How to fix
“You’ve entered an incorrect PIN too many times”
on Windows
Resolve the "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error in Windows 10 and 11 quickly with our expert-tested guide, fixing it in minutes.
What causes How to fix “You’ve entered an incorrect PIN too many times” in Windows?
- Incorrect PIN entered multiple times
- User never typed in the PIN incorrectly
- Administrator account not activated
- PIN login feature not enabled
- Device not connected to the internet
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Hello. My friend was messing around with my PC and entered my PIN incorrectly. Now, every time I log in, I receive a "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error message, and I have to enter A1B2C3 every time before I can log in, which is very annoying. Please advise.
Windows PIN is a feature in Microsoft Windows that allows you to set a personal identification number (PIN) as an alternative to using a password to log in to your Windows account. A PIN is a numerical code that consists of 4-17 digits, depending on your configuration. You can use it to log in to your account on any device that has Windows installed, as long as the device is connected to the internet and the PIN login feature is enabled.
Once you have set up the feature, you can use it to log in to your Windows account by simply entering the PIN on the login screen. This can be especially useful if you have trouble remembering long passwords, or if you want to set up an additional layer of security on your device.
Unfortunately, users have reported that they get the "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error whenever they try to log in to their Windows devices. In some cases, people said they get this issue simply because they indeed entered incorrect information several times, while others claim they never typed in their PINs incorrectly in the first place.
As a result, some users are unable to enter their computers at all, which can be extremely problematic. To fix the "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error in this situation, you should activate the administrator account to log in with no problems.
In some other cases, users said they were able to log in, but they keep getting the "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error every time they log in, and then they need to type in A1B2C3 every time in order to log in, which adds an extra step. This also happens when a computer comes back from hibernation.
Below we provide solutions for both of these scenarios, so please check the instructions below. For optimal performance of Windows and automatic fixes of crashes and errors, we recommend using [d1] PC repair.
When you can log in to Windows
If you have to type in the A1B2C3 code every time you log in, you should leave your machine on for at least 320 minutes, so that TPM would stop assuming that you are trying to guess the password.
Solution 1. Remove PIN/password
You can remove your PIN completely by following these steps:
- Right-click on Start and pick Settings
- Select Accounts option
- Go to the Sign-in options on the left of the window
- On the right side of the window, select either Password or PIN - whichever you use currently
- Click Change
- Enter your password/PIN at the top and leave the remaining sections blank:
New Password/PIN
Confirm Password/PIN - Click OK/Next.
You can then re-create the password/PIN if you want to do so.
Solution 2. Create a new user account
In some cases, those receiving the "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error had their profiles corrected. In such a case, creating a new one would fix this issue.
- Right-click Start and pick Settings
- Go to Accounts
- Select Family & other users on the left
- Pick Add someone else to this PC
- Select I don't have this person's sign-in information
- Pick Add a user without a Microsoft account
- Finally, enter a username, password and password hint, and then click Next.
When you can't log in to Windows
When you can't access your device, your task is to activate the administrator account and go from there. You can do this by using commands via Command Prompt without logging in. Here's how:
- In the Windows sign-in screen, press and hold Shift key, then click Power > Restart
- After a reboot, you will be presented with several options - pick Troubleshoot
- Next, select Advanced options and pick Command Prompt
- In the new window, type in the following command:
net user administrator /active:yes - Press Enter and restart your device.
If you are still getting problems, you can use the instructions below to create a new user account.
Bottom line
To fix the "You've entered an incorrect PIN too many times" error, you should activate the administrator account to log in without issues. If you can log in but still encounter the error, consider checking the PIN login feature and ensuring your device is connected to the internet. If none of these solutions work, further troubleshooting may be necessary.
Frequently asked questions
You can reset your PIN by selecting 'I forgot my PIN' on the login screen and following the prompts to verify your identity and create a new PIN.
Try accessing your Microsoft account online to reset your PIN, or use the recovery options available on the login screen to regain access without data loss.
Yes, you can switch to a password login by selecting 'Sign-in options' on the login screen and choosing to use your Microsoft account password instead of the PIN.
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