Automatic Login on Windows

This document explains how to configure automatic login on Windows so the system signs in automatically after startup or reboot, without requiring any user interaction.

On modern Windows systems — especially Windows 11 using Microsoft accounts — automatic login is only reliably possible using the Windows Registry. User-interface based methods are often unavailable or blocked by design.

Supported systems

This guide applies to:

• Windows 10
• Windows 11

It works with:

• Microsoft accounts
• Local accounts

Security notice

Enabling automatic login significantly reduces the physical security of the device.

When automatic login is enabled:

• Windows signs in automatically at boot
• No password or PIN is required at the login screen
• Anyone with physical access can use the computer

This configuration should be used only on personal devices located in trusted and private environments.

Important behavior on Windows 11

On many Windows 11 systems, Windows enforces the use of a PIN or other Windows Hello authentication method. In these cases:

• The PIN cannot be removed, only changed
• Automatic login options are hidden from system dialogs
• UI-based methods such as netplwiz do not work

This behavior is expected and not a misconfiguration.

For this reason, the Registry-based AutoAdminLogon method is the only reliable way to enable automatic login on modern Windows systems.

Required information

Before starting, the following information is required:

• The local Windows username
• The Microsoft account password associated with the user (not the PIN)
• The computer (device) name

Determine the Windows username

The username required for automatic login is the local Windows account name, not the email address of the Microsoft account.

The correct username can be obtained by checking the current logged-in account name as reported by the system. It is usually a short name created during the initial Windows setup.

Only the username itself must be used, without the computer name prefix.

Confirm the account password

Automatic login requires the actual account password.

If a Microsoft account is used:

• The password is the same one used to sign in at microsoft.com services
• The PIN is not valid and cannot be used

If the password is unknown, it must be reset through the Microsoft account management page before continuing.

Determine the computer name

The computer name is required when configuring automatic login with a Microsoft account.

It can be found in:

• Settings → System → About → Device name

The value must be used exactly as shown.

Enable automatic login using the Registry

Automatic login is configured by modifying the Windows Registry.

Open the Registry Editor

Open the Registry Editor with administrative privileges.

Navigate to the Winlogon configuration key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon

Create or edit the following String values (REG_SZ):

All values must be entered exactly. Any typo will prevent automatic login from working.

After applying the changes, restart the computer to verify the configuration.

Method 2 (limited availability): Configure automatic login using netplwiz

This method is only available on some systems.

It typically works when:

• A local account is use
• Windows Hello and PIN authentication are fully disabled
• The option is not restricted by Windows 11 policies

Using netplwiz

Open the User Accounts dialog and locate the option that requires users to enter a username and password at startup.

If the checkbox “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” is available, disabling it and confirming the account credentials will enable automatic login.

If the checkbox is missing or replaced by a message indicating that password settings must be changed in system settings, this method cannot be used on the current system.

In such cases, use the Registry method instead.

Notes about PIN and Windows Hello

• The PIN is not removed by automatic login
• Windows may continue to display PIN-related settings
• PIN enforcement does not prevent Registry-based automatic login
• The PIN is only required if the user manually signs out

This behavior is normal.

Security considerations

• The account password is stored in plain text in the Windows Registry
• Anyone with administrator access can read it
• Disk encryption such as BitLocker may still require authentication at boot
• BIOS-level and disk-level security are not bypassed

Troubleshooting

If Windows does not log in automatically:

• Verify all registry values are present
• Check for spelling errors
• Confirm the correct username is used
• Confirm the account password is used, not the PIN
• Ensure AutoAdminLogon is set to 1
• Restart the system again after corrections

Use cases

Automatic login on Windows is commonly used for:

• Remote desktop access
• Wake-on-LAN setups
• Headless or unattended computers
• Home servers
• Systems that must recover automatically after reboot