If you’re a Windows 10 user, you may have noticed that the lock screen timeout has been increasing over time. This is likely because of the new Windows 10 security features, which can be quite demanding on your resources. To fix this, you can try changing the lock screen timeout value. To do this, open the Control Panel and click on the System tab. Then, under Security and Privacy, click on the Advanced button. In the resulting window, change the timeout value to something lower than 30 minutes. This will help to conserve your lock screen resources and prevent your computer from becoming too demanding during long periods of inactivity.
The Windows 11 lock screen will time out and shut off your display in less than 30 seconds — but what if you want it to stay on longer? You’ll need to edit the registry to enable the timeout settings in Windows 11. Here’s how to edit the registry.
Enable the Setting in the Registry Manually
Windows 11 doesn’t display the option to change the lock screen timeout setting anywhere by default. The most similar settings are the display timeout settings when your PC is not locked.
You’ll need to use the Registry Editor (RegEdit) to enable the setting before you can change it.
Begin by launching Regedit — open up the Start Menu, type “regedit” into the search bar, then hit Enter or click “Open.”
Navigate to the following address in RegEdit:
Double-click the DWORD named “Attributes” to modify its value.
Change “Data Value” from 1 to 2, then click “OK.”
That is the only thing you need to change in the registry, so close out RegEdit.
If you ever want to disable the option, just change the value back to 1.
Use Our REG Files to Automate The Process
If you don’t want to go digging through the registry manually — and there are plenty of reasons to want to avoid it — you can just use our pre-made REG files to apply the changes automatically.
Download our REG files from the link below:
Lock Screen Timeout Hacks
Open the ZIP file in any archival program that you like. Windows can open ZIP files in File Explorer, but If you want a dedicated file archiving program, 7-Zip is a great all-around choice.
RELATED: The Best File Archiving Program for Windows
Double-click “Add Lock Screen Timeout Setting to Power Options.reg” and click “Yes” at the security prompt. The change to the registry will take effect immediately.
Double-click “Remove Lock Screen Timeout Setting From Power Options.reg” to disable the lock screen timeout option again.
Open Up Power Plan Settings in the Control Panel
The options that let you control the lock screen timeout are now enabled in the Control Panel’s Power Plan settings. Click the Start button, type “Control Panel” into the Start Menu search bar, then click “Open” or hit Enter.
Click “Hardware and Sound” if your Control Panel is set to “View By: Category.”
Look for a large section titled “Power Options,” then click “Edit Power Plan” underneath “Power Options.”
Click “Change Advanced Power Settings” near the bottom.
You need to navigate to Display > Console Lock Display Off Timeout. Then adjust the timeout for both “Plugged In” and “On Battery.”
There are a few important things to be aware of here.
You probably won’t see two options if you’re on a desktop — don’t worry, that is normal. Just adjust the option you have. Additionally, the timeout you set will be slightly wrong. Windows 11 has a minimum timeout of about 30 seconds, and that will be added to whatever time you enter into the box.
If you want to disable the timeout entirely, just enter 0. Additionally, the maximum timeout defined in the registry is 4,294,967,295 seconds (71,582,788 minutes) — which is just over 136 years. If you need longer, you’ll have to wait for an update from Microsoft.
