Windows 10: How can a log into Windows 10 computer without the password or pin. And the owner is...

A friend of mine's wife passed away a few years ago. And he managed to switch to her Windows login by accident recently and logged out of the computer. Now when he tries to log in, it displays her Microsoft account and ask for a password. He cannot switch users. And he know what password she used. We tried to the password recovery method but he doesn't have all the necessary info for the challenge questions. Is there another way to recover the password or a phone number for MS support we can call?

:)

 

password to log onto computer

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community and being a part of Windows 10.

I understand the inconvenience you are facing with entering the password before log-in to the computer, we will help you with this issue.

I would like to inform that Windows 10 is by design you will have to enter a password to log-in as an Administrator account with Microsoft account. Local accounts can be used without entering any user account credentials.

This feature is being implemented to make more secure with the user profiles.

I suggest you to refer to the Microsoft article about: Help with Microsoft account


Also, Sign in with a Microsoft account

If you are not comfort to enter long letters of password to sign-in, you
may also create the 4 digit PIN which will reduce your time to enter full password.

Follow the below steps.

• Press Windows + I keys to open
  settings menu.
• Click on Accounts.
• Click on Sign in options.
• Click on Add under PIN.
• Follow the onscreen instructions to create Pin.
• Sign out and try to sign in again using
  PIN as your Sign in option.

Hope it helps. Kindly update the status of this issue for further assistance, we will be happy to assist you.

 

Windows 10 Change password to pin

Hi Ana,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community. I regret the inconvenience caused to you. Let me help you.



Please share the details.

• 
  Are you able to log in to your desktop?
  
• 
  Do you see any error code along with the error message?
  

I suggest you to go through the below steps and check if it helps.

Follow these steps to set up a PIN on your Windows User Account:

• 
  Press the Windows +S key combination to display the Search box.
  
• 
  Type the word pin into the Search box, then click
  Set up PIN sign-in.
  
• 
  Find the “PIN” section and click the Add button.
  
• 
  Type in the password for your User Account, then click the
  Ok button.
  
• 
  Select and enter a 4 digit numeric pin, then enter it again for confirmation.
  
• 
  Exit the PIN setup utility.
  

From now on you’ll be able to log in to your Windows account by entering your 4 digit PIN instead of your password.



You can change your PIN at any time by following the steps below:

• 
  Press the Windows +S key combination to display the Search box.
  
• 
  Type the word pin into the Search box, then click Set up PIN sign-in.
  
• 
  Find the “PIN” section and click the Change button.
  
• 
  Enter your Windows password, then click the
  Ok button.
  
• 
  Select and enter a new 4 digit numeric pin, then enter it again for confirmation.
  
• 
  Click the Finish button.
  
• 
  Exit the PIN setup utility.
  

Check if it helps.



I hope the information helps. Please keep us posted on the issue. We will be happy to assist you accordingly.

Thank you.

 

Sold laptop, now new owner needs password ???

I sold my laptop online after doing a factory restart on it. Removed all my personal files and kept Windows 10 on it. Now, the new owner messaged me that he needs a password for the laptop. Not a PIN, but a password. I don't remember resetting any passwords
or pins.

Logging into my microsoft account, I saw that the laptop was still in my list of devices. I removed it from my devices and unlinked it from the microsoft store.

Is there anything else I need to do? Will the new owner still need a password? Can the new owner reset the password?