Due to a Windows 11 bug, the password icon is no longer visible when you want to log in.
Microsoft announces on its support page that the Windows 11 updates (from August onwards) are causing problems with logging in. The password icon no longer appears in the login options on the lock screen. In the meantime, Microsoft shares a workaround so that users can still select an alternative password method.
Invisible
The new Windows 11 bug causes the login icon to be invisible. Normally, users can log in with a password as an alternative to the Windows Hello code. Users who forget their password can still log in this way. Except now, because the password icon is not visible.
The bug applies to systems running the August 2025 update (KB5064081) and later updates on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 systems.
But Not Gone
Microsoft emphasizes that the login icon is not gone, but invisible. “When you move your mouse over the space where the icon should appear, you’ll see that the password button is still available,” Microsoft states. “Select this placeholder to open the password text box and enter your password. After entering your password, you can log in normally.”
Microsoft is currently working on a permanent solution.