Windows Hello PIN Disaster After Windows 11 24H2 Upgrade — When Security Becomes Your Hostage

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If you thought the Windows 11 24H2 upgrade was just another boring patch Tuesday — think again. After the upgrade, users happily log in with their PIN… until the dreaded message appears: “PIN is not available” with error code 0xc000006d. Congratulations — your “secure and convenient login” just became a brick wall.

What’s Happening Under the Hood?

  1. Post-upgrade + sleep mode = dead PIN. The issue doesn’t strike immediately but often after a sleep cycle when the Primary Refresh Token (PRT) is refreshed.

  2. UPN mismatch is the real villain. If your UPN (e.g., [email protected] → [email protected]) was changed, Hello credentials stored in the TPM are bound to the old identity and simply won’t validate anymore.

  3. 24H2 didn’t break Hello — it just stopped hiding the mess. With LSA protection now enabled by default, mismatched UPN = failed Hello login. Exactly as designed.

How to Play Detective

Run:

dsregcmd /status /verbose

Check the Ngc Prerequisite Check section. Errors like 0xc0000064, AADSTS50034, or AADSTS135010 will scream: “Your PIN login is toast because your UPN doesn’t match.”

How to Escape the Loop

If you still have a working password:

  • On the login screen, choose Sign-in options → password.

  • Windows will then let you reset the PIN — problem solved.

If no fallback password:

  • Delete the NGC folder (where Hello stores its container):

    C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc

  • Or nuke it via PowerShell:

    certutil -deletehellocontainer

  • If even the password is outdated — use a Temporary Access Pass (TAP) to get back in and re-register your PIN.

Community Voices

“On 24H2 you can’t create a PIN. Roll back — everything works.” — Reddit user

“Deleted the Hello container with certutil, PIN worked again.” — another admin hero

Oh, and Don’t Forget Patch Tuesday

The April 2025 cumulative update (KB5055523) also broke Hello on devices using Secure Launch or DRTM. Even Microsoft admitted it. So yeah, you’re not crazy — it’s real.

Survival Checklist for IT Admins

Problem Workaround
PIN broken after 24H2 Log in with password → reset PIN
No password fallback Delete Ngc folder / Hello container
Totally locked out Use TAP to rebuild Hello credentials
Secure Launch causing chaos Consider rollback or temporary workaround

Final Word — Brutally Honest

Windows 11 24H2 didn’t “break” Hello PIN. It simply exposed what was already rotten: stale UPNs, leftover credentials, and a false sense of “it just works.” Without a password fallback, you’re stuck. With one — you rebuild.

And yes, this is your new IT nightmare.

Take care and use test area before rollout to prod.

rgds,

Alex