Today, almost everyone has countless accounts with all sorts of websites and services. That means everyone has a bunch of different passwords to remember. This is why some companies are pushing for a passwordless future. Microsoft has taken a baby step, by allowing users to sign-in Windows 10 with a phone number. This passwordless authentication for a new Windows 10 user account still requires that you have a Microsoft account linked with the phone number.
Let’s see the step by step instructions to log in Windows 10 with phone number instead of a password.
Sign-in Windows 10 with Phone Number
The new passwordless authentication is only available on Windows 10 version 1903. If you’re unaware, that’s the version you get if you’ve received the Windows 10 May 2019 update. If you’re on the latest build, here’s how you can sign-in Windows 10 with a phone number.
- Launch Settings.
- Go to Accounts and select Family & other users from the left column.
- Under Other users on the right, click Add someone else to this PC.
- Enter a phone number linked to the Microsoft account that you wish to sign in Windows 10 with and click Next.
- Below Other users, you should now be able to see the newly created Windows 10 user account.
- Next, open up the Start menu, click on your Windows 10 user account picture or name and select Lock.
- On the login screen, select the Windows 10 user account with the phone number.
- Click on Sign-in options then click on the alternative ‘PIN’ tile, and click Sign in.
- Continue with the on-screen web setup directions to finish setting up the account.
- A code will be sent to the Phone number used to create the account, provided there is a Microsoft account linked with it. You can use this code as the PIN to sign in Windows 10.
- During the process, you’ll be asked to select a particular sign in method. This is the method you’ll use for subsequent Windows 10 sign-ins.
Related: Reset or Bypass Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Password with PCUnlocker
Windows 10 Passwordless Authentication
Microsoft announced the new feature back in May, while the May 2019 Update was rolling out to users. The announcement states,
“Today, we’re announcing support for setting up and signing in to Windows with a phone number account, without having to create, or deal with the hassle of a password! If you have a Microsoft account with your phone number, you can use an SMS code to sign in and set up your account on Windows 10. Once you’ve set up your account, you can use Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or a PIN (depending on your device capabilities) to sign in to Windows 10. No password needed anywhere!”
Although the first sign in is technically passwordless, you’ll still need a PIN, fingerprint, or another form of Windows Hello authentication for subsequent sign-ins. And you will still have the password of your Microsoft account. So this does not change a whole lot. However, it does make signing in Windows 10 a bit easier for a new user account.
