Adjusting Sleep Settings: Change Authentication Upon Waking Up

If you're tired of constantly inputting your password when your PC wakes from sleep mode, you're not alone. This is a common issue faced by many, especially those using Windows 10. The good news is that there are several methods to fix this. From changing settings in the Control Panel, Group Policy Editor, or Command Line to adapting power plans and registry options, you can take control and decide what works best for your device. Let's dive into the details and explore the steps to free yourself from the tedious task of frequent password entries.

Characteristics and Values

Using the Group Policy editor

The Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows Home editions by default. However, you can install gpedit.msc to access it.

To open the Group Policy Editor, press the Start button and type gpedit.msc. With the first result selected, click “Run as administrator”.

Next, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings.

Look for the settings “Require a password when a computer wakes (plugged in)” and “Require a password when a computer wakes (on battery)”.

You can now choose from two options:

• Set lock screen after wake to “Not Configured”: This will follow your system’s settings.
• Set lock screen after wake to “Enabled”: This will force the screen saver password to be enabled, even if your system settings elsewhere say differently.

Alternatively, you can navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\ and right-click the blank space in the right-hand pane to create the key-subfolders “Power” and “PowerSettings” via “New > Key”.

In your new key/folder, right-click the blank space and select “New > DWORD (32-bit) Value”. You can now disable or enable the login screen after wakeup for DC power (battery mode) and AC power (plugged in).

For DC power, name the DWORD “DCSettingIndex” and change its value data to “0” to disable or “1” to enable the login screen after sleep/standby.

For AC power, create another DWORD and name it “ACSettingIndex”. Change its value data to “0” to disable or “1” to enable the login screen after sleep/standby.

Deleting the DWORD will restore the default Windows setting, which requires a login.

Changing settings in the Control Panel

To change your sleep authentication settings via the Control Panel, you can try the following methods:

Method 1:

• Go to the Control Panel and select "Power Options".
• In the top left, you will see a link to turn off the password requirement when your computer comes out of sleep mode.
• You can also set your computer to sleep (or never sleep) at different times.

Method 2:

• Open the Group Policy Editor by typing "gpedit.msc" into the Run Command box.
• Navigate to the following location: Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings.
• Double-click on the "Require a password when a computer wakes (plugged in)" policy in the right pane.
• To disable the password requirement, select "Not Configured" and click "OK".
• Alternatively, you can enable the password requirement by selecting "Enabled".

Method 3:

• Launch the "Sign-in Options" page in Settings.
• Enable the option "When PC wakes from sleep" under "Require sign-in".
• Enable the "Prompt for password on resume from hibernate/suspend" policy setting.
• This setting is located under: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management.
• Enabling this policy will lock your computer and prompt for a password when it resumes from a hibernate or suspend state.

Method 4:

• Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
• In the left pane, navigate to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings.
• In the right pane, double-click on the "Require a password when a computer wakes" policy.
• Select "Not Configured" or "Disabled" to disable the password requirement, or select "Enabled" to enable it.
• Click "OK" to save your changes.

Please note that in some cases, you may find that certain options are greyed out or unavailable due to security policies or other settings on your computer.

Disabling the device from requesting credentials

Another way is to use the Settings app. Launch the "Sign-in Options" page and enable the "When PC wakes from sleep" option under "Require sign-in." You can also set the drop-down menu option "If you've been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?" to "Never."

Additionally, you can use the Command Line or the Local Security Policy editors to disable the device from requesting credentials. For example, you can run specific cmdlets in an elevated Command Prompt to implement the changes.

It is important to note that in some cases, you may not be able to make changes to certain settings due to security policies or organisational management. For instance, if your device is connected to an Exchange Account or an AD domain, you may encounter restrictions.

Changing the power plan

In the Sleep Settings, you can edit the "Require a password when a computer wakes (plugged in)" and "Require a password when a computer wakes (on battery)" policies. To disable the requirement for a password when the computer wakes up from sleep mode, you can select "Not Configured" or "Disabled" for these policies.

Alternatively, you can change the power plan through the Control Panel. Go to Control Panel > Power Options, where you will find options to turn off the password requirement when the computer comes out of sleep mode.

If you are using Windows 10, you can also change the power plan by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options. Here, you can enable or disable the "Require sign-in" option when your "PC wakes up from sleep".

It is important to note that some settings may be greyed out or prevented by security policies, especially if your device is managed by an organization. In such cases, you may need to remove the policy that is preventing you from changing the settings or consider other methods to disable authentication requirements.

Removing the policy preventing changes

If you are unable to change your sleep authentication settings, it is likely that your device is being managed by an organisation under their policies. This could be due to the addition of a work or school account to your profile, or a Microsoft Exchange work email account.

To remove the policy preventing changes, you can try the following methods:

Firstly, check if any work or school accounts have been added to your device. If so, remove the account and try to change the setting to "never" ask for authentication when the device wakes up. You can do this by going to the "work or school" page in your Settings app and removing the account.

Another method is to use the Group Policy Editor. Open the Group Policy editor by typing “gpedit.msc” in the Run Command box. Then, navigate to the following location: Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> System >> Power Management >> Sleep Settings. Double-click on the “Require a password when a computer wakes (Plugged in)” policy and set it to "never". Repeat this process for the “Require a password when a computer wakes (On battery)” policy.

If you are using an older version of Windows, you can try disabling the "Require a password when the computer wakes (on battery)" setting in the Control Panel under Power Options.

For Windows 10 users, you can try the following:

• Go to the "Sign-in Options" page in your Settings.
• Enable the "When PC wakes from sleep" option under "Require sign-in".
• Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management.
• Enable the "Prompt for password on resume from hibernate/suspend" policy setting.

Alternatively, you can try removing the Microsoft Exchange work email account that is causing the issue. However, note that some users have reported that even after deleting the account, the security settings did not reset.

Finally, as a last resort, you can try reinstalling Windows or creating a new power plan, as some settings may be blocked by your current plan.

Frequently asked questions