In this article, I will show you 3 useful ways to disable Windows 11 lock screen. You can turn off lock screen in Windows 11 using Intune, Group Policy, and Registry.
When you power on your Windows 11 PC, before you sign in, you come across the Lock screen. The lock screen in Windows 11 is designed to provide you with information about your day, including calendar events, weather and more.
It’s designed to make it easier for you to log in and get on your computer. You can also personalize lock screen in Windows 11 by enabling or disabling Windows Spotlight, choose quick status notifications and much more.
For most users, this is not a major issue however some users prefer to get rid of this lock screen as they don’t find it useful. In Windows 10, you had to press CTRL+ALT+DEL keys before signing in. In Windows 11, you can dismiss the lock screen with a simple double-click or by pressing any key on the lock screen.
Windows 11 has a lock screen feature that is enabled by default. Without dismissing the lock screen, you cannot view the sign in screen. Unfortunately, you cannot turn off Windows 11 lock screen using settings app as there is no built-in option to disable the lock screen. However, you can get rid of the lock screen using Registry or Group Policy.
Example of Lock Screen in Windows 11
The below screenshot is an example of how the Windows 11 lock screen looks. Typically, it will appear the same for most users (except the background image changes).
When you dismiss the lock screen, you’ll see the sign in screen where you must enter the password or PIN. The log in method varies based on the sign-in options that you configured in Windows 11.
Disable Windows 11 Lock Screen using Group Policy
The easiest way to remove the lock screen on Windows 11 PC using Group Policy. Use an account that has administrator permissions on your PC. Launch the Local Group Policy Editor by running a command gpedit.msc. In the Local GP editor window, go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization.
On the right pane, locate and double-click the “Do not display the lock screen” policy. This policy setting controls whether the lock screen appears for users. If you enable this policy setting, users that are not required to press CTRL+ALT+DEL before signing in will see their selected tile after locking their PC.
To disable the lock screen appearing in Windows 11, enable the policy Do not display the lock screen and click Apply and OK. Close the Local Group Policy Editor.
To verify if the lock screen is disabled, press the Windows key + L keyboard shortcut to lock your computer, it will display the sign-in screen instead of the lock screen.
Disable Windows 11 Lock Screen using Registry
You can remove the lock screen in Windows 11 using Registry. To do this go to Start > Run and type regedit in the text field and press enter. The Registry Editor should open up on your screen.
Note: The Registry method should be preferred only if you know how to introduce changes to the registry. Registry is a powerful tool, and you must be careful while making the edits. To be on a safer side, ensure you back up your registry before making any changes.
In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows. Right-click the Windows key and select New > Key.
Enter the name of this key as Personalization. Right-click the Personalization key and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Specify the new DWORD value as NoLockScreen, and then double-click it and change its value data to 1. After making these changes, close the Registry Editor.
You will now see the lock screen is disabled, and it won’t appear when you power on your PC next time. You can directly log in to Windows 11 PC without having to dismiss the lock screen.
To summarize, regardless of which method you use to lock your Windows, it will no longer display the lock screen, and you’ll see the login screen instead.
Disable Lock Screen using Intune
If you are managing Windows 11 devices using Intune, you can easily disable lock screen by adding settings to Configuration Profile. Microsoft Intune includes settings and features you can enable or disable on different devices within your organization.
The Intune Settings Catalog policy makes it easier for MEM Admins to add, configure, customize and manage Windows 11 policy settings. Ensure you enroll Windows 11 devices in Intune before you disable the lock screen.
Let’s see steps to disable lock screen using Intune:
- First, sign in to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center.
- Go to Devices > Windows > Configuration Profiles.
- On Windows Configuration Profiles window, select Create Profile.
On the Create a Profile window, select Platform as Windows 10 and later. Select profile type as Settings catalog. Click Create.
On the Basics tab, specify the name of the profile as Disable Lock Screen for Windows 11 and you may add a profile description. Click Next.
On the Configuration Settings section, under Settings Catalog, click Add Settings.
On the Settings picker window, type “Lock Screen” in the search box and click Search. From the search results, select Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Personalization. Now select Do not display the lock screen setting.
Do not display the lock screen: This policy setting controls whether the lock screen appears for users. If you enable this policy setting, users that are not required to press CTRL+ALT+DEL before signing in will see their selected tile after locking their PC.
To disable the lock screen on Windows 11, you have to enable the policy setting “Do not display the lock screen”. Click Next to continue.
In Intune, Scope tags determine which objects admins can see. On the Scope tags section, you specify scope tags. Click Next.
On the Assignments window, specify the groups to which you want to target this policy. Click Add groups and select a Azure AD group containing the Windows 11 devices on which you intend to disable the lock screen. Click Next.
Review all the settings defined to remove the lock screen for Windows 11 devices on Review + Create section and select Create.
After you create a device configuration policy in Intune, a notification appears “Policy created successfully“. This confirms the policy is created and is being applied to groups that we selected.
You must wait for the Intune Policy to apply to the targeted groups and once the devices check-in with the Intune service they will receive your profile settings. You can also force sync Intune policies on your computers. Once the Intune policy applies to the devices, you can see the lock screen is disabled on Windows 11. That completes the steps to turn off lock screen in Windows 11.
