“You need to reset your pin because security settings have changed”

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I have had to replace my MB under warranty because the inbuilt WiFi would not work although I could connect thru ethernet. Upon restarting my PC with the new, but same model MB, when I try to login I receive the Win 11 message “You need to reset your pin because security settings have changed” but I have no internet connection to logon to Microsoft. Since the MB and the AMD cpu are the same, I assume this is because of a fresh cmos.

I have tried system restore to a point yesterday before the MB replacement but no change. I have tried a Win-PE environment to make registry changes but the entries mentioned to change such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device are not present.  Again using Win-PE, I cannot locate C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc even with “show hidden files” to delete this file as has been suggested in my searches.

I do not wish to reset Win 11 to factory default as I would lose all my installed applications and settings. Surely there should be a simple way to reset or remove my pin?

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Rob,

Have you tried signing in with your Password? There should be a link at the bottom of signin page with the Change Signin Method or sum such.

Once you’re in you can then setup your network connection and go to settings->accounts to change your pin.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Thanks but nothing like that. The only links are to “Set up my pin” which just takes me back to the “You need to reset your pin because security settings have changed” message, Select Guest which does not work, Select Accessability or Network neither of which work.   I am the admin and only user of this PC and there appears no way that I can sign in.  Microsoft has locked me out because I had to change the MB and is not offering an easy solution to my problem.

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Your problem with not being able to connect to the internet is because the network drivers for the MB NIC aren’t being loaded.

A google search for your problem indicates some users were able to login to their Microsoft account to change the PIN using one of the following methods.

1- Connect a USB to Ethernet or USB to WiFi adapter to your PC and, once windows installs the drivers for it, you should have internet connectivity and be able to change your PIN.

2- If your smart phone and PC supports it

· Enable hotspot & tethering on the phone and connect it to your PC with a USB cable.

· Enable USB tethering in the PC’s BIOS.

· Restart the PC.

· You should now have internet connectivity and be able to change your PIN.

Good luck!

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Thanks but no luck. I was able to connect my iphone to my older Win10 PC via USB tethering and had used this approach before when we had some fibre issues a while back, so it does definitely work as I retested it just now. The Win11 PC, before I replaced the defective MB, had both ethernet and WiFi connections working although there were problems with the WiFi hardware hence the replacement MB authorised by MSI. Neither ethernet nor WiFi work so far with the replacement MB – you suggest because the MB NIC are not loaded – as Windows has not loaded yet.

Tethering the iphone to the Win11 PC simply does not work either and the PC keeps saying “No internet connection”. I have also tried with both ethernet plugged in and disconnected. When I click the internet icon at bottom right of the screen all I see is Flight Mode which does nothing. Clicking “Set up your pin” after seeing “You need to reset your pin because security settings have changed” brings up a MS logon window which just says “You are not connected to the internet” with no options to try to connect.  I simply cannot get into either Microsoft or Windows even though I have only replced the MB with the same model!

So, no joy as yet.

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Did you check the BIOS settings to ensure Ethernet and WiFi are actually enabled?

If they are, try turning off Airplane mode using the following from a cmd prompt and see if that restores your connectivity.

reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\RadioManagement\SystemRadioState /ve /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

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I cannot find anywhere in the BIOS about ethernet or WiFi.  The MB is MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk WiFi X670 E ATX.  Have searched internet but cannot find anything on ethernet or WiFi setups for this MB.

 

I have turned off airplane mode from the icon bottom right but it has no effect on the situation as no internet connect options.

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The settings are under Settings > Advanced > Integrated Peripherals.

LAN controller = Ethernet

Wi-Fi module controller = WiFi + Bluetooth

3 users thanked author for this post.

rob_tomcat, PL1, TechTango

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Thanks for all your input.

I checked the BIOS as you suggested and both the LAN Controller and WiFi are active. (I tried to add a pic of this but it has not worked).

The only way I could enter a cmd prompt was to enter Win-PE using my USB Flash Drive. No way from trying to sign in from my user id gave me any option to get into a “run” prompt. The Win-PE cmd prompt worked and I checked regedit afterwards and the key and DWORD had been added.

Unfortunately, no change. I am still unable to get any internet connection when I click “Set up your pin”.

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The LAN hardware is probably different and Windows won’t detect the new hardware until you sign in – catch 22.

You may be able to download new drivers and inject them into the existing.
https://gist.github.com/TomCan/9644966

cheers, Paul

 

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rob_tomcat wrote:

I have tried a Win-PE environment to make registry changes but the entries mentioned to change such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device are not present.

That particular registry entry only controls whether users must login or not (i.e if it’s set to 1, Windows boots directly to the desktop without asking the user to login) and it only works if your PC isn’t setup to require Windows Hello login.

From what I found online, the fact you’re not seeing the sign-in options on the PIN screen is most likely because your system is setup to require Windows Hello and here’s how to disable that from a cmd prompt.

Reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\Settings\AllowSignInOptions /v value /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

After setting it and restarting your PC, you “should” see a new sign-in options item on the PIN request screen that’ll allow you to use a password instead of a PIN.

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One of my replies in this thread seems to have been deleted, probably when the moderator removed the other guy’s requests about a local sign in.

Anyway, I tried the above suggestion with PolicyManager reg add using Win-PE and it did set the DWORD to 0 as I checked afterwards with regedit.

Unfortunately, no new sign in options appeared so there is no change to my being unable to login.  I am beginning to think my only working option is going to be a re-install of Windows, but if so, it will be Win10 rather than Win11 as I refuse to go through this charade with Win11 again.

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n0ads wrote:

Reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\Settings\AllowSignInOptions /v value /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Not to but in, but that reg add command you posted won’t run. The reg add command requires the hive (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE)of the key to be abbreviated. In order to run the command should be

Reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\Settings\AllowSignInOptions /v value /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

HTH, Dana:))

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Drcard:)) wrote:

The reg add command requires the hive (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE)of the key to be abbreviated.

While you can use abbreviated root key names, reg.exe doesn’t require they be abbreviated.

It also works just fine if you use the full root key name instead.

For example, here’s the current setting in my registry for that specific value.

And here’s the setting after I run “reg add” exactly as I posted it above (using the full root key name) from an elevated cmd prompt.

BTW, I’ve used reg.exe this way numerous times, both from cmd and in batch files, and it’s never failed to work using the full root key name.

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n0ads wrote:

BTW, I’ve used reg.exe this way numerous times, both from cmd and in batch files, and it’s never failed to work using the full root key name.

My prior experience must have been wrong and I had always thought you had to use the abbreviated form as shown in the help for the reg add command.  I’m glad to know that the long form works as well and I stand corrected.

HTH, Dana:))

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rob_tomcat wrote:

I am beginning to think my only working option is going to be a re-install of Windows, but if so, it will be Win10 rather than Win11 as I refuse to go through this charade with Win11 again.

Your problem is happening because your motherboard was changed, not because the OS is Windows 11.

While it’s possible to swap out a “lot” of the internal components without triggering what you’re going thru, swapping motherboards (even if it’s the exact same make/model using the same BIOS and with the same CPU, memory, drive, etc., etc. that were installed on the old motherboard as in your case) is the one thing that always triggers a Windows re-validation requirement when it’s first booted up like you’re encountering.

Normally, logging into your Microsoft account from the new motherboard would reset things but, in your case, you’ve been unable get the internet connection to work so you can login to get past the PIN reset block Windows has put up and other methods that are suppose to help haven’t worked.

At this point it seems to me you only have two options left.

1- An “in-place” repair install of Windows 11 to see if that gets your internet working while also keeping all your existing software intact.

2- The “nuclear option” of just blowing it all away and doing a fresh install of whichever version of Windows you want.

Just be aware, swapping the motherboard while using Windows 10 with a Windows Hello PIN would most likely have resulted in the same problem you’re having now.

2 users thanked author for this post.

rob_tomcat, TechTango

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Thank you for all your help and I agree with your 2 options. I am a long time Windows user and each release becomes more user unfriendly than the last and more complicated to install and use the way I want.

I tried an in-place Win11 repair but it did not work.  I tried the option to re-install and keep all apps and files and the recovery said “You have to be signed in to Windows to do this recovery”.  Catch 22!

So I tried the other recovery option, which went “perfectly” except that all my apps and files were deleted.  Thankfully I have full backups of my data files and most of them are kept on other partitions anyway so I have control of them, not Microsoft.  I have been bitten before and only keep apps on the C drive.

Many of the so called new “features” of Win11 and its whole setup are completely useless to me and I have avoided them whenever possible. Unfortunately it does not seem possible to avoid setting up a Pin under Win11 which can then cause so many problems as I have discovered. Why Microsoft has not made something available to overcome this fiasco is inexcusable.

With Win10 I would not have the same problem because I do not use a stupid Windows Hello Pin on my other PC (Win10), I use a Local account, and at least I have it set up the way I want, which is impossible with Win11 even with the variety of cutomisations I use.

So even though I now have Win11 re-installed and internet connected, I am going to remove it and re-install a far better, but still significantly flawed product – Win10.

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