How to Turn Off the Background Blur Effect on the Windows 11 Login Screen

Windows 11 features a sleek, modern design language known as “Mica,” which heavily relies on transparency and acrylic blur effects. One of the most prominent uses of this blur effect is on the login screen. When you wake your computer and arrive at the lock screen, you see a crisp, high-resolution wallpaper. But the moment you click or press a key to bring up the password prompt, Windows aggressively blurs the background image, focusing your attention entirely on the login box.

While Microsoft implemented this to improve readability, many users find the jarring transition visually unappealing, especially if they have set a custom photograph or artwork as their lock screen background and wish to see it clearly while typing their PIN.

Fortunately, you are not forced to endure this visual transition. This guide explains how to turn off the background blur effect on the Windows 11 login screen to maintain a clear, crisp image at all times.

How to Disable the Login Screen Blur via Settings

For most users, disabling this effect is a straightforward process within the standard Windows 11 Settings app. Microsoft categorises the blur effect under its broader “Transparency effects” system.

1. Click the Start button on the taskbar and select the Settings gear icon (or press Windows Key + I on your keyboard).
2. In the left-hand sidebar of the Settings app, click on Personalization.
3. In the Personalization menu on the right, click on Colors.
4. Scroll down the Colors page until you locate the toggle switch labeled Transparency effects.
5. Click the toggle switch to turn it Off.

By turning off Transparency effects, you immediately disable the blur on the login screen. The next time you wake your PC and click to enter your password, the lock screen background image will remain perfectly sharp and in focus.

Note: Disabling this toggle will also disable transparency effects across the rest of the Windows 11 interface, meaning your taskbar, Start menu, and application windows will become solid, opaque colours rather than slightly translucent. If you prefer to keep transparency in the main OS but only disable the login screen blur, you must use the Registry Editor.

How to Disable the Blur via the Registry Editor

If you want to keep the beautiful transparency effects on your taskbar and Start menu but remove the blur exclusively from the login screen, you must modify the Windows Registry. Proceed with caution, as deleting incorrect registry keys can cause system instability.

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control.
3. In the Registry Editor, use the left-hand sidebar to navigate to the following path:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
4. If you do not see a “System” folder inside the “Windows” folder, right-click on the “Windows” folder, select New > Key, and name it System.
5. Click on the System folder in the left pane to select it.
6. In the blank space in the right pane, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
7. Name the new value exactly: DisableAcrylicBackgroundOnLogon
8. Double-click the newly created DisableAcrylicBackgroundOnLogon value.
9. In the “Value data” box, change the number from 0 to 1.
10. Click OK.

Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer. When your PC boots up, you will retain all the modern transparency effects on your desktop, but the login screen will present a perfectly clear, unblurred wallpaper when you enter your password.