How to disable the Windows 10 lock screen

The Windows 10 lock screen divides many users. Some don't mind seeing a nice picture along with a news blurb, some notifications, and the time of day. Others find it to be a waste. Why click or drag just to get to the actual sign-in screen?

Disabling the lock screen is entirely possible as long as you're running the Creators Update or anything newer, including the Windows 10 April 2018 Update. The steps required are a bit different for Home and Pro versions, but we'll explore them both here.

How to disable the lock screen in the Home edition of Windows 10

If you have Windows 10 Home edition, to disable the lock screen you need to make some changes in your registry.

Note: As always when editing your registry, there is a chance that your OS can fail if the exact steps are not followed. Before beginning, make sure you create a full backup of your PC.

  1. Right-click the Start button.

  2. Click Search.

    Right-click the Start button. Click Search.

  3. Type regedit and hit Enter on your keyboard.

  4. Double-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

    Type regedit and hit Enter. Double-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

  5. Double-click SOFTWARE.

  6. Double-click Policies.

    Double-click SOFTWARE. Double-click Policies.

  7. Double-click Microsoft.

  8. Right-click Windows.

    Double-click Microsoft. Right-click Windows.

  9. Click New.

  10. Click Key.

    Click New. Click Key.

  11. Type Personalization and hit Enter on your keyboard.

  12. Right-click the Personalization key you just created.

    Type Personalization and hit Enter. Right-click the Personalization key you just created.

  13. Click New.

  14. Click DWORD (32-bit) Value.

    Click New. Click DWORD.

  15. Type NoLockScreen and hit Enter on your keyboard.

  16. Double-click the NoLockScreen DWORD you just created.

    Type NoLockScreen and hit Enter. Double-click the NoLockScreen DWORD you just created.

  17. Type 1 in the Value data field.

  18. Click OK.

    Type 1 in the Value Data field. Click OK.

To re-enable the lock screen, change the DWORD value back to 0.

How to disable the lock screen in the Pro edition of Windows 10

If you're running a Pro edition (including Enterprise and Education) of Windows 10, you can use the Group Policy editor to remove the lock screen.

  1. Right-click the Start button.

  2. Click Search.

    Right-click the Start button. Click Search.

  3. Type gpedit and hit Enter on your keyboard.

  4. Double-click Administrative Templates.

    Type gpedit and hit Enter on your keyboard. Double-click Administrative Templates.

  5. Double-click Control Panel.

  6. Click Personalization.

    Double-click Control Panel. Click Personalization.

  7. Double-click Do not display the lock screen.

  8. Click Enabled.

    Double-click Do not display the lock screen. Click Enabled.

  9. Click Apply.

  10. Click OK.

    Click Apply. Click OK.

More resources

Updated June 7, 2018: I've refreshed this guide to ensure it still works after the Windows 10 April 2018 Update.