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

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
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
    2018-11-02T10:21:25+00:00

    I have exactly the same issue. 

    Microsoft, please, repair your authentication protocol. It is unacceptable and a shame that users are logged out from their own computer, and for me, do a factory reset is not an option.

    I logged in to my computer with PIN and Face recognition for almost a year, suddenly on Saturday 13th October 2018, when I try to log in with the PIN I get the message "Your password was changed in another device. Please login with the new password". I do not have another device, I did not change my password, obviously this is the start of reading hundreds of messages from users in the same situation. I can not login with PIN and Face because I am supposed to enter the new password. Let's suppose a hacker did it. Isn't it ridiculous that me, in my computer, with the same IP address, with my FACE and PIN, with the mobile number that receives the code to reset the windows live password, can not log in ? something is missing in the authentication protocol, please solve it in your next update.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-05T23:55:27+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.

    When I did this, a recovery key is requested and I don't know how to get it. Does anybody have a suggested path ?

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-12-20T17:44:15+00:00

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-12-20T17:44:46+00:00

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    1 person found this answer helpful.
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