[Fix] PIN Sign-in not Working and Error 0x80090016 Setting PIN in Windows 10

When creating or changing the PIN for a user account on a Windows 10 computer, error 0x80090016 may appear. Here are the full symptoms:

• If there is already a PIN configured, you may be able to sign-in using the PIN. When signing in using the PIN, error “The PIN is incorrect. Try again” may occur.
• You’re unable to set up a new PIN for the account due to error 0x80090016. Full error message verbatim is given below:

  Something went wrong

  We weren’t able to set up your PIN. Sometimes it helps to try again or you can skip for now and do this later.

  For more information on errors during PIN setup: https://aka.ms/PINErrors

  

• You’re unable to set up a new picture password for the account.
• When you open Settings, Accounts and click “Sign-in Options”, the Sign-in Options page appears blank.
• In the login screen, PIN sign-in option is unavailable even though a PIN was configured earlier.

This article tells you how to fix PIN login issues, including the error 0x80090016 that appears when you change the sign-in PIN for a user account in Windows 10.

[Fix] PIN Sign-in problem and Error 0x80090016 when changing the PIN

Option 1: Reset the PIN by Renaming the NGC folder and Set up a new PIN

The PIN sign-in data gets stored in the following NGC folder which is inaccessible by default by any user. Attempting to explore this folder using File Explorer will throw the message “You don’t currently have permissions for this folder.”

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

To repair your PIN & picture password, you’ll need to take ownership of the above folder, rename the folder, restart Windows. And then, set up a new PIN for your user account(s). Follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated or admin Command Prompt window.
2. Type the following commands and press ENTER after each command:

   cd /d C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft
   takeown /f NGC /r
   icacls NGC /grant administrators:f /t
   ren NGC NGC.old
   

   You’ve now renamed the NGC folder that stores the PIN credentials for every user account in the computer.

3. Restart Windows.
4. Log in to your account using your password instead of the PIN.
5. Open Settings -> Accounts-> Sign-in Options
6. Click Add a PIN and set your PIN

PIN sign in should work from now on.

Option 2: Clear TPM

For some users, clearing the TPM helped resolve the PIN error 0x80090016.

IMPORTANT: Clearing the TPM could result in the loss of data. To avoid data loss, make sure you have a backup or recovery method for any data protected or encrypted by the TPM. Clearing the TPM resets it to factory defaults and turns it off. You will lose all created keys and data protected by those keys.

Check out the Microsoft Answers thread Cannot Add a PIN to User Account for more information.

Also, see Microsoft Docs article Clear the TPM for accurate information on the subject.

That’s it! Hope one of the two methods above helped you fix PIN sign-in issues and the error 0x80090016 when setting up a PIN on your Windows 10 computer.