My husband and I are both frustrated by the constant password prompts on our Windows 10 computer. Is there some way to disable it entirely so the computer’s always ready to use?
As a general rule of thumb I always err on the side of having my gear be more secure, not less, so before you completely bail on having to login I want to talk about a few options that can make it a lot easier. The first is to only require a login when you restart the computer so that waking it from sleep makes it instantly ready to go. A bit more secure is to set up a PIN number for login. While 1-2-3-4 isn’t going to prove very secure, the last four digits of your own phone number could be a simple and effective solution that adds just a few seconds to your day but makes it so grandkids and the cleaning lady can’t cause mischief and if someone steals your computer, it’s at least minimal security (though, I admit, not a great security solution in that context).
To set up a PIN, simply go to the Start / Cortana search box on the lower left and search for “sign-in options”. One of those shown will be a PIN. Add a PIN and next time you get a prompt, punch in that 4 digit code instead of a password. Easy.
To change it so that you don’t have to log in once you’ve booted up and established which account to use, go back to the Start / Cortana search box on the TaskBar and type in “sign-in options” just like you would do for the PIN setup. Here’s the window you’ll see:
It’s the very first choice that you want to change to ensure that the value for Require sign-in – If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again? to be “Never”, as shown above.
Want to try the PIN setup? You’re in the right place, just scroll down until you see PIN as one of the sign-in options!
DISABLE WINDOWS 10 LOGIN ENTIRELY
But let’s say that none of this covers your needs and you really want to toss any system security out the window (so to speak!) and sidestep account login entirely. You can do that, but it’s a bit tricky and not something Microsoft has made easy to accomplish.
To do it, you’ll need to go back to the Start / Cortana search box and this time carefully type in netplwiz. Enter that correctly and here’s what you’ll see:
Notice underneath the suggested match it says “Run command”. That’s what you want. Click or tap on it to invoke this mystery command.
It’s rather an old-school window but has all the features you want:
The most important field is that first checkbox that says “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer“. Uncheck that and you’re good to go with what you want. But we’ll get there. First, I want to highlight a security option that’s on the “Advanced” tab. Click on it and check out the bottom of the three choices:
I would be concerned if there was a risk that fake sign-in screens were popping up on a Windows computer and try to isolate the cause, but this is still an interesting capability to be able to enable, particularly on public (think library or Internet café) systems: “Require users to press Crtl+Alt+Delete before signing in”.
Okay, that was a sidetrack. Back to the “Users” Tab. Uncheck the box adjacent to “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” and click “Apply”:
As you can see, you’ll need to confirm that you have administrative access by entering your password – twice! – but once you do, restart your computer and you’ll never have to log in again until you again change your sign-in options through netplwiz. Good luck!
Pro Tip: We have almost 1000 Windows 10 help articles on the site, please take a few minutes to check them out!
Does this actually work for anyone? I’ve tried this many times and I still have the login screen. I refuse to create a password for my own computer. I still have to type in a username and click login
This does not work. Windows boots up again, states password is wrong and to reset. You can’t get in unless you reset it. I have tried numerous ways to bypass the password box. None work.