft Tech support and indeed factory reset is the only option they have.

    Microsoft, if you're reading this....please oh please patch this common problem. I'm not about to erase my college work just to be able to use my PIN.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-09-09T23:59:46+00:00

    I can't log in to my laptop because the facial recognition didn't recognize me a couple of times and then said my pin is required to sign in, but when i go to type my pin in it says 'your pin is no longer available due to q change in your security settings on this device'

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-09-10T02:05:08+00:00

    This website talks about using a Windows DVD. My Surface laptop did not come with one. The other option of download and burning won't work since I don't have another computer. Do you have any other suggestions besides wiping the computer?Because that's my very last option.

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