Windows 10: Unexpected required password / pin change

A little while ago, a family member was unable to log in to her laptop with Windows 10.

She has had the password and used it many times.

This time, she was prompted to reset her password, which was verified in an email seemingly from MS. Then she was prompted to create a PIN. She is leary of creating a PIN, without being absolutely certain this is from MS.

Is this legit?

And if she has a new password, why does she need a PIN?

Why can't she bypass this step, and rely on her newly verified password?

:)

 

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.

 

Microsoft Account PIN and password

We appreciate the screenshot that you provided. to start troubleshooting the issue with you logins, we suggest that you follow the steps below on how login pin goes back to password:

• Click Start menu and go to Settings.
• In Settings, click the Accounts icon.
• Click on Sign-in options.
• Change both your password and pin one by one.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Changing from password to pin

Hi Alison,

It's good to know that you want to use the PIN option to sign in to your computer. It's great as well that you've already set up a password, since setting up a password is one of the steps for you to be able to use the
PIN option. Here's the steps on how to set up a PIN:

• Go to Settings.
• Click on Accounts.
• Choose Sign-in options, then click Add under the PIN option.
• Follow the prompt until you finish the setup.

Once done, you may lock your screen and try your PIN in
Sign-in options.

We're looking forward to your feedback.