[Fix] Windows 11 Stuck at Lock Screen, Now Requires Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete to Unlock
If your Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer gets stuck at Lock Screen and you always need to press Ctrl+Alt+Del keys together to get the Password box and unlock your computer, you are not alone. It seems a known bug in Windows 10/11 operating system and in this article, we’ll discuss about it in details.
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[PROBLEM] Windows 11 Gets Stuck at Lock Screen
Since a few days, I was facing this issue in one of my Windows 11 devices. Whenever I started the device (restart as well as resume from hibernate/sleep) and Windows 11 displayed the Lock Screen with date/time and I pressed a key such as Space bar to unlock the device, the Lock Screen got stuck. Nothing happened after that and Windows 11 didn’t show round user picture, user name and password box. So I was unable to enter the password to sign into my account.
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During this issue, as soon as I press a key or click using mouse button on Lock Screen, the date and time on Lock Screen disappear and it seems Windows 11 will show password box to enter the password but it never happens. The Lock Screen hangs and keeps showing the background wallpaper without password box.
Windows 11 Suddenly Requires to Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete Keys to Unlock
When this problem occurs, I noticed that pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del keys immediately fixes the issue and the password box along with username appears on Lock Screen.
I checked that “pressing CAD (Ctrl+Alt+Del) keys to unlock the device” feature is NOT enabled in the device. In fact, the Lock Screen doesn’t show any such information like I need to press the Ctrl+Alt+Del keys together.
The problem suddenly started occurring and now I always need to press Ctrl+Alt+Del keys together to get the password box and unlock the device.
It’s a Known Issue Also Present in Windows 10
When I searched about the issue on Internet, I found several Windows 10 users have also faced this issue in past.
A user “POTUS1” posted about it at official Microsoft Answers forum:
I have Windows 10 Home, and on one of the last updates, all of the sudden, I MUST go through >>> ctr+alt+del, and once that screen clears, then enter my password. I DO NOT need feature!
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How do I disable the ctrl+alt+del portion of the login?
Another user “SlickRCBD” also posted about similar issue on Microsoft Answers forum:
Suddenly, without me changing any settings, the lock screen requires (invoked by pressing -) me to press DELETE before I can enter my password to resume using the computer. Before it would respond to any key, or just prompt me to enter the password. The only thing I knew of that would do this was for the Welcome screen, which is unaffected. Also, I checked the setting for that, and it is unchecked. How do I make it so that I don’t need to hit DELETE before I can enter my password?
I found a person “Teleporting Goat” at Superuser community having exact same issue in his Windows 10 device:
When I unlock my home PC, I often get in a situation like this:
- Background is the current windows lock screen image
- No text like “Press ctrl+alt+del”
- No field to type my password
If I click or press any key, I get the windows “background” sound, like when there’s a window open that has priority over the one you’re clicking. Nothing happens, the field doesn’t show up.
When this happens, I don’t know if it solves by waiting because I don’t have the patience, but if I press ctrl+alt+del the password prompt shows up and I can login. This means I have to press ctrl+alt+del almost every time I want to login even though it’s not enabled. When this “bug” happens I also don’t see the little texts on the Windows lock screen images.
And after I log in, there’s no window awaiting for my action. Today for example I just had Firefox and task manager open.
Clarification: This doesn’t happen all the time. Sometimes I get the normal behavior, which is no password field, and any key makes it appear. The bug can happen when I come back from hibernation or after a normal startup.
What could be causing this and how can I avoid it?
Here is another similar issue reported by “Isaiah_6_8” at Reddit:
Previously, all I needed to do was hit any button on my keyboard and the lock screen would prompt me for my password/pin/face recognition. Now, I have to do that extra step of CTRL + ALT + DEL to unlock. THEN punch in my password.
A few web search results pointed me to instructions on how to tick off a box to disable the ctrl + alt + del step. The thing is, that option is grayed out. I can’t (un)tick the box.
Also, the bottom left-hand corner now lists User 1 (me; my name) and Administrator. It didn’t before. I never had such an option to choose which user I want to log in as. I’d prefer not to have the Administrator listed on the login screen.
I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but I had issues with my Bluetooth (in device manager) not showing up. I did a windows update; went through a restart; then the PC went into a restart loop. The only way I was able to get out of it was by restarting in safe mode. That’s when I saw the different login lock screen.
[Not necessarily a big deal, but I’d like for things to go back to how they were. After years of doing it one way, I’m sure it’ll take a while for me to get used to this new, extra step.]
[edit: I’ve tried going to the Computer Management screen > system tools … but there isn’t an option for ‘local users / group’]
So it seems the issue was also present in Windows 10 and now the same issue has started occurring in Windows 11 devices too.
Solutions to Fix the Stuck Lock Screen Issue in Windows 10 and Windows 11
There are many possible solutions or workarounds which can be followed to fix this annoying issue. You can try them one by one until the problem is resolved in your computer system:
Solution 1: Change Lock Screen Background Image
I found that if we change or reset Lock Screen background wallpaper to default or built-in images which came bundled with Windows, it can fix the issue.
- Press WIN+I keys together to open Settings app. You can also open Settings app using Start Menu.
- Now click on Personalization section present in left-side pane.
- In right-side pane, click on Lock Screen section.
- Now select a different image for Lock Screen background.
Now try to lock the computer by pressing WIN+L keys together and press any key to pass the Lock Screen. Now you should get the password box to enter the account password.
Solution 2: Turn On and Off “Require Users to Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete” Option
Although it’s clear that the security feature of pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys is NOT enabled in any device but turning on and off the option might help in fixing this glitch.
- Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box.
- Type netplwiz in RUN box and press Enter. It’ll open classic User Accounts window. (You can also use control userpasswords2 command to open the same window.)
- Go to Advanced tab and enable “Require Users to Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete” checkbox. Click on Apply button.
- Now uncheck/disable “Require Users to Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete” option and apply changes.
It might also help in fixing the issue on Lock Screen.
Solution 3: Disable Ctrl+Alt+Delete Requirement Using Registry Editor
We can also disable pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete key requirement to unlock the device feature using Registry Editor:
- Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box.
- Type regedit in RUN box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.
Now go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
In right-side pane, make sure the value of DisableCAD is set to 1.
If it’s set to 0, double-click on the DWORD and change its value to 1.
Restart the computer to take effects.
Solution 4: Completely Disable Lock Screen in Windows 10 and Windows 11
You can also disable the entire Lock Screen in your Windows device so that Windows will direct show the Login Screen or Sign-in Screen where you’ll be able to enter the password.
Following article will help you in disabling Lock Screen in Windows 10 and Windows 11:
[Tip] How to Disable Lock Screen in Windows 8 and Later
Also Check:
[Fix] Windows 10 Lock Screen Taking Too Much Time to Show Login Screen
[Windows 10 Fix] Keyboard Input Not Working in Microsoft Edge, Start Menu, Cortana and Lock Screen
Had the same issue. Toggling lock screen image etc didn’t work, and registry was already 1 for disableCAD. After all other solutions tried, I had to take the registry key, change it to 0 and change it to 1 again (no reboot between) then just 1 reboot at the end. Hope this helps for any others
Best man Mr. A A!
THX alot!!