Fix Windows Hello PIN Error 0x80090016 – IT Solver Support

⚠️ Important: Create a local administrator account before starting this fix to prevent being locked out of your device.

Prerequisites - Create Local Admin Account

Sign in with your current administrator account
Open Start menu and type "Command Prompt"
Right-click "Command Prompt" and select "Run as administrator"
When prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click "Yes"
Create a new local admin account by entering these commands:
```
net user LocalBackup Password123! /add
net localgroup administrators LocalBackup /add
```
Note: Replace "Password123!" with a strong password you'll remember. Write down these credentials!
Test the new account:
- Sign out of your current account
- Sign in with the new LocalBackup account
- Verify you can access administrative functions
- Sign back into your primary account

💡 Pro Tip: After successfully fixing the PIN issue, you can remove the backup account by opening Command Prompt as administrator and entering: net user LocalBackup /delete

Unable to set up Windows Hello PIN during enrolment with error code 0x80090016. This occurs when there are duplicate device registrations in Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

Also known as

Windows Hello PIN Setup Error
Something went wrong during PIN setup
Error 0x80090016 during Windows Hello enrolment

Affected Systems

Windows 10/11 devices
Entra ID (Azure AD) joined devices
Windows Hello authentication

Resolution

Remove existing device registration:
- Open Windows Settings
- Go to Accounts School or Work accounts
- Select your work/school connection
- Click "Disconnect"
Clean up duplicate devices:
- Access Entra Admin Centre
- Navigate to Devices section
- Find and delete duplicate device entries for your computer
Rejoin device to Entra ID:
- Return to Windows Settings Accounts
- Select "Access work or school"
- Click "Connect" and follow prompts
- Set up Windows Hello PIN after successful connection

Additional Notes

Error details to reference when contacting support:
- Error code: 0x80090016 (Ironically, this specific error isn't even listed on Microsoft's PIN error page - good luck finding answers there!)
- URL for PIN errors: https://aka.ms/PINErrors (Check this page if you have a different error code)
Ensure you have appropriate permissions to manage device registration
This solution specifically addresses duplicate device registration issues
Contact your IT support if you need elevated permissions

Follow Up

If you've encountered this issue and followed the steps outlined in this article, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below to share whether this solution helped resolve the problem. Additionally, if you found a different method that worked, we encourage you to share that as well. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us and others who may face similar issues.

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