[Tip] Disable or Remove Windows 10 Lock Screen

Lock Screen feature was first introduced in Windows 8 operating system which works similar to the Lock screen present in a smartphone. It shows current date and time along with a background wallpaper which can be customized. The same Lock Screen is also present in the latest Windows 10 operating system.

But for some Windows users this Lock Screen might be a useless and unnecessary addition as it requires one extra step in sign into Windows Desktop. Following is the screenshot of the Windows 10 Lock Screen in action:

Windows_10_Anniversary_Update_Lock_Screen.png

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Long time back we shared a group policy trick and registry tweak to disable Lock Screen in Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems which can be found at following link:

How to Disable Lock Screen in Windows 8 and Later?

Unfortunately that trick no longer works in the recently released Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607). If you have upgraded to the Anniversary Update build of Windows 10 and you apply the previous trick to turn off the Lock Screen, it’ll not work as expected. The Lock Screen will still appear at login.

It seems Microsoft has removed that group policy support for Windows 10 Pro edition. Now this group policy only works in Windows 10 Enterprise, Server and Education editions. The same group policy preference is still present in Group Policy Editor but if you apply it in Pro edition, it doesn’t disable Lock Screen.

Don’t worry! There are still tricks to disable Lock Screen in newer Windows 10 builds such as Anniversary Update. Today in this topic, we are going to share 2 methods to disable or completely remove the Lock Screen in Windows 10.

After following these methods, Windows will directly show the login screen without showing the Lock Screen as shown in following screenshot:

Windows_10_Anniversary_Update_Login_Screen.png

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So without wasting time, let’s start the tutorial:

METHOD 1: Disable Windows 10 Lock Screen Using Registry Editor

Microsoft has added a new key in Windows Registry to customize the Lock Screen visibility. Check out following steps to disable Lock Screen in Windows 10 Anniversary Update:

1. Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\SessionData

3. In right-side pane, double-click on AllowLockScreen DWORD and set its value to 0

Disable_Windows_10_Anniversary_Update_Lock_Screen.png

That’s it. Try to lock your computer by pressing WIN+L keys together and you’ll not see the Lock Screen. It’ll directly show the Login Screen.

NOTE: For your convenience, we are providing ready-made registry script to automatically disable the Lock Screen. You can download following ZIP file, extract it and run the extracted REG file:

Download Registry Script to Disable Lock Screen in Windows 10

But there is a small issue in this method! The AllowLockScreen DWORD is automatically reset to 1 after each unlock. For example, you change the value of AllowLockScreen to 0 and then you lock Windows. Now when you unlock it and check value of AllowLockScreen in Registry, it’ll be again set to 1 by Windows.

To overcome this issue, you’ll need to either apply the Registry trick each time you unlock the computer or create a new task in Task Scheduler to apply the Registry tweak every time which is not very comfortable.

We have another method to completely disable or remove Lock Screen in Windows 10 and it’ll never appear again. Check out following method:

METHOD 2: Remove Windows 10 Lock Screen Completely

This method will always work whether its the new Windows 10 Anniversary Update or previous Windows 10 RTM or November Update build.

Actually Lock Screen is shown by an exe file LockApp.exe present in C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.LockApp_cw5n1h2txyewy folder and if you delete or rename this folder, Windows will be unable to find the file and will never show Lock Screen.

We have already shared this method in following article:

[Windows 10 Tip] Remove Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Contact Support and Feedback Apps

Check out BONUS TIP 1 in the above mentioned tutorial.

For your convenience, we are sharing the same trick again here:

1. Open This PC and go to “C:\Windows\SystemApps” folder.

2. Now rename “Microsoft.LockApp_cw5n1h2txyewy” folder. Just add anything before the original folder name. For example you can add BACK or ! (Exclamation mark) or any desired text before folder name.

Remove_Windows_10_Anniversary_Update_Lock_Screen.png

We renamed the folder to !Microsoft.LockApp_cw5n1h2txyewy and it immediately disabled the Lock Screen completely in Windows 10.

NOTE: If you find any difficulty in renaming the folder, take ownership of the folder first using any of following tutorial and then rename the folder:

[Tip] Add “Take Ownership” Option in Files / Folders Context Menu in Windows

[Guide] How to Take Ownership of a File or Folder Manually in Windows

That’s it guys. You can safely rename the Lock Screen folder and it’ll have no side effects. You can see in the screenshot that we have also renamed Contact Support, Cortana and Xbox folders to get rid of those apps as well.

Also Check:

[Windows 10 Fun Tip] Disable Login Screen and Lock Screen and Enable Console Mode

How to Disable or Change Background Image of Windows 10 Login Screen

How to Automatic Log into Windows Without Entering Username and Password?

Published in: Windows 10

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Tried method #2 and although it stopped the Lock Screen via the Winkey + L route, it didnt stop it on a reboot. By that I mean rebooted my machine and it went straight to the Lock Screen.

    Any idea’s?

  2. ^^ The LockApp file is used by Windows when you are already signed in and lock the Desktop. The lock screen shown at system startup is different and integrated into Windows Shell.

  3. Hi! I tried the Registry Script ( Well, I also did it manually before that ) and after restart it shows Logon Screen again. Then I checked the registry, it came back to default one. Any ideas? I didn’t try Method 2 so i have no idea about it. Thank you 🙂

  4. Neither of these two methods work.

    Method 1: registry setting resets to enabled (1) after sleep/reboot.

    Method 2: folder remains renamed with “!” character, but lock screen displays anyway upon reboot.

  5. Guys

    I already told that registry value is automatically reset to 1 by Windows upon unlock so you’ll need to rerun the registry script each time. Or create a new task to run it automatically.

    Regarding renaming lock screen folder, it’ll prevent lock screen after each unlock attempt. The lock screen will be shown only once when you reboot the computer.

  6. VG,

    You mentioned this:
    The LockApp file is used by Windows when you are already signed in and lock the Desktop. The lock screen shown at system startup is different and integrated into Windows Shell.

    The old registry key to remove the lock screen at system startup worked until I upgraded to build 1607. Is there a way to eliminate the lock screen at system startup (e.g. go directly to the logon screen)?

    Thanks,
    Art

  7. VG,

    Thanks for replying

    For security reasons, I prefer to log on to a machine using my user name and password. What I really want is to eliminate the lock screen while logging onto a machine. This functionality work on the prior build but not on the new build (1607).

    Do you know of any workarounds?

    Cheers,
    Art

  8. Hi VG,
    thank you so much for your work. Your tips and tricks are very usefull !

    I would like to set my Desktop wallpaper with the SlideShow option, with a personal pictures folder. And of course, I want it to do it with command lines / registry editions. 😉
    I would like to do it also for my LockScreen.

    Do you have a solution for me ?

    Keep going !

    Govi

  9. Hi,
    yes, of course ! But is there a way to do it without going and clicking in Settings etc. ? I would like to do it with command lines or registry editions only.
    Thank you for your answer !
    Govi

  10. ^^ The desktop wallpaper slideshow settings are stored in following Registry key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers

  11. Thanks for the guide VG, you rock! One question though. When I’m away from my computer long enough for the screen to turn off, the lock screen is back when I wake the screen back up. I did the trick and renamed the SystemApps file, but would like if my computer went straight to my desktop when waking the screen back up. Thanks again!

  12. Renaming might not work. In this case find out if some Windows user has a Lock screen on and it prevents renaming. Start Task Manager as Admin > Users > User > Check from process list if there is LockApp.exe. If there is, select it and select End. Then you can rename the folder.

  13. i just did a clean install after i put new mem in and i cant get rid of my lock screen i tried your ways plus any other i could find on the net and utube to no avail
    my system is stable fast and smooth except i dont like having to enter a password to get past it
    my system is as such
    dell e6520
    16gb ddr3 1866 hynix mem
    256 gb samsung ssd
    320gb 7200rpm hhd storage
    2.4ghz qm i7 cpu with all cores recoginized with hyperthreading
    but the damn lock screen wont go away i had this problem with one before and called microsoft and fixed it quickly but i cant remember how i did it so i thought and email would give it to me that i can keep if it happens again
    ive been working on puters for 15 or so yrs and i know what i can cobble together to work and it wa s just a couple command lines to fix
    and the other machine had an unregistered copy as this one is
    thank you in advance
    andy

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