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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  2. Anonymous
    2018-08-07T22:26:40+00:00

    I just recently updated my new microsoft surface laptop. Upon finishing the update i went to sign in. Although, when i tried to type my password in, i wasnt given an option to. It brings up my name and icon and then says “pin login unavailable”; i never even set up a pin so obviouly its not available. It also doesnt give me to click on anything. I have restarted my laptop multiple times after this and still nothing.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-07-30T06:02:19+00:00

    I can’t sign in to my surface laptop; the sign in screen displays: Your pin is required to sign in. While in the sign in options this message is displayed:

    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>signin options

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-07-29T19:29:35+00:00

    Hello Stitti_79,

    Thank you for reaching out to us. To be able to understand the issue better, let us know more details by answering the following questions:

    • Can you confirm if you have updated your device prior to this issue?

    • Have you tried to log in using other Sign in option? If so, how was it?

    • Were there any error messages/codes appearing on the screen when you try the face recognition?

    • Can you send us a screenshot/image of the issue so we can verify this on our end?

    In the meantime, you can try to force a shutdown then restart your Surface. Here are the steps:

    1. Press and hold the power button until the screen turns off (about 10 seconds), then release the power button.
    2. Press and release the power button to turn your Surface back on. You should see the Microsoft logo.

        *If that doesn't work, use this shutdown process to make sure your Surface completely turns off. Here’s how:

            Press and hold down the power button until your Surface restarts and you see the Windows logo screen (this takes about

            20 seconds), then release the power button.

    If that doesn't suffice, you can repeat this process twice only.

    Keep us updated on the outcome.

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