Question Unable to change Windows 11 PIN

[Goi]

Hi,
I inherited a Window 11 laptop that has an account with a PIN set. I know the PIN, and I wish to change it, but I'm unable to change it as the windows Hello PIN says "this option is currently unavailable". The other authentication types ate also unavailable. How do I change the PIN or change authentication type?

 

[Tech Junky]

Fresh install of Windows.

 

[Goi]

Surely there's another way?

 

[Tech Junky]

Surely there's another way?

I haven't used the pin feature but when windows stops doing what you want it to do it's usually faster to reinstall than waste time on things. If the account has admin privileges there might be a reghack to fix it. The alternative might be using Linux USB boot and deleting a file to unlock it and reset the pin function.

 

[Micrornd]

Surely there's another way?

Just me, but I'd start by going through the group policy editor (gpedit.msc) and looking for what's making your changes "unavailable.

 

[mikeymikec]

I'll assume that the OP is logging in with a Microsoft account. In Settings, I'd roll that back to a local account, then log out and back in. I'd then attempt to roll back all forms of user login authentication back to none at all; if Windows isn't being forthcoming with 'change password' options (one can be found in the Ctrl+Alt+Del menu), then I'd fire up a command prompt with admin privs, type in:

whoami

to get your username (it'll be in the format of MACHINENAME\username)

then I'd type NET USER username ""

to clear the password. Log out, log back in, attempt to set up whatever authentication methods you want to use.

 

[Oyeve]

Can you create another admin account without a pin, log in, and remove the other account?