Why Does Windows Lock the Screen?
By default, Windows 10 is configured with strict power and security settings. If you walk away from your computer for a few minutes to grab a coffee, read a long document without moving the mouse, or watch a lengthy video on a website that doesn’t properly prevent sleep, Windows will assume you are gone. It will turn off the display and automatically lock your user session.
While this is an excellent security feature for a busy corporate office, it is incredibly annoying on a personal desktop PC in your own home. Having to constantly type in your PIN or password just because you stopped typing for 10 minutes disrupts your workflow. You can change your system settings so that your screen never locks automatically.
How to Stop Windows from Auto-Locking
To stop the automatic lock screen, you must adjust both the Screen Timeout and Sleep settings.
- Click the Start button and select the Settings gear icon (or press
Windows Key + I). - Click on System.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Power & sleep.
- Under the Screen section, you will see a dropdown menu that dictates when the screen turns off. Change this dropdown to Never.
- Under the Sleep section, you will see a dropdown menu that dictates when the PC goes to sleep. Change this dropdown to Never.
- (If you are using a laptop, you will need to change these settings for both “On battery power” and “When plugged in”).
Important Note on Screen Burn-in:
If you set your screen to “Never” turn off, you risk causing permanent image retention (burn-in) on OLED monitors. If you want your monitor to turn off to save power, but you don’t want to be forced to type a password when you wake it back up, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. Look for “Require sign-in” and change the dropdown from “When PC wakes up from sleep” to Never.