How to Enable or Disable ‘Require Sign-in on Wakeup’ on Windows 11

Wondering how to enable or disable ‘Require sign-in on wakeup’ on Windows 11?

Several features are included in Windows 11 to protect your device and files. One such feature allows you to lock your device when your PC goes into sleep mode or hibernation. With this feature enabled, you will have to enter your password every time your computer wakes up from the states we just mentioned. 

Requiring the user to sign in after returning from sleep enhances security, however if you are the only user at home, re-entering the password can be a hassle.

In this guide, we will you through several methods of enabling and disabling this feature on Windows 11. All the methods are easy to execute, and should not take much of your time.

Let’s get started!

1. Turn ON or OFF Require sign-in on Wakeup from Modern Standby on Windows 11 (via Settings).

Modern Standby is an expansion of the Connected Standby feature that was available in the previous Windows versions. It allows your PC to stay up to date when a network connection is available.

One of the easiest ways to disable or enable ‘Require Sign-in on Wakeup’ is via Modern Standby. However, not all computers support this feature, and if yours does not, then you can jump to the next method below. 

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Press Windows + I keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open Windows Settings.
  2. Inside the Settings window, select Accounts from the left panel and then click on Sign-in Options in the right pane.
require sign-in on wakeup
  1. Now expand the If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again? option according to your preferences.

You can now close the Settings window.

2. Modify Windows Registry.

Registry refers to a database used by Windows to store low-level details about an operating system’s processes and applications. Windows relies on the Registry Editor for important information while performing relevant operations. This makes the Registry Editor an important component of our operating system. 

Here is how you can modify Windows Registry to make the desired changes:

  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open a Run dialogue box.
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type regedit and hit Enter. This will launch Windows Registry on your PC.
  1. Once you are inside the Registry Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
  1. Now right-click anywhere in the right pane and select the New > Dword (32-bit Value) option.
  2. Rename this newly created value as DelayLockInterval and hit Enter.
require sign-in on wakeup
  1. Now double-click on DelayLockInterval and under Value data, type 0 to disable the feature.
  2. If you want to enable the feature, type 1 and hit Enter.

Finally, restart your PC to save the changes.

3. Modify Group Policy Editor.

Another easy way of modifying the feature under consideration is via Group Policy Editor.

Group Policy Editor (GPE) is a utility provided to help users customize the behavior of their operating systems from an administrative level. The information in GPE is stored in policies, and by modifying the relevant policies, you can make the changes you desire.

Here is how you can use the Group Policy Editor to make your changes:

  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open a Run dialogue box.
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to launch the Group Policy Editor.
  1. Once you are inside the Group Policy Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below.
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Power Management\Sleep Settings
  1. Now locate and double-click on Require a password when a computer wakes (plugged in).
require sign-in on wakeup
  1. You can now select Enabled/Disabled according to your preferences.
  2. Finally, click on Apply and then OK to save the changes.

As simple as that!

4. Use Windows Terminal.

Windows Terminal is a command-line front-end that is designed to run command-line functions. Using it is just as simple as using the conventional Command Prompt. 

Here is all that you need to do:

  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open a Run dialogue box.
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type wt and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter together to launch Windows Terminal with administrative privileges.
  3. Next, copy and paste one of the following commands in Windows Terminal according to your preferences and hit Enter to execute it.
Configure Require Sign-in to ON

On Battery:

powercfg /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 1​

Plugged in:

powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 1

Configure Require Sign-in to OFF

On Battery:

powercfg /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 0​

Plugged in:

powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 0

This brings us to the end of our guide on ways to enable or disable ‘Require sign-in on wakeup’ on Windows 11. We tried walking you through all the steps in detail and hope that one of the methods mentioned in this post did the trick for you. In case you still have any confusion about the steps, please let us know in the comment section below!

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Zainab Falak

    Zainab Falak is a staff writer for Saint and an expert in Microsoft Windows, having authored more than 200 posts. She has a Bachelors in Actuarial Sciences and her passion for computers extends to exploring various aspects, from UI customization to the Windows registry and exploring error codes. Twitter LinkedIn

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