Updated for Windows 8.1
Microsoft allows you to setup a Picture Password or a 4 digit PIN to simplify logging into your Surface tablet.
If you don’t know about picture passwords, they’re a mechanism to let you draw a pattern on the screen to act as the password to unlock or log in to your Surface.
A PIN is just a 4 digit Personal Identification Number (if you ever wondered what PIN stood for) like you use for your ATM or debit card.
Both options a lot more convenient than typing out a long password but have some security ramifications. I’m not going to go into those in this article but you can read up a little about them at Security Nirvana. I’m assuming you’re a big boy or girl and can make the convenience vs. security call yourself. I’m just going to show you how to setup a picture password or PIN.
Setup a Picture Password or PIN: Setup a Picture Password
- Find a nice picture that you want to use for your picture password
- Make sure it’s in your Pictures folder on your Surface or in your OneDrive
- Go to the Charms bar (swipe in from the right side of the screen)
- Click the Settings charm
- Select Change PC Settings
- Select Accounts then Sign-in Options
- Under Sign-in options select Create a picture password. You will be prompted for your full password, enter it
- Now, you’ll get a screen with a Choose picture button. Tap it. Find the picture you want to use and select it then, click the Use this picture button when the How’s this look? screen appears
- Draw your gestures on the screen. You will have to have 3 different gestures
- Confirm those gestures. If you make a mistake, click Start over to try again
- Click Finish to complete the setup of a picture password for your Surface
Pretty easy. Now let’s go over how to setup a PIN instead. It’s pretty much the same thing but not quite as many steps.
Setup a Picture Password or PIN: Setup a PIN
- Go to the Charms bar (swipe in from the right side of the screen)
- Click the Settings charm
- Select Change PC Settings
- Select Accounts then under Sign-in options select Create a PIN
- You will be prompted for your full password, enter it
- Next you’ll be asked for your PIN, enter and confirm it
That’s it. Simple, huh? So now instead of needing to enter a long password, you’ll just have to punch in a 4 digit PIN to access your device. It’s a lot quicker than entering a long alphanumeric password but has the previously mentioned security concerns.
It’s up to you to decide which is more important; security or convenience.
In case you’re wondering; yes you can have both a picture password and a PIN. You can switch between them via the sign-in options item below the password or PIN fields. If you’re using a picture password, you’ll have to click the Switch to password button first to see it.
Tim