Do you face any issues while signing into your Windows 11/10 computer using a PIN? A recent update caused a few glitches, and a few users reported that they were not able to sign in using a PIN and neither were able to reset it later. This post aims to resolve issues that you might be facing while signing in using your PIN or fingerprint with Windows Hello. The exact message you may see is-
Your PIN is no longer available due to a change in the security setting on this device on this device.
If you see this message while signing in to your computer, you can follow the steps mentioned here to resolve it.
Your PIN is no longer available due to a change in the security setting
The first step is ensuring whether you are using an administrator account. Make sure you are logged in using an administrator account before following further steps.
Open an Explorer window, and under View menu, enable Hidden items.
Now navigate to:
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft
You will be able to see a folder called Ngc; this is the folder that might be responsible for causing this issue, and we will resolve it by making a few modifications. The Ngc folder contains all files responsible for PIN-related settings.
If you are not able to access the Ngc folder or it got corrupted somehow during an update, then here is how you can fix it.
Try opening the Ngc folder. If you can open it then skip to step this step. But if you get Permission Denied, then do this.
Right-click the Ngc folder and select Properties. Now under Security tab click on Advanced button.
Click on Change link corresponding to Owner field. (Screenshot)
Click on Object Types and make sure everything is selected.
Enter your username in the text box. For me, it was the email corresponding to my Microsoft account. You can also use the Check Names button to verify it. Click on OK.
Now a change in owner’s name will be reflected. Make sure you enable the checkbox just below it, which says Replace owner on subcontainers and objects. Click on Apply and close everything.
Now try to open the Ngc folder again, and you should be able to access it.
Delete all the contents of the Ngc folder and make sure it is empty.
Reboot your computer.
Once you have followed all the steps, go to Account Settings and try to set up a new PIN.
You should now be able to set up a new PIN and use it to sign into your computer. If you still face this issue, you probably need to do something else about this issue.
Try changing your Microsoft Account password. Or another step that you can follow is, to switch to a local account and then create a new PIN and then switch to your Microsoft Account again.
I hope this solves your problem.
