Disable Windows 8 Lock Screen [How To, Tips]

Windows 8 is a nice blend of the mobile and desktop operating system but some of its features will surely confuse some users. In this article, we will look at one such feature: Windows 8 Lock Screen. Windows 8 Lock screen may be useful for Microsoft Surface but it’s pretty pointless for traditional desktop or laptop (Ultrabook, Notebook, etc) PC. So, as we were saying, the Lock screen makes sense for any touch-based device like Surface but its only an unnecessary extra click when you are running Windows 8 on any traditional PC. For such users, there’s a simple way to disable Windows 8 Lock Screen.

How to Disable Lock Screen in Windows 8?

It’s very easy to disable Windows 8 Lock screen using the Group Policy editor. Simply follow the steps below to disable the Lock screen.

To launch the Local Group Policy Editor, press Windows Key + R, type gpedit.msc and then press Enter.

launch-group-policy-editor

Then, using the left pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization. Now, in the right pane, you will find an entry that says “Do not display the lock screen”, double-click on it to configure it.

do-not-display-lock-screen-windows-8

Select the radio button that says Enabled in the window that appears. Click Apply than click on OK to confirm the change and close that window. Now, you can close the Local Group Policy Editor. The change takes effect immediately and you don’t need to restart Windows 8.

disable-windows-8-lock-screen

Now, when the next time you boot into Windows 8, you will directly see the Sign In screen skipping the Lock screen entirely.

You can also quickly test if the Lock screen is disabled or not, press the Windows Key + L to lock the computer. You will find Windows 8 directly displaying the Sign In screen instead of the Lock screen.

We will be posting more quick tips to help our readers who have installed Windows 8 on their computer, laptop systems or using them on Windows 8 tablets. Follow our dedicated Windows 8 section for all the latest tutorials, tips and more.

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