I cant log into my local account

Hi Joseph Sokolowski,

I understand how frustrating it is to be locked out, especially when Face ID and PIN stop working at the same time. Have you already tried the Q&A Assist suggestions? In addition, could you help confirm a few points:

1. On the sign-in screen, does your account show as just a username (local account) or an email address (Microsoft account)?
2. When you select “Sign-in options”, do you still see a Password option, or only PIN/Face ID?
3. After entering a wrong password, do you see a “Reset password” link (for security questions)?
4. Is there any other account listed on the sign-in screen that you could try (for example, another user or admin account)?

These details will help determine what recovery options are actually available in your case.

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Because the account is a local account and both the password and security questions are forgotten, Windows cannot reset that account directly. The only supported options are:

1. Use another local administrator account (if one exists)
   If there is another account on the PC with administrator rights:
   1. Sign in with that administrator account.
   2. Open Computer Management.
   3. Expand Local Users and Groups > Users.
   4. Right‑click the locked account and select Set Password....
   5. Enter and confirm a new password. After this, sign out and sign in with the local account using the new password, then set up a new PIN/Windows Hello if desired.
2. If there is no other administrator account
   If no admin account is available and the local account password and security questions are unknown, the only supported recovery is to reset the Windows device, which reinstalls Windows and lets a new account be created. This will remove installed apps and may remove data depending on reset options, so back up any accessible data first. For details, see Reset your PC in the referenced documentation.

Going forward, after regaining access, configure security questions and/or create a password reset disk for the local account so the password can be reset from the sign‑in screen in the future.

References:

• Change or reset your password in Windows
• User Account Access in Windows