Windows 10 Auto Login (The Easy Way or Using the Registry)

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If your computer is used in an environment where you are happy for all users to have easy access, you can enable Windows 10 auto login.

It is useful to have the option for when logging into Windows, especially when a computer is used in a trusted family environment.

If auto login is set, you won’t be bothered by an annoying login prompt every time you start, or restart your computer.

Here we will show you how to set up the automatic login feature using two different methods.

Setup auto login (easy method)

1. Open the Run command window

Open the Run command window by pressing and holding down the Windows key ⊞ then tapping ‘R’ and releasing the Windows key.

2. Type in netplwiz and click ‘OK’

open user accounts setting using run command

Left-click in the text box next to ‘Open:’. Type in ‘netplwiz‘ (without quotes) and hit the ‘OK’ button.

3. Uncheck Users must enter a user name and password

uncheck user must enter a user name and password checkbox

Press the left mouse button on the checkbox to uncheck ‘Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer.’

If it is already unchecked, check it then uncheck it.

4. Enter your login credentials

type in user name and password

After you uncheck the checkbox as instructed in the previous step, you will be presented with a small new window asking for your login username and password.

Enter your username and password and hit the ‘OK’ button.

Enabling Windows 10 auto login using the Registry Editor

This is another method to accomplish the same thing in the steps above but in more of a manual fashion.

You are about to edit the Registry, so I advise you to make a restore point on your computer before continuing. This way you can always restore your computer to this point if anything gets messed up.

1. Open the Registry Editor

open regedit using the run command dialog

Open the run dialog window by pressing and holding the Windows key ⊞ on your keyboard and tapping the ‘R’ key then release the Windows key.

Left-click in the text box next to ‘Open’. Type in ‘regedit‘ (without quotes). Hit the ‘OK’ button.

The Registry Editor will now be open.

2. Navigate to the Winlogon subkey

how to open key branches drill down

Click on the expansion markers (>) down the navigation tree on the left to open the following key branches:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion

left click on the winlogon key

Left-click on the ‘Winlogon’ key itself to display its values in the right pane.

3. Edit the Default user name and password keys

modify default user name value

Right-click your on the value called ‘DefaultUserName’. Click on the ‘Modify…’ item in the contextual menu.

type in username

Edit the value data text box to match your user name. Click on the ‘OK’ button to save the value.

If the DefaultPassword value doesn’t exist

There is a chance that the ‘DefaultPassword’ value doesn’t exist. In this case, create a new string value like this:

Windows 10 Auto Login (The Easy Way or Using the Registry) 1
type in default password value name
  1. Select the ‘Edit’ item in the menu across the top area of the Registry Editor.
  2. Hover your mouse pointer over ‘New’ and left-click on the ‘String Value’ item in the pop-out menu.
  3. Type ‘DefaultPassword’ into the name box without the quotes and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
  4. Right-click on the value called ‘DefaultPassword’. Hit the ‘Modify…’ item in the contextual menu.
  5. In the Value Data text box, type your password and hit the ‘OK’ button to save it.

4. Create the AutoAdminLogon value if it’s missing

  1. Left-click on the ‘Edit’ item in the main menu area. Hover your mouse pointer over ‘New’ and left-click on the ‘String Value’ item in the pop-out menu.
  2. Type in ‘AutoAdminLogon’ for the value’s name and press enter.
  3. Right-click on the ‘AutoAdminLogon’ value and select the ‘Modify…’ item listed in the contextual menu.
  4. In the Value data text box, Make sure it’s value contains a 1. If it has a 0, erase it, and type in ‘1’. Select on the ‘OK’ button.

5. Close and restart

Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer to test that the auto login is working.

Conclusion

You may want to reconsider the Windows 10 auto login set up if you are using a laptop, for example. With increased vulnerabilities, more security measures are required.

So it’s up to you to weigh up the situation to meet your needs. From here, I recommend that you read my other article about using a password to login into Windows 10 instead of a pin, in case you are interested.

However, I’m sure you will enjoy the automatic login feature, I know I do.