Windows 10: Windows 11 Switched to pin login. Unable to use recovery. Locked out of PC

My partner turned on her PC this evening having used it all day. She uses password login, when she rebooted it was asking for her pin which she does not know and believes she never set. she is currently locked out of the PC as her phone number is outdated on her windows account. We have looked at threads on this topic but none of the options seem to work: Windows suddenly asking for a PIN to login instead of Password - Microsoft Community - Did not work for exampleBeen at this a while and cannot remember everything. Is there a way of her logging in with her password, Bare in mind she cannot lo

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Locked out of PC unable to login

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are unable to login to the PC. For further clarity on the issue, please respond to the questions below.

1. What is the exact error message when you try to login to the PC?
   
2. Do you have internet connectivity on the PC? If yes, is it wired or wireless?
   
3. Do you see any option to sign in using the PIN?
   

If you are using Microsoft account and you have reset the password, but still unable to login then I would suggest you to try connecting the PC using an Ethernet cable and then try to login.



In case you are using a local account, then you may want to refer the article

Reset your Windows 10 local account password



Note: Do not perform reset on the PC if you don’t have backup of the data.



Let us know how it goes.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Cannot login Windows after removing PIN

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I appreciate the efforts taken by you in resolving the issue. I understand that you are unable to login to the computer after removing PIN. I’ll certainly assist you with this.



However, please let us know:

• May I know the steps that you have performed to remove the PIN?
  
• What is the make and model of the computer?
  

As you are unable to login to the computer through Safe Mode as well, I would suggest you to try performing a system restore and see if that helps.
Refer the section Use installation media to restore your PC
from the article Recovery options in Windows 10.



Note: Restoring your PC won’t affect your personal files, but it will remove apps, drivers, and updates installed after the restore point was made.



Let us know the results, we will be glad to help you further.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Unable to login using The login PIN

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft community.

I suggest you to follow the below steps to change the pin and check fi it helps.

• In the login page next to “PIN password option”.
• You will find “Other sign in options”, click on it will prompt you for regular password.
• Enter regular password and login to the computer.
• I suggest you to click on the Start Menu
  and select settings.
• Now select Accounts.
• Next select the tab Sign-in option.
• Under the “PIN tab” click on “ADD” option.
• It will prompt you for current pin password and new password, please provide
  new password then apply the changes, restart
  the computer and check if it works.

Hope this information was helpful and do let us know if you need further assistance. We will be glad to assist.