locked out of computer - HELP!!!!!

Question

i have 2 users on my computer - myself and my family. my family usage is monitored using microsoft family safety, but both are locked due to 'multiple incorrect sign-ins'. i can't even access my own login, as i get an error message that i need to waiut 2 hours to try again. this has been the whole day already. how do i get into my computer?

Answer 1

Welcome Pinchas Goldberg,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.  

I understand how frustrating it can be when both user accounts on your Windows 11 PC are locked due to multiple incorrect sign-in attempts, and you are unable to access your own account even after waiting, which is preventing you from getting into the computer at all. 

To speed up the resolution, please confirm the following:  

• Are you signing in with a Microsoft account or a local account on your main profile? 
• Have you recently tried signing in from another device or changed the password for the Microsoft account linked to this PC? 

In the meantime, you can try the workaround steps to troubleshoot the issue:  

Step 1: Make sure the PC is connected to the internet and fully restarted, then wait the full lockout period shown on the screen without attempting any sign-in during that time 

Step 2: If your account uses a Microsoft account, reset the password from another device at https://account.live.com/ResetPassword.aspx, then wait again before signing in on the PC 

Step 3: On the sign-in screen, select Sign-in options and check whether a password option is available instead of PIN, then try signing in with the account password 

Step 4: Boot into Safe Mode and attempt to sign in from there 

• Holding Shift > Power > Restart, after appearing Windows Setup screen > go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart 
• Choose 4 or 5 to enter Safe Mode 
• When the sign‑in screen loads in Safe Mode, try signing in using the same account password (not the PIN) 

Step 5: If Family Safety is applied to the other account, avoid trying to sign into it for now, as repeated attempts can extend the lockout for all linked accounts 

The above steps are provided based on the information I have learned so far, I wish that will be helpful to you. If your problem still cannot be solved by these steps, you could tell me about the specific situation in the next reply. I will continue to assist you in solving the problem. 

---

P.S: If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".     

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.