Nothing works on resetting my pin logging in to my Microsoft account!

Question

Yesterday when I booted up my Lenovo laptop a blue screen came up stating BitLocker said I need to enter my recovery key to get back into my account. After finding my recovery key and entering I was able to get back to logging in to my account. BUT in trying to use then changing my pin to log in nothing worked! I spent all day going into support and nothing worked to get my pin to login.

It is very frustrating to have to use my long password to login many times a day!

Is there any thing I can do to get back to using my pin or resetting to a new one? Nothing support has come up with has not worked.

Regards,

Joe Cockrell

Answer 1

Hi!

What solutions have you already tried to avoid duplicate solutions?

If BitLocker was enabled, something happened. If you haven't replaced any parts on your laptop, either a BIOS update was performed (Lenovo laptops usually have quite a few BIOS updates installed by Windows Update), or your BIOS may have been reset for some reason.

Either of these two options activates BitLocker and may also lock your PIN for security.

If you can already access Windows using your password, you can log out and log back into your Windows account. Have you done this?

• This may solve your problem. But if your computer has been locked, you won't be able to log in and will need to restore it.

Answer 2

To get back to using a PIN in Windows 11 after BitLocker and sign-in issues, use these steps and checks that are supported in the provided material:

1. First confirm basic sign-in works

• Sign in using the Microsoft account password (not the PIN) on the normal sign-in screen.
• If there are any issues signing in with the password itself, use the guidance under:
  • “Change or reset your Windows password”
  • “Forgot your Microsoft account password” from the Windows sign-in troubleshooting article.

2. Try resetting the PIN from within Windows Once signed in with the password:
3. Open Settings on the Windows device.
4. Go to Accounts > Sign-in options (or use this shortcut: Sign-in options).
5. Under PIN (Windows Hello) choose one of:
   • Change PIN if the current PIN is still recognized, then follow the instructions (the old PIN must be entered once).
   • If the PIN is not accepted or is forgotten, select I forgot my PIN and follow the directions to verify the account and create a new PIN.
6. If Windows Hello / PIN keeps failing If PIN setup or use continues to fail, use the Windows Hello troubleshooting guidance:

• If prompted to create a PIN again or if PIN fails repeatedly, sign out and sign back in, then attempt to create the PIN again from Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > PIN (Windows Hello).
• If still unable to use a PIN, temporarily sign in with password only and follow the steps in the Windows Hello common issues article, including checking for system updates and driver updates, then try PIN setup again.

4. If sign-in problems persist beyond the PIN If there are broader sign-in issues (for example, Windows Hello errors, verification problems, or account sign-in loops), use the consolidated troubleshooting entry point:

• Go through the steps under Troubleshoot Problems Signing In to Windows, which links to:
  • Forgot your PIN
  • Change or reset your Windows password
  • Forgot your Microsoft account password
  • Windows Hello common issues and troubleshooting tips

If none of the above resolves the issue and the password works but PIN setup always fails, use the Sign-in helper mentioned in the sign-in troubleshooting article to identify account-related issues, or contact a support agent from the Microsoft account sign-in help pages.

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References:

• Change or reset your PIN in Windows
• Windows Hello common issues and troubleshooting tips
• Troubleshoot Problems Signing In to Windows
• I can't sign in to my Microsoft account
• My username and password have stopped working