How to disable the Lock Screen in Windows 8

Disable Lock Screen Windows 8

The Lock Screen in Windows 8 is a new feature that provides several information to the end-user. First it is optimized to work well in touch-enabled devices and on desktop computers; second, it provides basic information like date, and some system notifications including email, network and battery; and third, it includes an image which you can change at any time to make it more unique.

There are going to be times when such a feature may not be necessary and the simple logon screen is just enough. If this is what you want, you can then follow these steps to disable the Lock Screen in Windows 8 and have faster access to the logon screen.

1. Use the Windows 8 Logo Monochrome+R to bring the Run command, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter. This will start the Local Group Policy Editor that is extremely useful to control many Windows settings.

2. From the left pane, navigate through: Administrative Templates > Control Panel and select Personalization. In the right side you’ll have all the settings that you can control in this section.

3. Choose “Do not display the lock screen” setting and double-click it.

Local Group Policy Editor - Windows 8

4. As you noticed, this policy setting controls if the lock screen in Windows 8 appears or not to all users. This is pretty similar to the Ctrl+ALT+Del feature in Windows. Check Enabled, then click Apply and OK.

Do not display the lock screen - Windows 8 setting

And that is all there is to it. To test you can just use the Windows 8 Logo Monochrome+L keyboard shortcut to lock the screen and verify that it works. Then just enter your password to return to the desktop.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.