You sit down at your PC, type the four digits you have entered a hundred times, and nothing happens. Maybe the box rejects the code outright, maybe it greys out, or maybe Windows insists you set up a brand new PIN you never asked to change. A failing Windows Hello PIN is one of the most frustrating lockouts because it stands between you and everything on the machine. The good news is that most cases trace back to a small set of fixable causes, and you rarely need anything beyond the tools already built into Windows 11 and Windows 10.
The fixes below are ordered from the safest and fastest to the more involved repairs. Start at the top, test your PIN after each step, and stop as soon as you are back in. Most people are signing in again within the first three.
Start With a Clean Restart
A restart clears the temporary system errors that frequently block sign-in, so it is the first thing to try on both Windows 11 and Windows 10. Do not just wake the machine from sleep; perform a full restart so the system reloads cleanly.
If Windows has updates waiting, that pending state alone can interfere with Windows Hello. On the sign-in screen, select the power icon and choose Update and restart if it appears, rather than a plain restart. Once the PC comes back, try your PIN again before moving on.
Reset Your PIN Straight From the Lock Screen
If you sign in with a Microsoft account, you can fix a forgotten or rejected PIN without getting to the desktop first. This option does not exist for local accounts, only Microsoft accounts.
- 1.At the Windows sign-in screen, look just below the PIN entry box.
- 2.Select I forgot my PIN.
- 3.Follow the prompts to verify your identity.
- 4.Create a new PIN when prompted, then sign in with it.
This flow works the same way on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Once you are in, you can stop here unless the problem returns.
Change or Rebuild the PIN From Settings
If you can already reach the desktop (sign in with your account password if the PIN refuses to cooperate), you can manage the PIN from the sign-in settings. This is the cleanest place to either change the code or force a fresh one.
- 1.Open Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
- 2.In Windows 11, select PIN (Windows Hello); in Windows 10, select Windows Hello PIN.
- 3.Choose Change PIN if you know the current one (you will need to enter the old PIN), or choose I forgot my PIN to verify your account and create a new one.
You can jump directly to this screen by running ms-settings:signinoptions from the Start menu or the Run box on both Windows 11 and Windows 10. It saves digging through the menus.
Sign Out and Try Creating the PIN Again
Some failures happen specifically during PIN creation rather than at sign-in. When that is the case, the recommended move is to sign out of your account, sign back in, and then attempt to create the PIN once more. The fresh session often clears whatever blocked the setup the first time.
There is a related situation worth knowing about. If Windows unexpectedly prompts you to create a PIN again even though you already had one, that can be the result of recent security updates or system changes. Simply create it again, and check for updates while you are at it to make sure nothing is left half-applied.
Install Every Pending Windows Update
Out-of-date drivers or system files are a common reason Windows Hello starts misbehaving, so getting fully patched can resolve the issue outright. The path differs slightly between the two versions.
On Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Windows Update, select Check for updates, then choose Download & install and restart when prompted. On Windows 10, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, select Check for updates, then Download & install and restart. Run this twice if updates keep appearing; sometimes one batch unlocks another.
Let the Windows Hello Troubleshooter Take a Look (Windows 11)
Windows 11 includes guided troubleshooting through the built-in Get Help app. Open Get Help and search for the relevant troubleshooter; the app runs a check, reports its findings, and suggests remedies you can apply.
If your Windows Hello sign-in keeps failing on a Windows 11 device, running the Windows Hello troubleshooter this way is a sensible next step before you start manual repairs. It can flag a misconfiguration you would otherwise have to hunt for yourself.
Remove the PIN and Reconfigure Windows Hello From Scratch
When the PIN still will not behave, the next move is to tear Windows Hello down and rebuild it. Sign in with your account password instead of the PIN, then set everything up again cleanly.
- 1.Open Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
- 2.Select PIN (Windows Hello) on Windows 11 or Windows Hello PIN on Windows 10.
- 3.Set the PIN up again from the beginning.
- 4.For face or fingerprint sign-in, choose Remove for that method, then Set up again.
Reconfiguring Windows Hello from scratch is the documented approach for stubborn sign-in problems, and it often resolves issues that simple resets cannot.
Repair Underlying System Files With DISM and SFC
If the trouble persists, corrupted protected system files may be the cause, and Windows has two built-in command-line tools to fix them. Run them in order from an elevated Command Prompt.
To open it, type cmd in Search, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator. Run the component-store repair first so the file checker has good source files to work with:
- 1.Run
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealthand wait for it to report success. - 2.Then run
sfc /scannowin the same window. - 3.Leave the window open until verification reaches 100 percent. Do not close it early.
This applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The process can take a while, so let it finish completely before you restart and test the PIN.
When You Cannot Get Past the Sign-In Screen at All
If the PIN is failing and you also cannot remember your account password, you can still recover access. The path depends on your account type.
For a Microsoft account, select I forgot my password at the sign-in screen (or go to Sign-in options > Web sign-in > Forgot my password). Alternatively, reset it online at account.live.com/ResetPassword.aspx and verify with a code sent to your recovery email or phone. Once the password is reset, sign in and then fix the PIN from Settings as described above.
For a local account, select the password box, then OK, then Reset password, and answer the security questions you set when the account was created. If you made a password reset disk earlier, you can use that instead.
Create a Fresh Account as a Last Resort
If nothing above works, the problem may be a corrupted user profile rather than Windows Hello itself. Creating a new account gives you a clean profile where the PIN can be set up properly. Treat this as a final option, since you will need to move into the new account afterward.
- 1.Open Start > Settings > Accounts > Other users (this may read Family & other users).
- 2.Next to Add other user, select Add account.
- 3.To make it a local account, choose I don't have this person's sign-in information, then Add a user without a Microsoft account.
- 4.Sign in to the new account and set up the PIN under Sign-in options.
If the PIN works flawlessly in the new account, you have confirmed the old profile was the culprit, and you can migrate your files across at your own pace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Windows keep asking me to create a PIN again when I already have one?
Being unexpectedly prompted to set up a PIN again is usually the result of recent security updates or other system changes. The fix is simply to create the PIN again when asked, and to check for pending Windows updates so nothing is left partially installed.
The "I forgot my PIN" option is missing on my lock screen. Why?
The "I forgot my PIN" link at the sign-in screen is available only for Microsoft accounts, not local accounts. If you use a local account, reset your PIN from Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options after signing in, or recover access through the local-account password reset flow.
Do I need to run DISM before SFC, or can I just run SFC alone?
Run DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth first, and only then run sfc /scannow in the same elevated Command Prompt. DISM repairs the Windows component store so that SFC has healthy source files to replace any corrupted ones, which makes the scan more likely to succeed.
Are the steps different between Windows 11 and Windows 10?
The steps are nearly identical. The main differences are that the sign-in setting is labeled "PIN (Windows Hello)" in Windows 11 and "Windows Hello PIN" in Windows 10, and the update path is Settings > Windows Update in Windows 11 versus Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update in Windows 10. The Windows Hello troubleshooter through Get Help is the Windows 11 route.
Will resetting my PIN delete any of my files?
Resetting or changing the PIN affects only your sign-in method, not your documents, apps, or settings. The same is true for reconfiguring Windows Hello from scratch. Your files remain in place; you are only rebuilding how you unlock the device.
