TPM and Windows 11 Reinstallation

Hello guys !!!!

I want to ask something. I have a custom desktop pc with the gigabyte b550 aorus elite v2. I have created some passkeys, including of course the passkey for the windows hello pin.
My question is, what if I reinstalled windows ?? Does the reinstallation clears the tpm or not ??
If it doesn't, will the passkeys work correctly after (including the windows hello pin) ??
Or I have to delete them and recreated them again ??

Does it matter if I had a branded pc or a laptop or if I had a hardware tpm and not a software tpm (ftpm) ??

When you clean install Windows all your settings will be deleted including PIN or password.

FreeBooter said:

When you clean install Windows all your settings will be deleted including PIN or password.

Click to expand...

I understand that, there will no passkeys showing in the windows 11 settings. But does reinstallation it clears the tpm, or I need to do that after ?? Or it doesn't matter ??

You only clear TPM erases encryption keys and security data, like wiping a clean slate. Only do it if you're selling your computer or troubleshooting TPM issues.

bep1995 said:

Hello guys !!!!

I want to ask something. I have a custom desktop pc with the gigabyte b550 aorus elite v2. I have created some passkeys, including of course the passkey for the windows hello pin.
My question is, what if I reinstalled windows ?? Does the reinstallation clears the tpm or not ??
If it doesn't, will the passkeys work correctly after (including the windows hello pin) ??
Or I have to delete them and recreated them again ??

Does it matter if I had a branded pc or a laptop or if I had a hardware tpm and not a software tpm (ftpm) ??

Click to expand...

A passkey is not a password. A passkey is a unique fingerprint on your device that authenticates it - yourself. Think of it as as two puzzle pieces. You have the website as one puzzle piece, and the passkey is the piece it connects to. However, unlike passwords, the passkey isn't stored on the website/company itself. So there is nothing to steal.

Anytime you move to a new device, or reset it, you reset up the passkey using another device to authenticate. This is not as daunting as it sounds. Usually, you just authenticate with your phone for example and a new passkey will be auto created for you for that device.

If the passkey is backed up to your microsoft account, you reauthenticate with windows hello and it signs you in. Or it senses your phone nearby to make sure it's really you.

Passkeys are still new and still being actively developed and worked on. But in general it works by authenticating you, by your face or biometrics. And by detecting the devices around you to make sure you are who you say you are.

Resetting the passkey is similar to resetting a password, but using your devices you own to authenticate you.

If you only owned a phone and reset it, you would prove you are who you said you are by going through prompts you normally would depending on the service....verifying a phone number, code sent to email, an old password etc. But once signed in to google or apple (or a password manager), your passkeys would sync and you can log into everything you did before.

The main goal of passkeys is to be more secure from data breaches as well as making it simpler for users to sign in vs passwords.

This explains it better than I can: