How to Get into Microsoft when the Forgot Password reset does not work

Use Sign-in options to try an existing PIN, password, fingerprint, face recognition, or Web sign-in before resetting Windows; if none works, recover the specific Microsoft or local account using the matching procedure below.

1. Check what the sign-in screen allows

Because the password field may itself be unavailable:

1. Select the screen or press Enter to display the sign-in controls.
2. Select Sign-in options.
3. Try any method already configured:
   • PIN
   • Password
   • Fingerprint or facial recognition
   • Web sign-in, if displayed
4. Use the network icon in the lower-right corner to connect the PC to the internet before trying a newly changed Microsoft-account password.

A Windows PIN is separate from the Microsoft-account password. If I forgot my PIN appears, it can reset a PIN for a Microsoft account. If it does not appear, select Sign-in options > Enter your password instead.^1^

If there is no password/PIN field at all, record the exact message shown and whether clicking Sign-in options does anything. That indicates a different sign-in-interface problem rather than simply a rejected password.

2. If the account name is an email address

An email address is a clue that this may be a Microsoft account, although it is not definitive.

Since the reset attempted on the PC is not working:

1. On a phone or another computer, open the official Reset password page.
2. Enter the email address displayed on the locked computer.
3. Complete verification and create a new password.
4. Test that email address and new password by signing in to the Microsoft account in that browser.
5. Return to the locked, internet-connected PC and choose Sign-in options > Password. Enter the new account password, not the old PIN.

If the recovery phone or email is inaccessible, choose I don’t have any of these when offered and follow the account-recovery prompts. Replacing all security information can place the account into a restricted state for 30 days, so immediate PIN reset might not be available.^2^

If verification continues to fail, use the Microsoft sign-in helper or Contact Microsoft Support from the support page. Support can troubleshoot the sign-in process, but cannot manually bypass the password, alter protected account details, or send a replacement reset link.^1^

3. If it is a local Windows account

For a local account, the Microsoft-account reset page will not change the Windows password.

1. On the sign-in screen, select the password entry arrow.
2. After the incorrect-password message, select OK > Reset password.
3. Answer the security questions created with the account.
4. If a password-reset disk was previously created, select Use a password reset disk instead.^3^

If another administrator account already exists on the computer, sign into it and reset the affected local account through Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users > Set Password. This snap-in may not be available on Windows Home. Without security-question recovery, a reset disk, or another existing administrator, Microsoft cannot retrieve or circumvent the local password.^3^

4. Last resort: reset Windows

Only do this after all configured sign-in methods and applicable account-recovery options fail.

Warning: Resetting reinstalls Windows. Keep my files preserves personal files but removes applications and settings; it is not a backup. Remove everything deletes personal files too.^4^

1. At the sign-in screen, hold Shift while selecting Power > Restart.
2. If that does not open recovery:
   • Turn on the PC.
   • When the Windows/manufacturer logo appears, hold the power button until it shuts down.
   • Repeat once.
   • Start it a third time and select Advanced options on the Automatic Repair screen.^5^
3. Select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC.
4. Prefer Keep my files if the files are needed, then follow the prompts.

If BitLocker requests a 48-digit recovery key, stop and retrieve it first. From another device, open https://aka.ms/myrecoverykey, sign in, and match the key using the first eight digits of the recovery-key ID displayed by the locked PC. Microsoft Support cannot recreate a missing BitLocker key; without it, encrypted files may be unrecoverable.^6^

References

1. Change or reset your PIN in Windows | Microsoft Support
2. Problem with login to Win 11 laptop and reseting password - Microsoft Q&A
3. Change or reset your local account password in Windows | Microsoft Support
4. Windows 11
5. Windows recovery environment
6. Find your BitLocker recovery key