How to unlock win 10 machine I locked from my Microsoft acct. I have Admin .

To unlock your Windows 10 machine that you locked from your Microsoft account, you typically need to sign in with your Microsoft account credentials. Since you mentioned that you are the administrator but cannot sign in from the laptop, you may want to try the following steps:

1. Check Your Credentials: Ensure that you are entering the correct Microsoft account email and password. Sometimes, the issue could be as simple as a typo.
2. Use a Different Device: If you cannot sign in on the laptop, try signing in to your Microsoft account from a different device (like a smartphone or another computer) to ensure that your account is active and working.
3. Password Reset: If you suspect that your password might be incorrect, you can reset your Microsoft account password online through the Microsoft account recovery page.
4. Contact Support: If you are still unable to unlock your device, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for assistance, especially since you mentioned that support for Windows 10 has ended, they may still provide guidance for unlocking your account.

Unfortunately, unlocking the device online directly is not typically supported; you would need to access the machine directly to enter the credentials.

If you have enabled self-service password reset (SSPR) in your organization, you might also be able to reset your password from the Windows sign-in screen if prompted.

If these steps do not resolve your issue, further assistance from Microsoft support may be necessary.

Hello Gary Z, thanks for posting this in our community.

When you lock a Windows 10 device from your Microsoft account using Find My Device or account.microsoft.com/devices, it enables BitLocker or Device Lock and requires administrator credentials to unlock. This is a security feature designed to prevent unauthorized access.

To start, sign in to your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com/devices and check the status of your device. If it shows as locked and there is an unlock option, select it. This usually sends a signal to the device when it is online. Next, power on the laptop, connect it to the internet using Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and allow a few minutes for it to sync with Microsoft servers.

At the login screen, choose your administrator account and enter your password or PIN. If you see the message “Administrator must sign in first,” it means the lock is still active but will clear once the admin logs in successfully.

If the device still does not unlock, check if BitLocker is enabled. If you are prompted for a recovery key, you can retrieve it from the BitLocker Recovery Keys page in your Microsoft account. If the lock persists even after signing in as admin, you may need to remove the device lock by signing in online, removing the device from your account, and then restarting the PC.

Please note that there is no way to unlock the device entirely online without signing in locally first. If you cannot access the administrator account at all, the last resort is to perform a clean reinstall of Windows 10 using a bootable USB.

Kind regards,

John Oli