How to Set Up Windows Auto Login

If you're the only person who uses your PC, typing a password every time it starts gets old fast. Windows can skip that screen and take you straight to your desktop.

The built-in tool takes about a minute on Windows 11 or 10. If it won't cooperate, there are two backup methods below it.

Method 1: Turn On Windows 11 Auto Login With netplwiz

You'll need your account password for this, not your Windows Hello PIN. If your account has no password at all, fix that first.

1. Press Windows + R, type netplwiz, and press Enter.
2. Select the account that should sign in automatically.
3. Clear Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer, then select Apply.
4. Enter the account password in both boxes and select OK.
5. Restart the computer and check that it opens the desktop without asking for a password.

Method 2: Use Microsoft Sysinternals Autologon

Microsoft Sysinternals Autologon is a free Microsoft tool that turns on the same sign-in feature. It stores your password in encrypted form, not plain text. But Microsoft notes that an administrator can still decrypt it.

1. Download Autologon from the Microsoft page linked above, extract the ZIP file, and run the tool.
2. Accept the license when it appears.
3. Check the Username and Domain, then enter the account password.
4. Select Enable and close the tool.
5. Restart the computer to test it.

Method 3: Set Auto Login in the Windows Registry

Use this method only if the first two don't work for you. It saves your password as plain text. Microsoft warns that any signed-in user can read it, even over a network.

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
3. Find or create a String Value named DefaultUserName, then enter the account name.
4. Find or create a String Value named DefaultPassword, then enter the account password.
5. Find or create a String Value named AutoAdminLogon, then set it to 1.
6. If the computer is on a work domain, create DefaultDomainName and enter the full domain name, such as contoso.com.
7. Close Registry Editor and restart the computer.

Prefer commands? Open Command Prompt as administrator and run these lines with your own account name and password. Windows' reg add command sets the same values as the steps above.

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultUserName /t REG_SZ /d "YourName" /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultPassword /t REG_SZ /d "YourPassword" /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v AutoAdminLogon /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f

Windows 10 Uses the Same Steps

Every method on this page also works on Windows 10. Only one setting has a different name. If the netplwiz checkbox is missing, turn off Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts instead.

If Your Microsoft Account Has No Password

Microsoft accounts made since May 2025 have no password by default, and older accounts can have theirs removed. They sign in with passkeys or one-time codes instead. With no password to save, none of the methods above can work.

To fix it, add a password back to your Microsoft account. Open your account's Additional security options online, find Passwordless account, and select Turn off. You can also switch Windows to a local account with its own password.

Local and Microsoft Accounts Need Different Login Details

A local account lives on one PC only. A Microsoft account is tied to an email address, as Microsoft's Windows account guide explains.

• Local account: use the Windows username and its password. Autologon may fill the computer name into the Domain box.
• Microsoft account: use the account's email address and its Microsoft account password.
• Work, school, or domain account: company rules or a required sign-in message can block auto login. Check with whoever manages the PC instead of trying to get around those rules.

If Windows 11 Auto Login Does Not Work

• It worked, then stopped: if you changed your password, Windows is still trying the old one. Run your setup method again with the new password.
• Windows shows another account tile: turn auto login off, then set it up again with the correct username and password.
• AutoAdminLogon keeps going back to 0: make sure the DefaultPassword String Value exists. Windows turns auto login off when that value is missing.

Auto Login at Startup, After Restart, and After Sleep

The methods above cover startup and restarts. If your PC has a BIOS startup password, it still asks first, because it runs before Windows loads.

Waking from sleep has its own setting under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, called If you've been away. Choosing Never there leaves your account open every time the PC wakes. Microsoft's device security guide recommends keeping sign-in after sleep turned on unless the PC stays somewhere safe.

Auto login also helps a media PC or home server get back to work after Windows Update restarts it. If it restarts more than it should, our free PC Reporter app shows each unexpected restart and its likely cause.

How to Turn Auto Login Back Off

• netplwiz: select the account, check Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer again, and select Apply.
• Microsoft Autologon: run the tool and select Disable.
• Registry: set AutoAdminLogon to 0 and delete DefaultPassword.

To skip auto login just once, hold Shift after you sign out or while Windows restarts, as Microsoft explains. That lets you sign in as someone else.