How to remove Windows Hello credentials from a sold or retired PC

You want to remove Windows Hello credentials from a sold or retired PC, including your PIN, fingerprint, face data, and passkeys, but deleting them in Settings doesn’t wipe the computer. The step that protects you most is Reset this PC > Remove everything with data cleaning on, which makes your files much harder to recover; unlinking the PC from your Microsoft account afterward cuts its account access but erases nothing.

The Short Answer: Is Deleting Your PIN and Fingerprint Enough?

No. Removing Hello sign-in methods is good hygiene, but it doesn’t touch your files, your installed apps, your saved passwords, or the PC’s link to your Microsoft account.

Microsoft says Windows Hello credentials are bound to the device they were set up on: the PIN and biometric data stay local to that PC, and the sign-in keys behind them are protected by its Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a security chip, when one is available (Windows Hello for Business FAQ). That’s why they can’t be reused on another PC. The local data still stays on this one until you remove it or reset the machine.

Action	What it removes	When to use it
Remove PIN, face, or fingerprint in Sign-in options	That sign-in method only	Keeping the PC, or handing it to someone in your household
Reset this PC > Remove everything	Your accounts, files, apps, and settings	Selling, donating, or recycling the PC
Remove the device at account.microsoft.com	The PC’s link to your Microsoft account	Always, after the reset or if the PC is already gone

Work or school laptop? Stop here and return it to your IT department. These steps are for personal PCs only.

What Is Windows Hello?

Windows Hello is the built-in sign-in system in Windows 10 and Windows 11. It lets you unlock the PC with a PIN, your fingerprint, or your face instead of typing your password. On recent Windows 11 builds, it also protects passkeys, which are password-free sign-ins for websites and apps. If you need a refresher on passkeys, see our guide on how to use passkeys with Windows Hello in Windows 11.

Prerequisites

• A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC that you own (not managed by work or school)
• The PC’s password or PIN, plus administrator access
• Your Microsoft account email and password, if you sign in with one
• A backup of any files you want to keep, on an external hard drive, a portable SSD like the Samsung T7, or OneDrive
• A password manager or exported browser passwords, if you rely on saved logins
• The PC plugged into power, because a reset can take a long time on battery

Requirement	Details
Device	Personal Windows laptop or desktop
OS version	Windows 10 or Windows 11
Account	Local account or Microsoft account with admin rights
Remote path	Any browser signed in to account.microsoft.com

Step-by-Step Guide

Do these steps in order. Steps 1–5 tidy up your personal data, and Step 7 is the reset that actually protects you as a seller.

Step 1: Open Sign-in options

• Press Windows + I to open Settings.
• On Windows 11, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. On Windows 10, the path is the same: Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
• You can also press Windows + R, type ms-settings:signinoptions, and press Enter as a shortcut.

Expected result: You see a list of sign-in methods. Microsoft notes that the available options depend on your hardware and device setup (Sign-in options in Windows). That means a desktop without a fingerprint reader won’t show fingerprint settings at all.

Step 2: Remove your fingerprint

Skip this step if your PC has no fingerprint reader.

• Click Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello) to expand it.
• Click Remove.
• Confirm with your PIN or password if Windows asks.

Expected result: The section goes back to offering Set up, which means no fingerprints are enrolled. The label may vary slightly by device, so look for the removal control inside that section.

Step 3: Remove your face data

• Click Facial recognition (Windows Hello) to expand it.
• Ignore Improve recognition, which only adds more face scans.
• Click Remove.

Expected result: Face sign-in stops working and the section offers setup again.

Tip: Remove fingerprint and face data before you touch the PIN. Microsoft’s documentation notes that biometric sign-in relies on the PIN as a backup, so changing the PIN first can disable biometrics in ways that make cleanup confusing (Windows Hello for Business FAQ).

Step 4: Check the PIN and the “Only allow Windows Hello” toggle

Don’t expect to find a simple Remove PIN button. Microsoft’s current PIN support page only documents Change PIN and I forgot my PIN under PIN (Windows Hello) (Change or reset your PIN in Windows). The reset in Step 7 removes your account and its PIN along with the rest of the Windows installation.

• Click PIN (Windows Hello) to expand it.
• Note the Change PIN control. Use it only if you’re keeping the PC and want a new PIN.

• Scroll down to Additional settings.
• Find Only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device.

Per Microsoft, turning this toggle on disables password sign-in for your Microsoft account on that PC (Sign-in options in Windows). If it’s on and some sign-in controls don’t behave the way you expect, turn it off so your password works as a fallback. You don’t need to change it if you’re resetting the PC anyway.

If you forgot your PIN, see our guide on how to reset a forgotten Windows Hello PIN. If Windows shows “Something happened and your PIN isn’t available,” we have a separate fix for that error.

Step 5: Delete saved passkeys (Windows 11)

• Go to Settings > Accounts > Passkeys.
• Look through the list for passkeys tied to sites you use.
• Click the three-dot menu (or the delete control) next to each entry and choose to delete it.
• Confirm with Windows Hello if prompted.

Expected result: The list is empty on this device. Deleting a passkey from the PC removes that local, device-bound copy, but it doesn’t necessarily revoke or remove the matching credential registered with the website, your Microsoft account, your browser, or any synced credential manager you use.

If you want a passkey fully gone, check each of those places separately. Passkeys for a personal Microsoft account are managed from that account’s security page (account.microsoft.com/security), work or school passkeys are managed by your organization, and passkeys saved in a browser or a synced password manager are managed in that browser or app, not in Windows Settings. Step 9 covers the Microsoft account and individual sites.

This Passkeys page is part of Windows 11 Settings. If you don’t see a similar page on your Windows 10 PC, you can skip this step and manage any passkeys through your browser or Microsoft account instead.

Step 6: Clear Credential Manager and back up BitLocker

Credential Manager stores saved Windows credentials, such as network shares, mapped drives and some apps, plus some web credentials. Passwords saved in Edge, Chrome or Firefox live in each browser’s own password manager, so clear them there or sign out of the browser separately.

• Press Windows + R, type the command below, and press Enter:

control /name Microsoft.CredentialManager

• Or go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager.
• Click Web Credentials. Expand each entry and click Remove.
• Click Windows Credentials. Expand each entry and click Remove, then click Yes.

Next, check whether encryption is turned on. Some PCs enable BitLocker or device encryption by default, depending on the hardware and the edition of Windows installed, so it’s worth confirming before you reset.

• Open an elevated Command Prompt by right-clicking Start and choosing Terminal (Admin) (Windows 11) or Windows PowerShell (Admin) (Windows 10).
• Run:

manage-bde -status C:

• If Protection Status reads Protection On, back up your recovery key before you reset. Microsoft recommends having the BitLocker recovery key available when you reset an encrypted device, because the reset or recovery process can ask for it. Search for Manage BitLocker in Start and click Back up your recovery key.

Once the Remove everything reset in Step 7 finishes and Windows is reinstalled, the buyer sets the PC up fresh and won’t need your old key.

Step 7: Turn off Find my device and reset the PC

This is the step that matters most.

Turn off Find my device first:

• On Windows 11, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Find my device. On Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Find my device.
• Set Find my device to Off.

If you don’t see Find my device, you’re probably signed in with a local account rather than a Microsoft account, or location settings are off. Either way, skip ahead to the reset.

Then reset:

• On Windows 11, go to Settings > System > Recovery and click Reset PC next to Reset this PC. On Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and click Get started (labels can vary slightly by build).

• Choose Remove everything. Don’t choose Keep my files.

• Pick Cloud download or Local reinstall. Either works for a sale.
• On the Additional settings screen, click Change settings.
• Turn on the data-cleaning option (labeled Clean data? on many builds) if it appears. It takes much longer, often hours, and is meant to make deleted files harder to recover. It isn’t a guaranteed forensic wipe, and results can vary by drive type.
• Click Next, then Reset.

Expected result: The PC restarts several times and lands on the Windows setup screen. Stop there and power off. The buyer completes setup with their own account.

Microsoft doesn’t guarantee that a reset erases data beyond recovery. For a drive that held tax records or business files, see our guide to five free ways to completely wipe a hard drive. If you’re keeping the old drive, an SSD upgrade for the PC before the sale is another option.

Step 8: Remove the PC from your Microsoft account

• On any device, sign in at account.microsoft.com/devices.
• Find the PC in your device list.
• Open its details and choose the option to remove the device.
• Confirm the removal.

Expected result: The PC no longer appears in your list. This unlinks the device from your Microsoft account, but it doesn’t erase any credentials or files still stored locally on the PC itself.

Step 9: Already gave the PC away? Disconnect it remotely

You can’t run Steps 1–7 without the PC, but you can still cut it off from your account.

• Remove the PC at account.microsoft.com/devices as described in Step 8.
• Change your Microsoft account password from the Security section of your account.
• In the same Security area, look for an option to sign out of all sessions or devices, and use it.
• Review passkeys saved for your Microsoft account and remove any you no longer recognize.
• Change passwords for any important sites you were signed in to on that PC, like email or banking. Delete passkeys from those sites’ security settings too.

None of the remote account actions above erase files or Windows Hello data stored on the PC itself. Only someone with the machine can do that, so you can ask the new owner to reset it with Remove everything or wipe the drive with another tool.

You can’t force the new owner to comply, and you have no way to confirm the wipe actually happened. If the PC held sensitive files, treat the situation as a potential data exposure: keep monitoring the accounts you changed passwords for, and secure any other accounts you accessed from that PC right away.

Configuration

Setting	Location (Windows 11)	What to do before selling
Fingerprint recognition (Windows Hello)	Accounts > Sign-in options	Remove
Facial recognition (Windows Hello)	Accounts > Sign-in options	Remove
PIN (Windows Hello)	Accounts > Sign-in options	Leave it; the reset clears it
Only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts	Sign-in options > Additional settings	Turn off if sign-in behaves oddly
Passkeys	Accounts > Passkeys	Delete all
Credential Manager	Control Panel > User Accounts	Remove all entries
Find my device	Privacy & security	Turn off
Reset this PC	System > Recovery	Remove everything with data cleaning on

If you’re keeping the PC for a family member instead of selling it, Steps 1–6 are usually enough. Then create a new account for them and delete yours under Settings > Accounts > Other users.

Tips and Troubleshooting

There’s no “Remove PIN” button

Why it happens: Microsoft only documents Change PIN and I forgot my PIN for this control.

Fix: Don’t fight it. Reset this PC clears the PIN along with everything else.

“I forgot my PIN” doesn’t appear at sign-in

Why it happens: Microsoft says this option only shows up for Microsoft accounts, not local accounts (Change or reset your PIN in Windows).

Fix: Sign in with your password, then go to Sign-in options > PIN (Windows Hello) > Change PIN.

Fingerprint or face stopped working after I touched the PIN

Why it happens: Biometrics depend on a working PIN as a fallback.

Fix: If you still need the PC, set up the PIN again, then remove biometrics first next time.

My Settings screens look different from these screenshots

Why it happens: Options vary by hardware, Windows version, and update level.

Fix: The core paths, Accounts > Sign-in options and System > Recovery, stay the same. Look for similar labels within those pages.

Reset this PC fails or won’t start

Why it happens: Corrupted recovery files are a common cause.

Fix: Try the other reinstall option. For example, choose Cloud download if Local reinstall failed. If both fail, check your PC maker’s own recovery tools, or wipe the drive with a dedicated tool before reinstalling Windows from a USB flash drive.

Wrapping Up

The reset with Remove everything and data cleaning turned on does most of the work. Everything else here is a backup plan or cleanup. Removing your fingerprint and face first is worth the two minutes, and unlinking the PC from your Microsoft account is the step most people forget. If you spot unfamiliar sign-ins on your Microsoft account after handing the PC over, change your password immediately and run a malware scan on your other devices.

Step	Action	Applies To
1–3	Remove fingerprint and face	Windows 10 and 11
4	Check PIN and Hello-only toggle	Windows 10 and 11
5	Delete passkeys	Windows 11
6	Clear Credential Manager, check BitLocker	Windows 10 and 11
7	Turn off Find my device, Reset this PC > Remove everything	Windows 10 and 11
8	Remove from account.microsoft.com	All Microsoft accounts
9	Remote cleanup for a PC already gone	All Microsoft accounts

Resources

• Sign-in options in Windows
• Change or reset your PIN in Windows
• Windows Hello common issues and troubleshooting tips
• Troubleshoot problems with Windows Hello on Surface
• Common questions about Windows Hello for Business