Windows 10 disable login screen: sign in automatically

Applies to: Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education, with a Microsoft account or a local account. Most steps also work in Windows 11.

Before you start: anyone who turns on or picks up the PC gets straight into your account, your email and your saved passwords. Only do this on a desktop at home that nobody else can reach. On a laptop you carry around, or a work PC, keep the sign-in screen, or use a quick PIN or Windows Hello face or fingerprint sign-in instead.

Which screen do you want to skip?

What you see	What it is	How to skip it
A picture with the time and date, before the password box	The lock screen	Remove the lock screen
The password or PIN box when Windows starts	The sign-in screen	Method 1, 2 or 3
The password box after the PC wakes from sleep	Sign-in on wake	Stop the prompt after sleep

Method 1: Sign in automatically with netplwiz

1. Press Win + R, type netplwiz and press Enter. The User Accounts window opens.
2. On the Users tab, select the account that should sign in automatically.
3. Clear Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer and click Apply.
4. In the Automatically sign in box, enter the account’s password twice and click OK. For a Microsoft account, use the email address and the Microsoft account password, not your PIN.
5. Restart. Windows should go straight to the desktop.

If Windows still stops at the sign-in screen, the password you typed was probably wrong. Run netplwiz again, tick the box, apply, clear it again and re-enter the password carefully.

If the checkbox is missing

On many Windows 10 PCs that use a Microsoft account with a PIN, the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer option is hidden. To bring it back:

1. Open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
2. Turn off For improved security, only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device.
3. Close Settings, run netplwiz again and follow Method 1.

If you don’t see that switch, or it’s greyed out, it may be controlled by your organization. Use Method 2 instead. If your PIN stops working after changes like this, see your PIN is no longer available due to a change.

Method 2: Use Microsoft’s Autologon tool

Autologon is a free Sysinternals tool from Microsoft. It’s handy when the netplwiz checkbox won’t appear, and it stores the password encrypted as an LSA secret rather than as plain text.

1. Download Autologon from Microsoft’s Sysinternals page (linked in the sources below) and extract the ZIP file.
2. Run Autologon64.exe (or Autologon.exe on 32-bit Windows) and accept the licence.
3. Check the Username and Domain fields, type the password and click Enable.
4. Restart to test. To turn it off later, run the tool again and click Disable.

Microsoft notes that someone with administrator rights on the PC can still retrieve and decrypt that stored password, so the same physical-security advice applies.

Method 3: Turn on auto sign-in in the registry

This is Microsoft’s manual method. It works, but it stores your password in the registry in plain text, which Microsoft says other signed-in users can read remotely. Prefer Methods 1 or 2.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit and press Enter. Back up the registry first (File > Export).
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
3. Set the string value AutoAdminLogon to 1.
4. Set DefaultUserName to the account name. Create it as a String Value if it doesn’t exist.
5. Create or edit the string value DefaultPassword and enter the account password. Without it, Windows switches AutoAdminLogon back to 0.
6. On a domain-joined PC only, set DefaultDomainName to the domain name.
7. Restart.

A logon banner (a legal notice shown before sign-in, often set on work PCs) stops this method from working.

Stop the password prompt after sleep

Automatic sign-in only applies when Windows starts. Waking from sleep is a separate setting:

1. Open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
2. Under Require sign-in, choose Never.
3. If a screen saver is set, open Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Screen saver settings and clear On resume, display logon screen.

If Require sign-in is missing, the Windows Hello-only switch from the section above is usually on; turn it off first. If your PC takes a long time to reach the desktop even without a password, see how to fix a slow boot in Windows 10.

Remove the lock screen picture

The lock screen is the picture with the clock that you click or swipe away before signing in. With automatic sign-in on, you won’t normally see it at startup, but you may still see it after locking the PC.

Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise or Education: run gpedit.msc, go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization, open Do not display the lock screen, set it to Enabled and restart.

Windows 10 Home: in regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows, create a key named Personalization if it’s missing, and inside it create a DWORD (32-bit) Value named NoLockScreen set to 1. Restart.

Microsoft documents this as a standard policy setting, but on some editions and versions Windows has ignored it. If the lock screen still appears, pressing any key or clicking takes you past it straight away.

How to undo it

• To skip automatic sign-in just once, hold Shift as Windows starts or after you sign out.
• To turn it off: run netplwiz and tick Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer again; or click Disable in Autologon; or set AutoAdminLogon to 0 and delete DefaultPassword in the registry.
• To bring back the password after sleep, set Require sign-in back to When PC wakes up from sleep.
• If you change your account password later, automatic sign-in stops working until you enter the new password in the method you used.

If repeated wrong passwords lock the account, see the referenced account is currently locked out.

Related guides

• Windows Hello PIN: this option is currently unavailable
• Your PIN is no longer available due to a change
• Windows 10 slow boot: how to fix it
• The referenced account is currently locked out

Official sources: for more detail, see these pages:

• Microsoft Learn: Configure Windows to automate logon
• Microsoft Learn: Autologon (Sysinternals)
• Microsoft Learn: Do not display the lock screen policy

Frequently asked questions

Can I disable the login screen with a Microsoft account?

Yes. netplwiz and Autologon both work with a Microsoft account. Enter the account’s email address and its full password, not your PIN.

Why does Windows still ask for a password after I used netplwiz?

Usually the password was typed wrongly, the PC is waking from sleep rather than starting (see the sleep section), or a work policy requires sign-in.

Is it safe to turn off the Windows 10 login screen?

It’s reasonable on a home desktop nobody else uses. On a laptop it means anyone who takes it gets into your files and accounts, so a short PIN or Windows Hello is a safer way to make sign-in quicker.

Does this turn off BitLocker or my account password?

No. Your password stays the same and is still needed for things like Remote Desktop and administrator prompts. If the drive is encrypted, BitLocker protection is unchanged.