What Is the Group Policy Service Failed to Sign in Error Message? [Ultimate Guide]

If the “group policy service failed the sign in” error message keeps popping up, you’re most likely dealing with a corrupted file. However, there are other reasons why the error can pop up, which we’ve discussed in our article.

We also ran through some fixes you can try out. Keep reading.

Why Does the “Group Policy Service Failed To Sign In” Error Appear?

The error pops up when the Group Policy fails to respond to the call-upon system that Winlogon initiates. As mentioned, a corrupted file can cause this. There are other reasons too, like a bad shutdown, and a bugged-out operating system.

Luckily, there are many ways to fix the problem. We discussed some of the best in the section below.

Solution 1: Edit Registry Via an Administrator Account

You might be able to fix the issue by editing your computer’s registry. Doing this may sound like a lot of work, but it’s easy:

• Press Windows key + R to open the Run program
• Type the Regedit command into the dialog box
• Look for the following registry key on the left side of the window: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\gpsvc
• Navigate to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SVCHOST
• You should see a multi-string value called GPSvcGroup. If you don’t, right click the panel on the right and create the value with the same name, then assign it to GPSvc
• Open the new folder and right click on the panel again
• Create 2 DWORD Values – AuthenticationCapabilities, which should have a value of 0x00003020 and ColnitializeSecurityParam, which should have a value of 1.
• Restart your computer

Solution 2: Reset Google Chrome

Isolated glitches can cause apps that don’t require administrator permissions to act up and cause the hiccup. Resetting them can do the trick. However, there are quite a few of these apps on your computer.

Your best bet would be to try with Google Chrome:

• Press and hold the Windows Key + R
• Enter the following command: appwiz.cpl
• Open the Program & Features window
• Look for Google Chrome
• Uninstall it

Remember to not install it with admin privileges afterward.

Solution 3: Turn off fast startup

Windows 10 comes with a Fast Startup feature. It’s useful, as it makes your computer startup faster. However, it can cause your computer to slow down when shutting down. This can cause your system to malfunction and lead to the login error.

Fixing this is easy:

• Tap on Start > Settings
• Click on the Power and Sleep sections
• Click on Additional Power Settings
• Select “Choose What the Power Buttons Do”
• Scroll down
• Uncheck the Turn on Fast Startup box
• Save the changes
• Restart your computer afterward

Hopefully, the error will be gone now. If it’s still around, we’ve got a couple more fixes to try.

Solution 4: Restart Group Policy Service and Reset Winsock

If you’re still having trouble, try restarting the Group Policy service. For added measure, give resetting Winsock a go.

To make this step easier to follow, we’ve divided it into 2 parts.

Part 1:

• Press the Windows key + R to open the Run program
• Run the Services command
• Look for the Group Policy Client and then right click its properties
• Change it to Automatic

Part 2:

• Click on the Start button
• Select Apply and then Ok
• Right-click the Start button and select the Command Prompt or Powershell
• Run the following command – .netsh winsock reset
• Enter ‘Exit’ and run it to exit the command prompt windows

Solution 5: Update Windows

Lastly, we recommend updating your operating system. It might be outdated and could have bugged out.

If you’re using an older OS, you would have been getting update prompts lately.

Here’s what you do:

• Click the Start button
• Type Update and wait for Windows Update/Check for Updates to pop up
• You should see a message popping up telling you that an update is available
• Click Ok
• Click Install

Fixing Group Policy Service Failed to Sign in

The error message pops up when the Group Policy acts up and stops responding to the call-upon system that Winlogon initiates. This can happen due to various reasons. Isolated glitches, bugs, and corrupted files are the major culprits.

Hopefully, you found everything that was discussed useful.