Can't sign into my child's account

Hi there,

The issue you're facing usually happens because your child's account doesn't have a password set yet, causing the verification process via email codes to fail during the Windows login. To resolve this, follow these steps carefully:

On your own PC (or another device where you're already signed in to your parent Microsoft account):

- Go to the Microsoft Family Safety page: https://account.microsoft.com/family

- Select your child's account and choose "Manage consent".

- Look for an option that says "Create password" or "Set a password" for your child's account. Follow the prompts to create a strong password.

Once the password is set, return to the main PC. Restart it, and then try signing into Windows using your child's Microsoft account email address and the newly created password. You'll then be prompted to set up a PIN, if desired.

Let me know if this resolves the issue or if you need further assistance.

**** Update*****. I've found a way to do it.

- I first created a Local Account with a password and signed in.
- I then signed into the child account and linked it to the local account.

Incidentally, when signing into the child account from the local account the code (as no password) was emailed to MY address, not the child's address.

It feels like something is broken with this method of adding an account to Windows - but hopefully, this helps anyone else in future.

Thanks

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Hi,

Thank you for this. Unfortunately, it hasn't helped as there is no option for me to create a password.

These are the only options I have:



Before I reinstalled Windows, I was able to sign into the child account with a PIN. I've never had a password set - that was also on Windows 11, so I'm not sure what's changed or what I've done differently.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

It sounds like the child account is using passwordless sign-in, which prevents setting a password.

To fix this, sign in to the child’s Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com in a web browser (use the email address for your child’s account and the code sent to your email).

Once signed in, go to the Security or Advanced security options section. Look for the “Passwordless account” or “Manage sign-in methods” setting and turn it off, then create a password for the child’s account when prompted.

After doing this, restart the main PC and sign in with the new password. You should then be able to set up a PIN.

Thanks. It looks like the account already had a password set up, although I am never asked to enter it - it always choses to email the parent account a code.

In any event, from this "Manage sign-in methods" area I managed to sort it out by linking it to my Microsoft Authenticator app. I was then able to add the account and sign into Windows.

Thanks for your help!

Glad to hear that! Your feedback is really appreciated. Feel free to reach out to the Community again if you ever have a new question or run into any issue.