4 Tips to Change Lock Screen Timeout in Windows 10 & 11

By Michael | Last Updated January 03, 2024

Windows 10 & 11 allows your PC to automatically lock your screen after a certain amount of time of inactivity, and it either displays screensaver or shut down the display. You can increase the lock screen timeout if you want to access Cortana longer on the lock screen, or if you want to check the time and other notifications on the lock screen. In this post, I will show you 4 tips to change lock screen timeout in Windows 10 & 11. You only need to try one or two of these ways.

1. Way 1: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Windows Settings
2. Way 2: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Registry Editor
3. Way 3: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Command prompt
4. Way 4: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Power Options

Way 1: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Windows Settings

Step 1: Press Windows+I keys at the same time to open Windows Settings, find and click on Personalization.

Step 2: Click Lock screen in the left pane and slide to the bottom of the right pane to select the Screen timeout settings.

Step 3: Change the lock screen timeout according to your need. If you want to avoid turning off the screen every so often, set the time under the screen a little higher.

Note: Make sure that the sleep time is set higher than the screen off time, otherwise the computer will go to sleep and the screen will not be locked.

Way 2: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Registry Editor

Step 1: Press Windows+R keys together to open the Run dialog box, type regedit and click OK to open the registry editor. If a User Account Control (UAC) window pops up, click Yes.

Step 2: Navigate to the following location in Registry Editor. In the right pane, double click the Attributes value to open its properties. If you can't find this value, you need to create a DWORD, right-click in an empty area of the right pane, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Rename it as Attributes and double click it. Then change the Value data to 2. Click OK to save the change.

Step 3: Now you have enabled the timeout settings, type edit power plan in start menu bar and hit Enter to open the power options. Then click the Change advanced power settings to customize the lock screen timeout settings.

Step 4: In the Power Options window, expand the Display item and you will see the new setting you added listed as Console Lock display off timeout. You can then set the timeout to the number of minutes you want. Click OK to save your changes.

Way 3: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Command prompt

Step 1: Press Windows+S meanwhile, then type CMD in the search bar and click Run as administrator.

Step 2: Perform the following commands and hit Enter. A point worth noting is that the number 120 represents the amount of time (in seconds) you want to set the lock screen to time out, for example, if you want to set it to 10 minutes, then enter 600 in the command.

powercfg.exe /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 120

powercfg.exe /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 120

powercfg.exe /SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT

Step 3: Restart your PC to complete the settings.

Way 4: Change Lock Screen Timeout via Power Options

Step 1: Press Windows+X at the same time and select Control Panel from it.

Step 2: Navigate to the following location in the Control Panel and click the Change plan settings.

Control Panel\System and Security\Power Options

Step 3: In Edit Plan Settings window, select the time to turn off the display and put the computer to sleep. Then click Save changes.

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