Windows 10: How to auto login without a password

Set up an automatic login and save yourself the trouble of logging in with a password every time you open your Windows 10 device. We’ll outline how to set up the automatic login function in Windows 10 and we will also explain why the password prompt can be beneficial.

1. Open the Registry Editor using [Windows] + [R] and ‘regedit’.
2. Enter HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device.
3. Double click on ‘DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion’ and set the value to ‘0’.
4. Open User Accounts using [Windows] + [R] and ‘netplwiz’.
5. Untick the box beside ‘Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer’.

Anyone who installs Windows 10 will be asked to create a password to access the PC or laptop. This password must be entered when you start your device or wake it up from standby mode (if Windows Hello is deactivated). Obviously, a password prompt protects your device from unauthorised access. A password is an effective security measure which protects your data in the event you misplace your device. If your main aim is to make Windows 10 faster, it’s a good idea to check out startup programs or background processes that can be disabled.

While the password prompt is beneficial in some respects, it leads to a slightly slower startup which can be annoying especially when the device is only waking up from standby mode. Forgetting or losing your password has the potential to create other problems. It’s easy to reset the password on the Microsoft website and your associated email address if you use your Microsoft account to log in to your device. However, if you are using a local account and haven’t created an administrator account or security questions, resetting or changing Windows 10 password is more complicated. At worst, you might have to reset the system and you’ll run the risk of losing your data. This reason is enough for some people to disable the password prompt on their devices altogether.

Follow these steps to set up an automatic login in Windows 10. The steps are identical if you also want to set up an automatic login in Windows 11.

Firstly, enable the ‘Use Windows 10 without a password’ feature.

Step 1: Open the ‘Run’ dialogue box by entering the shortcut [Windows] + [R] and enter the CMD command ‘regedit’. This will open your system’s Registry Editor.

Step 3: Enter the current password to confirm changes and click ‘OK’.

If you want to disable the password prompt after waking the device from standby mode, follow the steps below. This option is possible without changing anything in the Registry Editor.

Step 1: Open ‘Settings’ with the shortcut [Windows] + [i].

Step 2: Go to the ‘Accounts’ menu and select ‘Never’ in ‘Login options’. The password prompt will not appear anymore after the device has been woken from power saving mode.

If you have Windows Hello set up, you can also deactivate your personal PIN login, fingerprint, or facial recognition.

Step 1: Firstly, you must disable Windows Hello. Open the Windows Settings with the combination [Windows] + [i], go to ‘Accounts’ and choose ‘Login Options’.

Step 2: Under ‘Windows Hello PIN’, remove the current PIN by changing the login option to ‘Password’ to change your preference to a local password.

Step 3: Follow the steps above to disable the password prompt in Windows 10.