Windows 10 has been around for quite a while now, and many users prefer it in the PC environment. It has earned this reputation thanks to its ease of use and the many settings it provides that makes it accessible to as many users as possible.
However, it is far from perfect as many users have reported various bugs over time that makes the use of the operating system difficult. Windows recently added a new PIN login feature that provided another method to log into devices, the PIN being said to be more secure as this new feature is a device only sign-in method making it less prone to being accessed maliciously.
Many users have reported that they are having problem logging into Windows as they cannot add pin to Windows 10. Here I will discuss this problem in details, and then some of the potential methods that you can deploy to solve this error.
Why I Can’t Add Pin To Windows 10!
Many users are reporting that the new PIN feature is broken on their devices, and the Windows 10 sign-in options not working properly. This can become annoying quickly as the PIN is a much faster method to log into Windows 10. The PIN being smaller is also easier to remember, and convenient as well.
This error is usually caused by broken system files associated with the Profile menu. The files necessary for a secure login may be modified of broken for some reason, and that is the reason that you may not be able to add PIN to Windows 10.
If the Windows 10 PIN option does not show up at all, there can also be a problem with the Credentials Manager service that manages the login and provides secure storage and retrieval of credentials to users, applications and security service packages.
How To Solve “Windows 10 Cannot Add Pin” Error
If the Windows 10 sign in options are not working on your device as well, I will now discuss the potential steps that you can deploy to solve the Windows 10 pin error.
Since the error is associated with broken system files, you may want to make a backup of the important data stored on your device.
Solution 1: Delete Login Credentials
The NGC folder in Windows 10 houses all the built-in security protocols. Sometimes, these files can get damaged thereby leading to the Windows 10 pin errors. In these cases, deleting the credentials and creating new ones is the only way to solve this error.
To delete the contents of the NGC folder, follow these steps:
- Sign-in to your Windows 10 Admin account using the password method.
- Open file explorer. You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + E.
- Navigate to the following location by clicking the respective folders:
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft
Note: if you cannot access the folder, you need to take ownership of the folders. To do so, read our full article on how to take ownership of files and folders in Windows 10.
- Once you have taken ownership of the file and have gained full access to the folder, double click to open the Ngc folder.
- Delete all the contents of the said folder.
6. Next, open the Settings You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + I.
7. Click on Accounts.
8. From the left tab, click on Sign-in options.
9. From the right pane, click on the Add button under PIN.
Adding a new login method after deleting the old one should reset all the broken files and you should have successfully solved the “Windows 10 cannot add pin” error.
However, if this fails to solve your issue, you need to use the I forgot my PIN option.
Solution 2: Use I Forgot My PIN
If the windows 10 sign in options are not working on your device, and you are unable to log into your device due to that, you need to use the ‘I forgot my PIN’ option that allows you to reset your PIN using the Microsoft account Password.
For this, you need to connect your device to the internet as the verification will occur over it.
- On the login screen, press the Tab button to go to PIN sign-in options.
- Under the input field, you will find the ‘I forgot my PIN’
If you are able to login using the password method, then log into Windows and open the settings app by pressing Win + I. Then click on Account > Sign-in options. Here click on I forgot my PIN button.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions and provide the necessary details to reset the PIN.
4. Set a new PIN for the device, and log into Windows using that.
Solution 3: Restart Credentials Manager And CNG Key Isolation Service.
If the steps above did not help you solve the Windows 10 pin error, you can try restarting the Credentials Manager service.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
- Type services.msc and press Enter to launch Services window.
- Here locate and double click on Credentials Manager.
- Besides Startup type, choose Automatic from the drop down menu.
5. Click the Start button followed by OK.
6. Back at the Services window, locate and double click on CNG Key Isolation.
7. Besides Startup type, choose Automatic from the drop down menu.
8. Click the Start button followed by OK.
9. Reboot your PC.
This is an easy workaround to solve the “windows 10 sign in options not working” error.
Solution 4: Run An SFC Scan
If the methods given above failed to help you, your device may be missing some important system files that need to be that need to be restored.
Luckily, there is an inbuilt tool that can be used to solve this problem within Windows. If you are on Windows 10 or 8, run a Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool first prior to SFC.
Note: DISM and SFC scans use the Windows Update to replace the corrupted files. If your Update Client is already broken, you may use a Windows installation disc as a backup repair source. You have to use a different command which will be listed below.
Caution: Do not interrupt the scans until the verification is complete. The scans do take time, but interrupting the scans may break your system.
- Open an elevated command prompt. Search cmd in search and select Run as Administrator from the right-click menu.
- Type the following command and press Enter:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
3. If you are using a repair disc or other removable media, you need to use a different command. The command for this is:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\RepairSource\Windows/LimitAccess
- Note: you have to replace C:\RepairSource\Windows with the location path of your repair source. You can find this path in the address bar of the drive.
After this scan finishes, you need to run an SFC scan. In the same elevated CMD, write the following command to run a System File Checker (SFC) scan and press Enter.
sfc /scannow
After the scan finishes the problem should be resolved. If there are some corrupt files, the scan will show results as a message.
Solution 5: Slightly Modify Registry
There is a slightly advanced workaround that can help you solve this error on your device. This method involves modifying your registry.
Note: Backup your registry so that you can restore it in case something goes wrong.
- Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
- Type regedit and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to the following path by pasting it in the address bar of the Registry GUI:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\TestHooks
- Locate and double click on the DWORD entry named Threshold. If it’s not available, you can create it by right clicking the right panel and choosing New > DWORD (32-bit) Now enter Threshold as the name of the new DWORD.
5. Change the Value data of the Threshold DWORD to 0 and click on OK to save changes.
6. Open file explorer. You can use the shortcut key Win + E.
7. Navigate to the following location by clicking the respective folders:
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft
8. Double click to open the Ngc
9. Delete all the contents of the said folder.
10. Reboot your PC.
Following this, many users reported that they were able to normally log into Windows without any issues.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. Now you know how to solve the “windows 10 cannot add pin” error using the fixes given above. Comment below if you found this useful and tell us which method helped you solve your error.
All this is great – but I can not get into my computer because all of a sudden it wil not accept my Pin. Help