"This sign-in option is disabled because of failed sign-in attempts or repeated shutdowns". I've been locked out of my laptop since last night and can't log back in. How do I fix this issue?

Reported
Anonymous
2022-01-28T09:51:54+00:00

So randomly last night (about 12 hours ago) my laptop with Windows 11 shows the above error message when I input my pin.

"This sign-in option is disabled because of failed sign-in attempts or repeated shutdowns. Use a different sign-in option, or keep your device powered on for at least 2 hours and then try again".

Prior to this, I used my laptop normally and everything was fine. I did not put in the pin several times and certainly not repeatedly shut down my laptop, so I'm not sure where this even comes from.

From what I understand, my only chances to log back in my laptop are to:

  1. Wait 2 hours WHILE the laptop is powered on.
  2. Use a different sign-in option (use password - and I have no idea what this password is lol).

I can't do solution 1 because my laptop powers down after like 30 seconds, so I cannot keep it powered on for 2 hours unless I press a button on my laptop every 29 seconds for 2 hours.

For solution 2, the different sign in method asks me to put in a password, not sure which password this is. It can't be the password that I use to log in to my Microsoft account online because it says that's incorrect.

Now, following from solution 2, I get the option to reset this password, by answering 3 memorable questions, but here too at least 1 of memorable questions is incorrect.

Can I get back into my laptop without having to factory reset everything?

Does anyone know if the 2 hours wait need to be consecutive?

Thanks all :)

EDIT: It has been 11 months and people still seem to have the same issue as me. Microsoft, please fix this bug / glitch. It's obviously causing a lot of headaches. I was able to simply factory reset my laptop as everything I had was backed up elsewhere, but I'm sure 90% of the people here cannot do this because the laptop still has vital stuff not backed up else where. Even if they could backup, it's a really long and painful process to set the laptop back up.

This really needs to be addressed asap please :)

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Accounts, profiles, and login

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-27T07:20:46+00:00

    I had faced the same issue recently and here's quick fix for it:

    I usually just did forgot password and then tried the email code option to reset my password which essentially can be the same password as before it doesn't matter. It's not a permanent fix for the continous 'sign in option disabled' issue but it beats the problem to wait 2 hours for logging back in again. It took me hardly a few mins.

    Hope you guys find this helpful!

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-05-27T02:28:10+00:00

    Hi, I am also experiencing a similar issue and it is truly heartbreaking. I tried doing shift restart f5, locking and resetting my Laptop but none of those options would be carried out. For example, if I tried to rest my laptop, the laptop say it ran into an error and would not reset.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-05-25T00:14:34+00:00

    Hi R00_,

    Thanks for your post in Microsoft Community.

    I'm Mosken, I do apologize for the inconvenience that you're experiencing right now, let me help you sort things out.

    In order to quickly and accurately determine the crux of the problem, I would like to confirm some details: you forgot your PIN code, and also forgot your login password, and failed to answer a question when retrieving your account, now you want to confirm whether you need to wait two hours and press the keyboard every 29s to keep it on.

    If my understanding is wrong, please correct me in the reply.

    Then I suggest that you can try to find the crux of the problem by doing the following:

    1. Please keep the power of your laptop connected. You don't need to do that for the above 2 hours. The screen is dark or black because your system's power protection plan is to save power, not power off. You only need to wait for 2 hours That's it.
    2. I would like to confirm whether you have logged into the system through a Microsoft account before, and if so, you can choose to log in through a Microsoft account in the other login options (although you have already said that you have tried, but in order to solve your problem, we need to try all methods as much as possible), before that, you can log in to your Microsoft account through other devices to verify that the password is correct (if it is not correct, you can reset your account password by "recovering your password", but it requires a series of means of verification to keep your account safe);
    3. If you are sure that you are not logged in with a Microsoft account, maybe you are logged in through a local account (all account information is saved on your computer), you can try to recall the account name and password you used to log in, 3 memorable questions may be set when you install the system or use the system for the first time, just to help you in situations like this.

    If you are not sure whether it is a Microsoft account or a local account, you can take a photo of your login interface and send it to me in the reply, so that we can confirm the problem faster.

    If you can't remember above passwords and nothing changed after waiting 2 hours, you need reset your system unfortunately.

    I hope the above will be helpful to you. Please feel free to let me know how it goes, and I will do my best to help you.

    Best Regards,

    Mosken - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist


    * Beware of scammers posting fake support numbers here.

    I have the same problem, i waited two hours and nothing happened, the same error message is there, i have no other sign in option enabled, is there something I can do?

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-05-24T13:36:25+00:00

    Yes its worked after 2 hours of getting charged

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-05-23T23:29:25+00:00

    Mine doesn't. I have to get a project done and I've been locked out for 5 hours.

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