Pin sign-in

Hello Bernard Jones,

Disabling Windows Hello for Business PIN sign‑in and reverting to password authentication requires more than just editing the Group Policy setting. The PIN credential is stored and enforced by the Windows Hello key trust provider, and once provisioned, it will continue to be offered unless the policy explicitly blocks it and the credential is removed from the user profile.

First, confirm that the Group Policy you edited is the correct one: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon > Turn on convenience PIN sign‑in. This must be set to Disabled. In addition, if you are using Windows Hello for Business, you need to disable it under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Hello for Business > Use Windows Hello for Business. Set this to Disabled and force a Group Policy update with gpupdate /force.

After the policy is applied, you must remove the existing PIN credential from the user profile. Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign‑in options, select the PIN, and choose Remove. If the option is greyed out, it means the Hello for Business provisioning is still active. In that case, delete the Hello key container from the user profile by running:

certutil -deleteHelloContainer

This removes the Hello key trust and forces the system back to password authentication.

If you are in a domain environment, also check the Azure AD or hybrid join configuration. If the device is Azure AD joined and Hello for Business is enforced at the tenant level, local Group Policy will not override it. In that case, you must disable Hello for Business in the Azure AD tenant under Azure AD > Devices > Windows Hello for Business.

In short, disabling the PIN requires both policy enforcement and removal of the existing Hello credential. Once both are done, the system will fall back to password sign‑in.

I hope you've found something useful here. If it helps you get more insight into the issue, it's appreciated to accept the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a message. Have a nice day!

Domic Vo.