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Unable to Enter “@” in Windows Login PIN on Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (Shift+2 Triggers Home Key)

Balaji Manohar 20 Reputation points
2026-04-06T18:27:50.82+00:00

I am unable to log in to my Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 because the PIN contains the “@” symbol, and the keyboard is not entering the correct character. When I press Shift + 2, instead of typing “@”, the system behaves as if the Home key was pressed and moves the cursor to the beginning of the field.

I attempted the same input using the on-screen keyboard, but the issue persists, the cursor still jumps to the beginning rather than entering the @ symbol. Because of this behavior, I am unable to correctly enter my PIN and cannot log into the computer.

Assistance is needed to determine whether this is related to a keyboard layout issue, login screen input bug, or system setting, and to identify a workaround to allow entry of the @ character so I can access the system.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Accounts, profiles, and login
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  1. Pauli O 15,200 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-04-07T04:54:59.2466667+00:00

    This could be keyboard layout issue as you think. If you have installed Windows in language 1 but later you have changed to language 2 inside Wndows then it's quite possible that sing-in screen use different language that what you use when creating that PIN. Do you se language selector on bottom right cornet of sign-in screen?

    When Shift + 2 doesn work try to use ALTGR+2 instead.

    If you can sign-in then open Control panel / Region, select Administrative tab and click Copy settings.
    Select both options in Copy your settings to: User's image

    That make Windows and sign-in sceen use same language / keyboard settings.

    You found this answer helpful.

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  1. Jeronimo Fuerte 37,775 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-04-06T23:01:38.35+00:00

    Hi! Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with this situation. If the issue is with a PIN, please note that a Windows PIN can only contain numbers and cannot include letters or symbols. If you are instead referring to your password, please share more information about the keyboard layout currently shown on the sign-in screen, which you can check in the bottom-right corner.

    If what you need is the PIN and you do not fully remember it, there should also be an option on the sign-in screen to use the account password instead, as long as this Windows user is linked to a Microsoft account.

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  2. Bulldog 1,050 Reputation points
    2026-04-06T18:43:35.08+00:00

    A PIN can only consist of numbers. It means "Personal Identification Number". A PIN cannot have an “@” symbol.

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