When you wake your Windows 11 PC from sleep or turn it on from a cold boot, you are greeted by the Lock Screen (usually featuring a scenic landscape from Windows Spotlight). To get to the actual password prompt, you have to click your mouse or press a key. Have you ever noticed that there is a slight, artificial delay—a slow, smooth animation that takes about a full second—before the password field finally slides up into view?
While Microsoft designed this animation to look elegant, for power users who want to log in as fast as humanly possible, that forced one-second delay every single day is incredibly irritating. Fortunately, you can completely strip this animation out of the operating system using a hidden registry tweak, forcing the password prompt to appear instantly.
Important Warning
Editing the Windows Registry can cause system instability if you modify the wrong files. Always ensure you create a System Restore point or back up your registry before proceeding with these steps.
Step 1: Open the Registry Editor
- Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
- Type
regeditinto the text box and press Enter. Click “Yes” if prompted by User Account Control.
Step 2: Navigate to the Desktop Policies
- In the Registry Editor, copy and paste the following path into the address bar at the top, and press Enter:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows - In the left-hand navigation pane, look for a folder (key) named Personalization under the Windows folder.
- If the Personalization folder does not exist: You must create it. Right-click on the Windows folder, select New > Key. Name this new key exactly:
Personalization. - Click on the Personalization folder so it is highlighted.
Step 3: Create the NoLockScreenDelay Value
Now we will inject the rule that disables the animation.
- With the Personalization folder selected, right-click in the empty white space in the right-hand pane.
- Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name this new value exactly:
NoLockScreenDelay. Ensure there are no spaces. - Double-click on your newly created NoLockScreenDelay value to edit it.
- In the “Value data” box, change the number from
0to1. - Ensure the “Base” is set to Hexadecimal.
- Click OK.
Step 4: Test the Result
You can test the registry edit immediately without needing to restart your computer.
- Close the Registry Editor.
- Press Windows Key + L to lock your computer. You will see your standard Lock Screen.
- Press any key on your keyboard or click your mouse.
Instead of the slow, swooping upward animation, the Lock Screen will instantly snap away, immediately revealing the password prompt with zero latency. This creates a much snappier, more responsive login experience.