Account Protection says I need to set up windows Hello It wants a PIN, but I have a PIN

Hi grahamlander,

Thanks for your post in Microsoft Community.

It sounds like you are currently having problems with PIN of Windows Hello.Sorry for the inconvenience.

As for your problem, you can try the following steps to see if they can solve your problem:

Please try to delete all the previously set PINs in the Settings > Account > Sign-in Options > PIN, and then check the situation according to the prompt steps of Account protection .

For your reference:

Windows sign-in options and account protection (microsoft.com)

Stay protected with Windows Security (microsoft.com)

Feel free to post back if you need further assistance.

Best Regards,

Sawa | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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Hi, I went to Accounts>Sign In Options > Pin Windows Hello

The only option I have is to Set UP a pin, the Change and Remove Pin buttons are not there. ( I watched a video of someone trying to remove the pin.)

I tried to set this up and it asks for my password, then my pin (which it thinks I dont have) and then when I enter both a little blue circle spins and then goes away.

No improvement.

Hi,

It is indeed necessary to set the password before setting the PIN. The current situation is that after you enter the password and set the PIN, there is no change, and the PIN position still shows that you do not have a PIN, right?

Please try to create a new local account to check if the problem still exists.

How to create a local user account:Create a local user or administrator account in Windows (microsoft.com)

If everything is fine under the newly created account, you can refer to the following link for copying files to the new user profile:Fix a corrupted user profile in Windows (microsoft.com)

Best Regards,

Sawa | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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I can't really test the PIN issue because I can't sign in with my Microsoft account again on this PC. I guess I would have to delete the old user account first?

I am also having a problem that could be related where I cannot access shared folders on my laptop from this PC over the network. I am logged into both computers using the same MS account. The laptop can read and write files on the this desktop but the desktop can't read and write on the laptop unless I turn off password protection on shared files. I can see the folder on the network from the desktop with either the old PIN issue or this new account. My network credentials create the "The username or password is incorrect." error. If I disable the security and set it to EVERYONE, I can actually write files to the laptop with the new local account you suggested. The old account (with the PIN issue) could only read files but neither can log in using the MS account credentials.

Could this issue be related to the same problem creating the PIN issue? Are my credentials on this machine corrupted?

Hi,

According to the situation you described, this may indeed be caused by corrupted credentials. You can try to create a new local account, transfer the old account data to the new account, and delete the old account. Re-add the Microsoft account under the new account to log in to check the situation again.

Please check here for details:

Create a local user or administrator account in Windows (microsoft.com)

Fix a corrupted user profile in Windows (microsoft.com)

Best Regards,

Sawa | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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* Beware of scammers posting fake support numbers here.

* Kindly Mark and Vote this reply if it helps, as it will be beneficial to more community members reading here.