Unable to create passkey for Microsoft Account.

Question

Unable to create passkey for Microsoft Account.

Mariner 160

Hi, I have a Hello PIN that I have used for years to unlock my Win 11 Pro PC. For all those years, until about 6 months ago, the Hello PIN also successfully unlocked my Microsoft Account. Now, the PIN no longer unlocks my Microsoft Account (it still works on my PC).

When I go to the Microsoft Account sign-in page and try the PIN, it says "something went wrong when trying to sign you in with a passkey." I then have to switch to my password and submit to a bizarre audio test to get a security code to my phone.

In my Microsoft Account, I tried to add a new sign-in. When I click on PIN, a screen briefly flashes, then it says "Something went wrong. We couldn't create a passkey."

The screen that briefly flashes says it's opening a Security Window. So, at least visually, it's like the backend code starts to open the Security Window, gets stopped, and throws the error.

Does it make a difference that my PIN is saved to my PC and not in the cloud? It didn't previously make a difference, but clearly something has changed. I tried accessing my MA from multiple browsers, but still no workable passkey option.

My PC is up-to-date on all Windows updates. The option to "Only use Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device" is enabled. I have already followed all the links Microsoft provided to troubleshoot the errors -- without success.

What do you think the problem is and what do you suggest to fix it? Thank you.

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4 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

The Hello PIN on the PC and a Microsoft Account passkey are related but separate. The PIN that unlocks Windows is a Windows Hello credential stored on the device; the passkey used on the Microsoft Account sign-in page is a web authentication credential that must be created and stored as a passkey for the account. The error messages indicate that the existing passkey for the Microsoft Account is no longer valid and that the attempt to create a new one is failing.

From the documented behavior, when a passkey is not found or is no longer valid, it is typically because the passkey has been deleted or is no longer associated correctly with the account. The recommended remediation is:

Remove any stale or invalid passkeys:
- Open the authenticator app (if used) on the mobile device and delete any passkeys that no longer apply to the Microsoft Account.
- In the Microsoft Account security settings, remove any old passkeys listed under ways to sign in.
Set up a new passkey from scratch:
- Sign in to the Microsoft account Advanced Security Options page.
- Select Add a new way to sign in or verify.
- Choose Face, Fingerprint, PIN, or Security Key.
- Follow the prompts so the device can open the security window and register a new passkey.

If a new device has been introduced or the environment changed in the last six months, a new passkey may be required for the current device, and any old passkeys can then be removed after the new one is created.

If the Windows Hello PIN itself is problematic (for example, if the PIN setup or verification is failing on the device), use the Windows Hello troubleshooting steps:

If prompted to create a PIN again or errors occur during PIN creation, sign out and sign back in, then attempt to create or reset the PIN again.
If specific Windows Hello error codes appear during PIN creation, apply the corresponding mitigations (for example, sign out/in again, check network and credentials, or rejoin the device to Microsoft Entra ID if applicable).

If the passkey creation error persists across multiple browsers and after removing old passkeys, the next step is to rely on password sign-in temporarily and contact Microsoft support, as further investigation of the account’s authentication configuration may be required.

References:

Answer 2

Carl-L 23,280 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Mariner,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

The Windows unlock PIN is store in your computer only, and it also only works on this computer. So I don't think the cloud storage is the issue.

Before we proceed further, may I have a photo of the errors to check for you? Please remember to remove all personal information before posting.

I'm waiting for your reply.

Mariner 160 Reputation points

2026-05-16T00:45:57.4833333+00:00

Hello, Carl-L, thank you for your response.

Below is the first error I get. I guess this is because there is no passkey in my Microsoft Account. I use my password to complete the sign-in.

In my Microsoft Account, under Security, there is an option to Add Another Way to Sign In to Your Account. When I click on that, then click Hello PIN, I very briefly get the below popup, but it almost immediately disappears.

As soon as the above popup disappears, the following popup appears.

I get the same errors whether I use the Chrome or Edge browser. I've had my account since 2021 with no problem using my Hello PIN until about six months ago.
Carl-L 23,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-16T13:11:15.8133333+00:00

Hello Mariner,

Thanks for replying.

I'll see what I can do. I'll keep you updated.

Answer 3

Carl-L 23,280 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Mariner,

Thank you for your patience.

It seems like this is a conflict between your account passkey and authentication. In this case, please try to follow these steps:

Go to account.microsoft.com/security and sign in with your account.
Go to Advanced security options.
Find Passkeys.
Remove everything inside.
Type "Credentials Manager" in the search bar and press Enter.
Remove everything related to your Microsoft account and web credentials (Especially login.live.com)

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Carl-L 23,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-21T13:15:29.6066667+00:00

Hello Mariner,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Mariner 160 Reputation points

2026-05-22T02:50:25.5666667+00:00
I went to account.microsoft.com/security. I signed in using my password.

There is no "Advanced" security option. There is only Security.

There is no Passkeys section. There are no passkeys. None. Zip. Nada.

There is nothing to remove.

There is no search bar inside the account.

If you meant that I should type "Credentials Manager" on my Win 11 Pro PC search bar, I did do that. There were two options:

Web Credentials

Windows Credentials

Under Web Credentials, there are no web passwords . Under Windows Credentials there are no Windows credentials and no Certificate-based credentials; however, there are a few Generic Credentials. One of the Generic Credentials is Microsoft Account with my user name and the password (which is hidden).

There is an option to remove that Microsoft Account credential, but if I do that, how am I going to be able to get back into my Microsoft Account? I sensed disaster so I didn't remove it.

Separate from the above, on my PC, I went into Settings > Accounts > Passkeys > it shows the following:

I'm guessing that login.microsoft.com is the same one noted above in the Generic Credentials. There is an option to remove that. But again, I'm concerned I'll be locked out of my Microsoft Account and maybe my PC as my PC is fully bitlockered.
Carl-L 23,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-22T14:00:15.9666667+00:00

Hello Mariner,

User profile detail is managed separately, so removing entries in Credentials Manager and the passkeys entries won't remove it. Both of these are generally safe to remove to troubleshoot.
Mariner 160 Reputation points

2026-05-23T10:34:22.36+00:00

Ok, I removed the Microsoft Account credential. Below is a screenshot of the Credential Manager. I removed the one that starts with MicrosoftAccount. It's the only one that has the word Microsoft in in. There is no credential with the word "live" in it.

I also tried to remove the login.microsoft.com that I found under Settings > Accounts > Passkeys. It won't allow me to remove it. This is the popup I get:

Then I signed into my Microsoft Account to try to add another sign-in using my Hello PIN. Still the same "We couldn't create a passkey" issue.
Mariner 160 Reputation points

2026-05-23T11:26:56.7633333+00:00

I wanted to add that after the above, I decided to sign out of Microsoft 365 as it's the only other Microsoft site that I'm signed into. Then, I tried to delete the above login.microsoft.com. It still won't delete.

So, then I signed back into Excel. As soon as I entered my email, it asked for my Hello PIN. I entered it and was signed back in. Ok, that was a surprise and that's great. Then I tried my Microsoft Account. I still can't use the PIN on that account. I can sign into Excel with the PIN but not my Microsoft Account. I don't get it.

Answer 4

Carl-L 23,280 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Mariner,

Thanks for replying.

In this case, let us try to do these steps to fix the corrupted Hello credentials.

Go to Settings > Account > Your account.
Select "Sign in with a local account instead" and set up the password for this account.
Remove all Windows Hello method, if you cannot delete some, delete as much as possible.
Type "Command Prompt" in the search bar and select "Run as administrator".
Type these commands one-by-one:
- takeown /f C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc /r /d y
- icacls C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc /grant administrators:F /t
- rd /s /q C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc
Restart your computer and recreate Windows Hello again.

I'm waiting for your reply.

Mariner 160 Reputation points

2026-05-27T10:03:37.17+00:00

Hi, I followed your instructions exactly. I created a new PIN.....but it still doesn't work to sign into my Microsoft Account. I still get the "something went wrong" message.

I'm giving up on this issue. I can still sign in using my password. That's good enough.

I sincerely thank you for all your effort to try to find a solution :)
Carl-L 23,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-27T14:03:10.1066667+00:00

Hello Mariner,

Thanks for letting me know.

If you have any other questions. Feel free to ask.