Are you feeling insecure as regards the safety of your files when you move away from your PC? Do you want your PC to lock automatically when your PC is idle? Or do you wish to change Lock Screen Timeout on your PC?
In this article, I’ll be walking you through the various step-by-step approaches on how to change Lock screen Timeout on windows 10. This article also highlights ways to lock your PC automatically, manually as well as how to stop them if you find it not suitable for you.
To start with, let’s look at what it means to change lock screen timeout on windows 10, then the various ways to go about it.
Change Lock Screen Timeout – Meaning
When you change the lock screen timeout on your windows PC, it means you’re setting the time for your PC to lock screen when it is idle. It is a time that starts counting once the PC becomes idle; once the time is up, the PC screen locks.
This is a feature that helps you secure your PC when you’re not using it. It means no third party will have access to your PC when the screen is locked. So if you decide to take a few minutes/hours rest from using your PC, the screen locks after a certain amount of time you have set it.
Setting the screen lock allows you to move away from your PC for some time and be sure nobody can access your files. If you have correctly set the screen lock timeout, then you need not worry about when it will take effect. It works automatically once you have set the time.
For example, if you set the lock screen timeout to 5 minutes, the PC will lock screen after the PC is left idle for 5 minutes. If you feel 5 minutes is too long or short, you can set it to any desired time.
Note that you’ll also need to set a password for unlocking when the screen is locked. This password is what you’ll input when the screen is locked to unlock it. See how to change Lock screen timeout for windows 10 below:
Change Lock Screen Timeout Setting in Windows 10
Method 1: Increase Lock Screen Timeout Setting from Windows Settings
How to change Lock screen Timeout setting from windows settings: see the steps below:
- Open settings: To open settings, press Windows Keys + I and then click on Personalization.
- From the displayed menu on the left side of your screen, select Lock Screen.
- Scroll down and find “Screen timeout settings”; click on it once you find it. There you can set your desired screen lock timeout.
- Input your desired time under screen lock.
If you wish to completely disable the setting, then choose Never from the drop-down that shows different timing options.
- Click on apply or save changes
- Reboot your PC to save changes.
Then you have successfully changed lock screen timeout using windows settings. You can lock your PC and wait to see if the setting works.
Method 2: Change Lock Screen Timeout Setting from Control Panel
The control panel is a windows tool that helps you configure various system settings. To change lock screen timeout setting from the control panel using windows 10, here are the steps:
1. Press Windows Key + X then select Control Panel OR, type control panel on your PC’s start menu search bar, then select the first best match.
2. Click on “System and Security” then, click on Power Options.
3. Click on “Change plan settings” that appears right after your current active power plan (usually at the top right side of your screen)
4. Input your desired time for both “on battery” and “plugged in” option
5. Click on the “save changes” button
6. Reboot your PC to save changes.
Then you have successfully changed lock screen timeout using the control panel. You can lock your PC and wait to see if the setting works.
Method 3: Using Registry
How to change Lock screen Timeout windows 10 using Registry: see the steps below:
1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run command dialog box.
2. Type “regedit” and hit Enter or click OK to open Registry Editor.
3. Browse the following path in the Registry:
HKEYLOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99\8EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7
3. On the right side of your screen, double click on Attributes DWORD.
4. If you can’t find Attributes DWORD, you’ll have to create one. To do this, right-click on an empty area on the right-hand side window on your screen and select New, then NEW DWORD (32-bit) value.
5. Rename it as Attributes and double-click on it.
6. Change its value from 1 to 2 and click OK.
7. Restart your PC to save changes.
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At this stage, you have only enabled “Console Lock display off Timeout” on windows 10. This means you have not changed lock screen timeout; you’ll still have to customize it at your own convenient time. However, here is how to change lock screen timeout in windows 10 after you have completed the above steps under registry.
8. Press windows key + X on your keyboard to open the power user menu;
9. Select Power Options
10. Click on Change plan settings next to your currently active plan.
11. Click on Change advanced power settings link.
12. While under Advanced, scroll down to find Display; click on it to expand its settings.
13. You should now see a list of options; you’ll find Console Lock Display off Timeout from the options, double-click on it to expand.
14. Change the default time value of 1 minute to any time you want (in minutes).
15. Click on Apply button, then the OK button.
16. Restart your PC to save changes.
After you have completed the steps above, you can test the new settings by locking your PC (windows key + L) then wait till after the time you set has expired. The screen should turn off once the time expires.
Method 4: Change Lock screen timeout Settings using Command Prompt
This is another way to change lock screen timeout on windows 10. You can use the powerCfg.exe utility to change your PC timeout setting when it is locked. To change lock screen timeout using command prompt, here are the steps to follow:
How to change lock screen timeout using Command prompt
1. Press Windows Key + X on your keyboard to open Power User menu
2. Select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type the following command and hit Enter:
Note that the first command line below is for AC power while the second is for DC power (battery)
powercfg.exe /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 60
powercfg.exe /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 60
Important: 60 in the command is the time (60 seconds). This means you must replace the “60” in the command with the screen timeout setting you want (in seconds). For example, if you want 5 minutes, you’ll put 300 seconds in the command.
3. Again type the following command and press Enter:
Note that the first command line below is for AC power while the second is for DC power (battery)
powercfg.exe /SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT
powercfg.exe /SETDCTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT
4. Reboot your PC to save changes.
There you have seen how to Change Lock Screen Timeout Setting in Windows 10 using command prompt.
Once you’re done, you can lock your PC and wait to see if the new setting work.
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How to stop your PC from Locking Automatically Windows 10
If you’re inconvenient with the way your PC locks automatically, then it is possible to stop it; here’s how:
1. Disable or Change Lock Screen timeout settings:
This means you won’t set any time as regards when your PC screen locks. See two ways to disable lock screen timeout below:
How to Disable Lock Screen Timeout setting
- Using the Local Group Policy editor
You can use the Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE) to disable Lock screen Timeout on your windows 10 PC. The LGPE is a tool that allows making various system settings and configuration easy. See how to use to disable Lock screen Timeout:
1. Press Win + R on your keyboard to open the Run command dialog box.
2. Type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open the LGPE.
3. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates> Control Panel > Personalization, and select Do not display the Lock screen.
4. Change the not configured option to Enabled and click OK
That’s it on how to disable Lock screen timeout in windows 10 using the Local group policy Editor.
Here’s another way to disable lock screen Timeout:
- Using Registry
How to Disable Lock Screen Timeout in windows 10 using Registry
Follow the steps below:
1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run command dialog box.
2. Type “regedit” and hit Enter or click OK to open Registry Editor.
3. Browse the following path in the Registry:
HKEYLOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99\8EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7
3. On the right side of your screen, double click on Attributes DWORD.
4. If you can’t find Attributes DWORD, you’ll have to create one. To do this, right-click on an empty area on the right-hand side window on your screen and select New, then NEW DWORD (32-bit) value.
5. Rename it as NoLockScreen and double-click on it.
6. Change its value to 1 and click OK.
7. Restart your PC to save changes.
Then you have successfully disabled lock screen timeout in windows 10.
Back to the heading ‘How to stop your PC from locking automatically’ in windows 10, See the Next method below:
2. Disable Dynamic Lock: Dynamic Lock is one way of locking your PC screen. It does not involve having to remember any password to unlock it. Dynamic lock uses devices like Bluetooth to lock. This type of lock means when the Bluetooth device is out of range, the computer locks automatically.
To disable the dynamic lock, uncheck the option that says “Allow windows to lock your device when you’re away automatically”. On the other hand, if you feel like keeping your PC unlocked all the time, ensure that the Bluetooth device is nearby all the time.
3. Change System unattended sleep timeout: This is available under power settings. This is a type of setting that locks your PC makes your PC and returns it to a low-power sleep state when it is idle for a set amount of time.
The default time is usually 2 minutes for both (on battery and plugged). You can change it to a higher value so that it takes a longer time before the PC goes to sleep mode. However, if you don’t need it, you can disable it completely by picking none under the setting.
Alternatively, you can manually add the timing using PowerShell and Registry. See the steps below:
- Press Windows key + X on your keyboard and then select PowerShell(admin)
- Type the following command and hit Enter:
powercfg -attributes SUB_SLEEP 7bc4a2f9-d8fc-4469-b07b-33eb785aaca0 -ATTRIB_HIDE
So that’s how to stop your PC from locking automatically.
How to Set Your PC to Lock Your Screen Automatically
When you decide to take a rest from using your PC, it’s best to enable an automatic screen lock to ensure the files in your PC are safe. This is something many often don’t pay attention to. They often just move away from the PC without manually locking the screen.
If you have important confidential files on your PC, then setting an automatic screen lock is best for you. You’ll only need to set when the screen locks and the password to unlock it when you are ready to continue using your PC. It’s very simple!
How to lock screen automatically in windows 10
1. Click the Start menu, and type control panel. Open the first displayed result.
2. Click on Personalization, and then click Lock Screen.
3. Click Screen timeout settings and select values from the Screen and Sleep dropdown options. This is where you set the time for your PC to lock or sleep. This means when your computer becomes idle for a set amount of time, the screen locks. You’ll only need a password to unlock it.
In addition, you can optionally choose apps that can display when the screen is locked (E.g. Weather, Clock, and Alarm). Click a square with a plus sign in the middle to add the apps.
If you also want to remove an app from displaying when the screen is locked, click on the square with a plus sign in the middle, and then select none from the pop-up list.
How to Lock your PC Screen Manually
To lock your PC screen manually, Press the Windows logo key + L on your keyboard. In this case, the screen saver or the set lock screen timeout won’t take effect as you have done it manually before time. You’ll only use your PC password to unlock it.
This is highly recommended if you feel insecure about leaving your PC opened just even for a second.
Final Note
If you want to change the lock screen timeout on windows 10, you can do it from the windows setting, control panel, Using Registry as well as command prompt. Note that each of the methods is just an alternative to each other – meaning if one method doesn’t work, try another!
I hope you find this article helpful
