How to Remove Lock Screen Without Using GPEDIT in Windows 11

Question

Is there a way to remove the lock screen in Windows 11 without using GPEDIT.msc? Currently, using GPEDIT to disable the lock screen results in the message "some settings are managed by your organization," which restricts further changes to some settings. This seems ridiculous (and overkill) for a home network, especially when internal security is not an issue. For example, after disabling the lock screen with GPEDIT, I can no longer change the background graphics for the Logon Screen.

Answer 1

You can try the following:

Method 1: Modify the Registry (No GPEDIT) You can directly modify the Windows Registry to disable the lock screen, which might be a cleaner approach than using gpedit.msc.

1. Open the Registry Editor:
   • Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
   • If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes to allow changes.
2. Navigate to the following Registry key:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
   

3. Create a new key (if it doesn't exist):
   • Right-click on Windows and choose New > Key, name it Personalization if it’s not already there.
4. Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value:
   • Right-click on Personalization (or on Windows if you didn’t create Personalization) and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
   • Name the new value NoLockScreen.
5. Set the value to 1:
   • Double-click on the NoLockScreen value and set its data to 1.
   • Click OK to save the change.
6. Reboot the system:
   • Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

This should effectively disable the lock screen without causing the "some settings are managed by your organization" message. You should also be able to change the login screen background again.

Method 2: Use Local Security Policy If you're using a version of Windows 11 that includes secpol.msc (like Windows 11 Pro), you can adjust the settings related to the lock screen through the Local Security Policy editor.

1. Open Local Security Policy:
   • Press Win + R, type secpol.msc, and press Enter to open the Local Security Policy editor.
2. Navigate to the Lock Screen settings:
   • In the left pane, go to Local Policies > Security Options.
   • Look for the policy named Interactive logon: Do not display the lock screen.
3. Disable the Lock Screen:
   • Double-click on this policy, set it to Enabled, and click OK.
4. Reboot the system:
   • Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

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hth

Marcin

Answer 2

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your post. Generally speaking, if your computer is connected to a work or school account, it can trigger the error you're encountering.

1. Open the Settings App on your computer.
2. Navigate to the Accounts section.
3. Select the Emails and Accounts option. If you find a work or school email listed there, remove it.
4. Next, choose the Access Work or School option. If you see a work or school email listed there, remove it.
5. Close the Settings App and restart your PC (do not shut it down).

Additionally, if you have a third-party antivirus software installed, it may also cause the error. To check if it is the cause, temporarily disable the antivirus software and see if the issue is resolved.

If all the steps still don’t help, please backup the following registry and do the method.

Press Windows Key+R to open run then type: cmd

Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to run it as administrator

Copy and paste each command one at a time then press Enter.

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost" /f

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsStore\WindowsUpdate" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsStor

\WindowsUpdate" /f

Please proceed to the next commands in case you receive any errors.

When all commands have been entered. Restart your computer then check if the issue persists.

Kindly let me know if this helps or if you have any further concerns.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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