Can I sign in to Windows without a password?

If you sign in to Windows with a Microsoft account, you need to use a password. Your password helps keep your account secure, no matter what PC you sign in to or what apps, settings, and services you use while you’re signed in.

If you don’t want to enter your password every time you sign in, you can create other sign-in options to use with your account, like a picture password or a PIN. If your PC has a fingerprint scanner, you can also sign in with a fingerprint. (Whichever sign-in option you choose, you still need a «regular» password in place to use a Microsoft account.)

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search.)

Enter sign, and then tap or click Change sign-in options.

Choose the sign-in option you’d like to use, and then follow the instructions.

You can also change password policy so that you don’t need to enter your password each time you wake the PC from sleep. On the Sign-in options page, under Password policy, tap or click Change, and follow the instructions.

If your PC is on a domain, some sign-in options, like smart cards or picture password, might be managed by your system administrator.

If you sign in to Windows with a local account, you can choose not to enter a password. However, we don’t recommend this—it’s the least secure way to sign in to your PC. You can also switch a Microsoft account to a local account, but you can’t use a local account to download apps from the Windows Store or sync settings online.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

Tap or click Accounts, and then tap or click Your account.

Tap or click Disconnect, and then follow the instructions.

If you’re using a local account with a password, you can delete the password to sign in without one, but we don’t recommend it.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search.)

Enter sign, and then tap or click Sign-in options.

Under Password, tap or click Change.

Verify the current password for your local account.

Leave the New password, Reenter password, and Password hint fields blank, tap or click Next, and then tap or click Finish.

Now, you (or anyone) can sign in to your local account and use your PC without a password.

How to Automatically Login to Windows 10 without a Password?

In order to login to Windows 10, a user has to enter password for local or Microsoft (online) account each time. This provides a certain level of device protection against access by third parties, but it is inconvenient for home users as it increases the time to access the device’s desktop. In this guide we’ll look at how disable the password sign in on Windows 10 (Windows Server 2016/2012 R2) Login Screen and how to configure autologin under a specific account.

Most often, automatic login without a password is allowed for devices running in kiosk mode. At any reboot (for example, due to a power outage), Windows will automatically logon to the desktop and start the necessary programs via Autorun.

Disabling the password dialog on the Windows 10 Login Screen doesn’t mean that your account should have a blank password. You can configure Windows 10 to automatically use saved credentials to logon to your computer. In all other cases, for example, when accessing your computer via the network (SMB) or connecting to a remote desktop (RDP), you will be prompted for a password.

How to Disable Windows 10 Login Password via the User Account Settings?

The easiest way to disable password login on Windows 10 is to set the appropriate option in the User Account settings dialog box.

1. Press Win+R;
2. In the Run dialog box, enter netplwiz or control userpasswords2 command;
3. In the next window with the list of local user accounts, uncheck the option “User must enter a username and password to use this computer” and save changes (OK);
4. A window appears where you have to enter the user account and password (twice) that you need to use for automatic login and click “OK”;
5. Restart your computer and make sure that the Windows boots directly to the desktop without entering a password.

Fix: Microsoft Removes User AutoLogin in Windows 10 20H1/20H2

Starting with build Windows 10 2004 (20H1), Microsoft decided to remove the option to configure automatic login for local accounts in the User Control Panel (check the screen below). If you are using a local Windows logon account and not a Microsoft account (MSA), then the “User must enter a username and password to use this computer” option is not displayed.

To show the option used to disable password login on Windows 10 20H2, open the powershell.exe console and edit the registry:

New-ItemProperty -Path «HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device» -Name DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion -Value 0 -Type Dword –Force

This registry key value disables the Windows 10 option “Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts” setting. Close and restart the netplwiz console and make sure the checkbox appears.

Thus, you can configure auto login without a password on the latest Windows 10 builds (20H2 and 20H2).

How to Turn On Automatic Logon in Windows via the Registry?

Let’s consider a more common way to automatically log into Windows 10 without prompting for a password and skipping the Login Screen. This method allows you to enable password-less sign-in for your Microsoft account, domain account, or Windows 10 local account via the Registry Editor.

1. Press Win+R and type regedit ;
2. Go to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon;
3. Change the value of the registry parameter AutoAdminLogon from 0 to 1;
4. Create a new string parameter DefaultDomainName, specify the domain name or a local computer name as its value.

To enable autologon through the registry, you can use the following commands (replace root and P@ssword with your username and password, WORKGROUP should be replaced with the name of your AD domain if the domain account used):

reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v AutoAdminLogon /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f
reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v DefaultUserName /t REG_SZ /d root /f
reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v DefaultPassword /t REG_SZ /d P@ssword /f
reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v ForceAutoLogon /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f
reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v DefaultDomainName /t REG_SZ /d WORKGROUP /f
reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v IgnoreShiftOvveride /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f
reg add «HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon» /v AutoLogonCount /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Alternatively, you can use a PowerShell script to save the user’s login information to the registry:

$Username =’max’
$Pass = ‘Max$uperP@ss’
$RegistryPath = ‘HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon’
Set-ItemProperty $RegistryPath ‘AutoAdminLogon’ -Value «1» -Type String
Set-ItemProperty $RegistryPath ‘DefaultUsername’ -Value $Username -type String
Set-ItemProperty $RegistryPath ‘DefaultPassword’ -Value $Pass -type String
Restart-Computer

Disable Password Prompt after Sleep/Hibernation in Windows 10

Using GPO, you can turn off the password request when the computer wakes up from sleep or hibernation.

1. To do this, run the gpedit.msc console (in the home versions of Windows 10, you can run the local policy editor console like this);
2. Go to the policy section Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Power Management -> Sleep Settings;
3. Disable the GPO parameters “Require a password when a computer wakes (on battery)” and “Require a password when a computer wakes on battery (plugged in)”;
4. Now Windows won’t require a password after resuming from sleep or hibernation.

Enable Secure Automatic Logon without a Password Using AutoLogon Tool

For more secure automatic logon to Windows 10, you can use the free AutoLogon for Windows tool. The utility was part of the Sysinternals system utilities pack and is now available for download on the Microsoft website (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autologon). The Autologon is also useful because the previous ways of enabling autologon in Windows 10 may not work on computers that are joined the Active Directory domain.

1. Download and run Autologon.exe (or autologon64.exe ) as an administrator;
2. Accept the terms of the license agreement;
3. Specify the user account, domain and user password under which you want to perform autologin and press the Enable button:
4. A window will appear in which it is indicated that the autologon is enabled. Encrypted password is stored in LSA format under the registry key HKLM\SECURITY\Policy\Secrets. In this case, the password is not stored in clear text, but the encryption algorithm is not strong and any local computer administrator (but not a user) can decrypt it.

You can set user credentials to automatically log on to Windows using the Autologon command line options. To configure Windows autologin for a user, you can use the following command:

autologon64.exe USER_NAME DOMAIN PASSWORD /accepteula

In this guide we looked at how to disable password login on Windows 10 and boot the computer directly to the user’s desktop. In order to temporarily disable automatic logon in Windows and manually specify the user credentials under which you need to sign in, you must hold down the Shift key while Windows is booting.

Change or reset your Windows password

If you forgot or lost your password for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, or Windows 7, you may be able to change or reset it. To get started, choose your version of Windows from the Select Product Version drop-down menu.

If you already know your current password and want to change it

Select Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options . Under Password, select the Change button and follow the steps.

Reset your Windows 10 local account password

If you’ve forgotten or lost your Windows 10 password for a local account and need to sign back in to your device, the below options might help you get up and running. For more info on local standard vs. administrative accounts, see Create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10.

Windows 10 version 1803 and later

If you added security questions when you set up your local account for Windows 10, then you have at least version 1803 and you can answer security questions to sign back in.

After you’ve entered an incorrect password:

Select the Reset password link on the sign-in screen. If you use a PIN instead, see PIN sign-in issues. If you’re using a work device that’s on a network, you may not see an option to reset your password or PIN. In that case, contact your administrator.

Note: If you don’t see security questions after you select the Reset password link, make sure your device name isn’t the same as your local user account name (the name you see when you sign in). To see your device name, right-click Start in the taskbar, select System, andscroll to the Device specifications section. If the device name is the same as your account name, you can create a new administrator account, sign in as an administrator, and then rename your PC (when you view your device name, you can also rename it).

Answer your security questions.

Enter a new password.

Sign in as usual with the new password.

Windows 10 before version 1803

For versions of Windows 10 earlier than 1803, local account passwords can’t be reset because there are no security questions. You can reset your device to choose a new password, however this option will permanently delete your data, programs, and settings. If you’ve backed up your files you’ll be able to restore your deleted files. For more information, see Recovery options in Windows 10.
To reset your device, which will delete data, programs, and settings:

Press the Shift key while you select the Power button > Restart in the lower-right corner of the screen.

On the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC.

Select Remove everything.

Warning: Resetting your device will permanently delete data, programs, and settings.

Reset your Microsoft account password you use to sign in to your computer

On the sign-in screen, type your Microsoft account name if it’s not already displayed. If there are multiple accounts on the computer, choose the one you want to reset. Below the password text box, select I forgot my password. Follow the steps to reset your password.

Troubleshoot problems signing in

If you’re still having trouble signing to your account, see more solutions in Troubleshoot problems signing in.

Reset your password

Note: If you’ve forgotten your Windows 10 password, see Reset your Windows 10 local account password.

If you’ve forgotten your Windows 8.1 password, there are several ways to retrieve or reset it:

If your PC is on a domain, your system administrator must reset your password.

If you’re using a Microsoft account, you can reset your password online. For more info, see How to reset your Microsoft account password.

If you’re using a local account, use your password hint as a reminder.

If you still can’t sign in, you must reinstall Windows. For Windows RT 8.1, contact your PC manufacturer.

More help with passwords in Windows 8.1

If you forget or lose your password, see Reset your password above to reset or recover it.

If you think your Microsoft account password has been compromised or stolen by someone with malicious intent, we can help. For more info, see When you can’t sign in to your Microsoft account.

If you’re signing in to only your local PC, yes. However, we recommend that you keep your PC more secure by using a strong password. When you use a password, only someone who knows it can sign in. If you want to sign in to Windows with a Microsoft account, a password is required. For more info, see Can I sign in to Windows without a password? To learn more about Microsoft accounts and local accounts, see Create a user account.

Stronger passwords contain a variety of characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols or spaces. A strong password should also be something that is difficult for a stranger to guess or crack. It shouldn’t contain a complete word, or easy-to-find details like your real name, your user name, or your birth date.

If you’re signing in to a Microsoft account, your password is limited to 16 characters. For more info about Microsoft accounts, see Create a user account.

You can update your password regularly to keep it more secure. If your PC isn’t connected to a domain, follow these steps:

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

Tap or click Accounts, and then tap or click Sign-in options.

Tap or click Change your password and follow the instructions.

If your PC is connected to a domain, your system administrator might manage how frequently you must change your password. To do so, choose one of the following:

If you’re using a keyboard, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, tap or click Change a password, and follow the instructions.

If you’re using a tablet, press and hold the Windows button, press the power button, and then tap or click Change a password and follow the instructions.

It depends on whether you’re using a third-party email address. If your email address ends in outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, or another Microsoft service, changing the password for your Microsoft account also changes it for that email service.

But you can use any email address for your Microsoft account, even an email address from a third-party web-based mail service like Google Mail or Yahoo! Mail. When you choose a password for your Microsoft account, it doesn’t change the password you might need to use to sign in to web mail on a third-party site.

Create a picture password to sign in with gestures instead of by entering characters.

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

Tap or click Accounts, and then tap or click Sign-in options.

Under Picture password, tap or click Add, and then follow the instructions.

When you choose a password for your user account, it’s important to pick something you can remember. You’re going to need it again later!

Of course, you can also write your password down and keep it in a safe place. Taped to the underside of your laptop or the inside of your desk drawer is probably not a good idea, however. If you do write your password down, be sure to keep it separate from your PC.

For added security, use different passwords for different purposes. For example, it’s a good idea to keep distinctly different passwords for a social networking account and your online bank account.

If you do forget or lose your password, there are still several things you can try to reset or recover it. For more info, see Reset your password above to reset or recover it.

Reset your password

My computer is on a domain

Select the Start button , select Control Panel, select User Accounts, select User Accounts, and then select Manage User Accounts. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

On the Users tab, under Users for this computer, select the user account name, and then select Reset Password.

Type the new password, confirm the new password, and then select OK.

My computer is in a workgroup

If you type the wrong password when you attempt to log on, Windows displays a message that the password is incorrect. Select OK to close the message.

Select Reset password, and then insert your password reset disk or USB flash drive.

Follow the steps in the Password Reset wizard to create a new password.

Log on with the new password. If you forget your password again, you can use the same password reset disk. You don’t need to make a new one.

Note: If an administrator resets your password, you might lose access to some of your files.

Change your password

Press Ctrl+ Alt+ Delete, and then select Change a password.

Type your old password followed by a new password as indicated, and then type the new password again to confirm it.

Note: If you are logged on as an administrator, you can create and change passwords for all user accounts on the computer.

Warning: If you use an administrator account to change a password for another account, any encrypted files or e mail messages for that other account will no longer be accessible to the person who was using that account.