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How to change PIN to previously used PIN

Anonymous
2025-05-05T05:03:42+00:00

I was signed into an organization's email on my computer's Outlook. Despite selecting the option to only grant access to Outlook, the organization then required me to change my PIN for increased security. I want to change my PIN back to my original PIN. Whenever I try to reset my PIN to my original, I am told "Provide a PIN you haven't used recently."

I have signed out of the organization's accounts on my computer. I have Windows 11 Home. I installed group policy and navigated to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\PIN Complexity. All settings were set to "not configured" or "no" (which, as far as I am aware, means that my computer should not be storing my previous PINs as history is "not configured/no"). As the issue was still persisting, I then enabled History and set its value to 0 (which, as far as I am aware, means that history is enabled but stores 0 PINs, therefore, my computer should not know my previous PINs).

Looking for further guidance to be able to use my original PIN.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Security and privacy

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  1. Udit Tanwar 3,375 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-05-05T05:41:08+00:00

    Hello Jared.Johnson

    Thank you so much for reaching out and explaining the issue, I am Udit and I am happy to help you today.

    Even though you removed the organization's account and set PIN history to zero in Group Policy, Windows Hello for Business may still be enforcing PIN history, especially if your device was once connected to Azure AD or managed by Intune. Windows 11 Home also doesn’t fully honor some Group Policy changes, which could be why your settings aren’t taking effect.

    To fix this, try the following steps:

    1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school and remove any remaining work or school accounts.
    2. Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and try removing your PIN completely. If the option is greyed out, there's likely still a policy in effect.
    3. If that fails, you can clear your TPM (type tpm.msc in the Start menu, then choose "Clear TPM"). Be careful—this removes all stored keys, so back up any BitLocker recovery keys first.
    4. After rebooting, set your PIN again. You should now be able to reuse your original one.

    If you need further assistance please let me know

    Regards,

    Udit

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-05-06T14:48:54+00:00

    Hello Udit,

    Thank you for your assistance. Following steps 1 and 2 did not resolve my issue; however, steps 3 and 4 were straightforward and worked.

    Jared

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