Looking for a way to disable your lock screen permanently on Windows 11? On Windows 10, all you needed was a registry edit to make the lock screen disappear.
Microsoft makes it a little easier as there are three options available to disable the lock screen on Windows 11 via the Settings app, Local Group Policy Editor, and Registry Editor.
Why disable your lock screen?
You may want to disable your lock screen because you don’t want your PC going to sleep or have to deal with constantly re-signing into your account. The lock screen is the first barrier you face before you can get to get to the desktop on Windows 11.
Even with the ease and convenience of signing in quickly and easily with Windows Hello, it can be distracting when you interrupt your workflow to login to your Microsoft Account every time your screen locks.
The lock screen displays a background image, date and time, and app notifications, but if you don’t want to see any of those things, disabling your lock screen makes sense.
Please note: Disabling the lock screen will not allow you bypass your Microsoft account sign-in option, which includes Windows Hello, your PIN, password or by using the Microsoft Authenticator app.
Disable your lock screen permanently on Windows 11
Here’s 3 methods to disable the lock screen permanently on Windows 11.
1. Settings
Here’s how to disable your lock screen permanently on Windows 11 using the Settings app.
1. Open the Windows 11 Settings app by using the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut.
2. With the Settings app open, go to System > Power > Screen and sleep. You can also use an alternative path; Personalization > Lock screen > Screen timeout > Screen and sleep.
3. Under Screen and sleep, ensure that both “When plugged in, turn off my screen after” and “When plugged in, put my device to sleep after” are set to Never.
4. Close the Settings app when finished.
2. Local Group Policy Editor
Here’s how to disable the lock screen permanently with Local Group Policy Editor.
1. Open Local Group Policy Editor directly from the Start or Search menu by typing “gpedit” and press Enter (or click Open from the app menu).
2. In the Local Group Policy Editor, go to the following location:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization
3. Double-click Do not display the lock screen and change the configuration option to Enabled, then click Apply and OK.
4. Close the Group Policy Editor when you are finished.
3. Registry Editor
Here’s how to disable the lock screen using Registry Editor.
1. Open Registry Editor by going to the Start or Search menu and type “regedit” and press Enter (or click Open from the app menu). Next, click Yes at the User Account Control (UAC) prompt and Registry Editor will open.
2. In Registry Editor, go to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
If the Personalization key doesn’t exist in the left pane, create it. Under Personalization, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value in the right pane and rename it to NoLockScreen.
3. Double-click NoLockScreen and change the default hexadecimal value data from 0 to 1 and click OK.
4. Close Registry Editor when you are finished.
That’s it! There’s 3 surefire ways to disable your lock screen permanently on Windows 11. You can use all three ways described in this guide together or individually, they will function to disable your lock screen so you can go straight to the login screen.
Windows 11 is constantly changing and evolving, so don’t be surprised if Microsoft gets rid of these options in a future Windows Update.
What ways do you use to avoid the Windows 11 lock screen? Let us know in the comments!
