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To control whether Windows 11 asks you to authenticate after sleep, open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and look under Additional settings for “If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?” Choose the wake-from-sleep option to require sign-in, or Never to skip it. The control’s wording and availability can vary by device, and work or school policies may override it.
What the wake sign-in setting controls
This preference governs authentication when the PC resumes from sleep. It does not turn sleep on or off, control the display timeout, or remove the normal sign-in requirement after a restart or shutdown. Microsoft documents separate device policies for prompting after the system resumes from sleep, with distinct settings for battery and plugged-in use (Microsoft Power Policy CSP documentation).
- Sleep: The PC suspends its session; waking it is the situation this setting is intended to cover.
- Screen off: The display can turn off while Windows remains active. That alone does not mean the PC slept or should trigger wake authentication.
- Manual lock: Pressing Win + L locks the session separately. Setting wake sign-in to Never does not prevent you from locking the PC.
- Hibernate: This is distinct from sleep. Do not assume it behaves identically on every device or configuration.
- Restart or shutdown: Normal account sign-in rules apply; the wake preference does not bypass them.
Dynamic Lock is also separate: it can lock a PC when a paired phone moves out of Bluetooth range. Presence sensing, where supported, can turn off or wake the screen based on whether someone is nearby, but it does not replace the wake-sign-in policy. See Microsoft’s pages on Sign-in options and Dynamic Lock and presence sensing in Windows 11.
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Require sign-in after sleep in Settings
- Open Settings.
- Select Accounts, then Sign-in options.
- Scroll to or expand Additional settings.
- Find “If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?”
- Choose When PC wakes up from sleep, or the equivalent wake-from-sleep choice shown on your PC.
Windows may then ask for a PIN, password, fingerprint, face, security key, or another configured method. Windows Hello supports face, fingerprint, and PIN sign-in; it changes how you authenticate, not necessarily whether authentication is required after sleep. Microsoft notes that available Sign-in options can vary with device configuration (Microsoft’s Sign-in options guide).
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Stop requiring sign-in after sleep
- Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
- Under Additional settings, find the setting for when Windows should require sign-in after you have been away.
- Select Never.
- Put the PC to sleep and wake it to check the result.
Security note: On a laptop or shared computer, anyone with physical access may be able to resume your active session without authenticating. Keep wake sign-in enabled on portable devices, shared PCs, and computers with sensitive data. If the inconvenience is entering a password, consider Windows Hello rather than removing the sign-in requirement.
Verify the setting
- Save your work, then select Start > Power > Sleep.
- Wake the PC using the keyboard, mouse, power button, or laptop lid.
- If a lock screen appears, press a key, click, or swipe to reveal whether Windows actually requests a credential. The lock screen itself is not proof that authentication is required.
- On a laptop, repeat the test once on battery and once while plugged in. Windows policy can treat those states separately.
If the setting is missing, greyed out, or ineffective
- Device configuration differs: Microsoft says Sign-in options availability varies by device configuration, so the exact label or control may not appear on every Windows 11 PC.
- Work or school management: Group Policy, Intune, domain policy, or another management configuration may enforce a choice or prevent you from changing it. Ask the administrator before trying to override it.
- Windows edition: The documented wake-password device policy applies to Pro, Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise editions. Windows Home users should not expect Local Group Policy Editor to be included.
- Different power behavior: Firmware, power mode, and supported sleep states vary. Some PCs use Modern Standby rather than traditional S3 sleep. Do not change sleep-state registry settings as a routine fix.
- The PC did not sleep: A screen timeout is not the same as sleep. Check the power and sleep behavior before concluding the wake preference failed.
Set the policy with Group Policy on Pro and higher editions
On a Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education PC where Local Group Policy Editor is available:
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- Press Win + R, type
gpedit.msc, and press Enter. - Go to
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings. - Open Require a password when a computer wakes (on battery) and set it as needed.
- Open Require a password when a computer wakes (plugged in) and set it as needed.
- Select Apply, then OK for each policy.
- Refresh policy with
gpupdate /force, or restart Windows, then test sleep and wake again.
| Goal | Set both policies to | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Require authentication after sleep | Enabled | Windows prompts when the PC resumes from sleep. |
| Skip the prompt after sleep | Disabled | The policy suppresses the resume password prompt. |
| Return to default policy behavior | Not Configured | Microsoft documents Enabled and Not Configured as prompting; another policy may still take precedence. |
Configure both battery and plugged-in policies if you want consistent behavior. These policy settings are documented in Microsoft’s Power Policy CSP reference. A policy refresh is not a guarantee that every managed-device override has changed; verify the result after applying it.
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Microsoft documents these device-scoped Power Policy CSP settings for supported Pro, Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise editions:
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./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Power/RequirePasswordWhenComputerWakesOnBattery./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Power/RequirePasswordWhenComputerWakesPluggedIn
Use the matching setting in the tenant’s Settings Catalog or a custom policy configuration. The exact portal workflow can change; consult the Microsoft CSP documentation for policy scope and behavior.
Advanced registry mapping
Microsoft maps the battery policy to DCPromptForPasswordOnResume_2 and DCSettingIndex, and the plugged-in policy to ACPromptForPasswordOnResume_2 and ACSettingIndex. The documented policy mapping is under:
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HKLMSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftPowerPowerSettings e796bdb-100d-47d6-a2d5-f7d2daa51f51
This is a reference for administrators and diagnostics, not the recommended consumer procedure. Manual registry edits can be misapplied, may be overridden by management policy, and can leave battery and AC behavior inconsistent. Prefer Settings, Group Policy, or the organization’s management system.
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Troubleshooting checklist
- Settings says Never, but Windows still asks for a PIN: Check both Group Policy power settings; whether the device is managed; whether you pressed Win + L; whether it hibernated rather than slept; and whether Dynamic Lock or another control locked the session.
- Sign-in is enabled, but the PC resumes without a prompt: Test on battery and AC, confirm the machine actually entered sleep, inspect both policy settings, then refresh policy or restart and test again.
- The option is greyed out: Treat it as a possible policy or device-configuration restriction. On a work or school PC, contact the administrator instead of forcing a registry change.
- You see a lock screen but no credential box: Interact with the screen first; the credential prompt may appear only after a keypress, click, or swipe.
- Closing the lid gives a different result: Lid-close action can be configured separately to do nothing, sleep, hibernate, or shut down. Check the lid and power settings as well as wake authentication.
Windows Hello is not the same as disabling wake sign-in
Windows Hello lets you sign in with a PIN, face, or fingerprint. Microsoft-account passwordless sign-in is a separate option that can remove password sign-in from the device and affect how you authenticate in Windows and related apps or browsers. It is not a shortcut for changing whether sleep resume requires authentication. See Microsoft’s passwordless sign-in guidance.
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