Reset or fix your Windows Hello PIN

Your Windows Hello PIN is tied to that one PC. It isn’t your email password, and resetting it doesn’t change your password.

Symptoms

• You’ve forgotten your PIN.
• Windows says “Something happened and your PIN isn’t available”.
• Your PIN worked yesterday and is rejected today.

Cause

• The PIN was forgotten or mistyped too many times.
• The security chip (TPM) or the PIN’s stored files changed, for example after a firmware or motherboard update.

Fix

1. Reset from the sign-in screen

1. Select I forgot my PIN under the PIN box.
2. Verify with your work account password and multi-factor authentication.
3. Set a new PIN.

If you don’t see I forgot my PIN, select Sign-in options and sign in with your password instead, then use step 2.

2. Reset from Settings

1. Open Settings › Accounts › Sign-in options.
2. Select PIN (Windows Hello), then I forgot my PIN (or Change PIN if you remember it).
3. Follow the prompts.

3. “Your PIN isn’t available”

Select Set up my PIN on the sign-in screen and follow the prompts. If that fails, sign in with your password and remove, then re-add, the PIN in Settings › Accounts › Sign-in options.

If that didn’t work

• If you’ve also forgotten your password, see Reset your work password.
• Restart the PC and try again. Too many wrong PINs locks the PIN for a while.

When to call us

• You can’t sign in with either the PIN or your password.
• The PC asks for a BitLocker recovery key. See Find your BitLocker recovery key.
• Several people’s PINs stopped working at once.