Applies ToWindows 11 Windows 10

If you try to sign in to Windows and receive the error message We can't sign in to your account, or you receive a notification saying, You’ve been signed in with a temporary profile, Windows creates a temporary profile and signs you in with that one.

Here are some things to try to get signed back in to your Windows profile:

Important: Any files you have created or changed while in the temporary profile will be lost when you sign out. Use an external storage device to save any work you’ve done since your last successful sign in.

  • Restart your device in safe mode and sign in with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored

  • Restart your device in normal mode and sign in again with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored. (You might need to restart your device more than once.)

  • If multiple restarts don't help, try temporarily disabling your antivirus software or any other app that might scan your device during sign-in.

    Note: Some antivirus products may have additional components that affect the system and may only be disabled after complete removal and a system reboot.

  • If you continue to experience issues signing in with your original profile, disable Windows Defender services: Open the Services app by typing services in the search box on the taskbar and selecting it from the list of results. Then, find the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection and Microsoft Defender Antivirus services, right-click each of them, select Properties , and change Startup Type to Disabled , selecting OK after each change. Restart your device in normal mode and try to sign in with your original profile.

    Note: After troubleshooting and resolving the issue, remember to set the Windows Defender services back to Automatic.

  • If you still can't sign in, try creating a new local administrator account, sign in to that new account, then follow the steps in Fix a corrupted user profile to copy your personal data from the old profile into the newly created one.

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