Lock screen by-passed on Windows 11 startup to immediately show Sign-In screen

Question

Lock screen by-passed on Windows 11 startup to immediately show Sign-In screen

Dal Ste 10

I am using a Home Windows 11 computer. A Microsoft agent has remotely changed my lock screen settings on startup, as the lock screen with the clock, information and Windows Spotlight image of the day is by-passed, and immediately the 'sign-in' screen appears. I don't want to remove neither, I just don't want the lock screen to be by-passed. I have tried almost everything, including speaking with another agent, and a 'personalization' key was never created in Regedit, which means it doesn't need to be deleted or have its value set at 0. I also created one and set it at 0, and it didn't make a difference. I cannot use Group Policy Editor as this is a home computer. Thank you for helping me.

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3 answers

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Answer 1

Carl-L 21,320 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Dalia Stephan,

Disclaimer: This could be better if I can tell what the agent has changed on your computer. But for now Let’s try performing an in-place install or in-place upgrade which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up before making large system changes. If you want to back up your data first, please do so. Once you are done backing up, you can follow the steps in the following guides:

How to run In-place upgrade in Windows 11 - Microsoft Community

I'm waiting for your reply.

Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-22T12:34:41.0766667+00:00

Hello Dalia Stephan,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-22T21:48:18.0166667+00:00

Hi Carl, Yes sorry for the late reply. Would there be another option than the one you suggested please? Perhaps removing the Windows Hello cache? Thank you!
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-25T13:03:00.69+00:00

Hello Dal Ste,

Removing Windows Hello cache probably won't help, since it is not in charge of Windows spotlight. Since I'm not sure what might happen, the suggested ways is the best step going forward, since it will replace any system files while keeping your data intact.

I'm waiting for your reply.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-25T21:32:32.27+00:00

I will think about it. I do not want to lose my files.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-25T23:35:03.4266667+00:00

Hi Carl, what happened is the Microsoft agent tried to do a quick Windows Hello install on my computer. meaning that at start-up the lock screen is fully by-passed to display the sign-in screen. I have asked other agents for help, or to at least go read the notes of what he had done, they told me they would reply by email last week but they haven't. I believe a Windows Hello function can be activated to completely change the settings of the lock screen at login. The lock screen when I lock my computer is intact though.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-26T13:36:12.87+00:00

Hello Dal Ste,

Thanks for replying.

Actually, most of the time, this process will let you keeps your files and apps. In case it cannot keep your files and apps, it will let you know so you can choose whether to proceed.

I agree that there could be a setting that we could look into to solve this. However, since I cannot access backend data logs, I cannot make sure what changes is made to your computer and therefore it is risky to just blindly change settings any further. Thank you for your understanding.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-26T23:13:44.7333333+00:00

I understand, thank you Carl. I noticed this topic discussion, here's the link: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/windows11/on-windows-11-the-lock-screen-disappears-immediately-upon-startup/4523658. They seem to have had the same issue as I did.

Answer 2

Carl-L 21,320 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Dalia Stephan,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Before we proceed, may I confirm the issue a little bit? May I know what happens with your screen when you press Windows + L? Does it switch back to the lock screen instantly? Also, may I know what value that the other agent mentioned? Please also let me know if the other user answer works for you?

I'm waiting for your reply.

Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-14T18:54:02.09+00:00

Hello Carl,

Unfortunately the other user's answer did not work for me. When I lock my screen with Windows + L, I can finally see the lock screen, and I need to click on it to sign-in. There is no issue with my lock screen per se, it is the start-up that has been modified by a Microsoft agent to by-pass the lock screen to go directly to the 'sign-in' screen. He was trying to fix an issue with the Windows Hello Pin. I added a 'Personalisation' key to ''HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows' in DWORD (32-bit) value and set it to 0. Nothing changed on restart. I tried using Command Prompt to reset policies through:reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization" /v NoLockScreen /f' and then 'gpupdate /force" but nothing happened either. Thank you for your help.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-15T13:52:41.8733333+00:00

Hello Dalia Stephan,

Thanks for replying.

I'll see what I can do. I'll keep you updated.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-15T18:48:28.83+00:00

Thank you Carl!
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-18T13:38:51.9133333+00:00

Hello Dalia Stephan,

Win + L still works mean that the lock screen itself is still fine. It would be something that the agent changed has blocked it from boot sequence.

Before we proceed further, can you please try to disable all Windows Hello method and leave the computer with only password sign in and observe the behavior?

I'm waiting for your reply.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-19T12:46:43.5833333+00:00

Hello Dalia Stephan,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-19T20:31:50.2666667+00:00

Hello Carl,

I'm sorry I hadn't seen your August 18th reply. I will try to disable all Windows Hello methods.

Thank you!
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-19T21:06:39.4333333+00:00

Hello Carl,

I only have Pin available on my computer for Windows Hello. I removed it, and now I was prompted to enter my Microsoft password. The lock screen was still bypassed to show the sign-in screen.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-20T04:01:00.7966667+00:00

Hello Carl, I re-created a pin in Windows Hello. Now, the lock screen is not by-passed, I can see the clock: but the other options as to click on 'like what you see?' regarding the daily image and the news are not still missing.
Carl-L 21,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-20T13:48:46.7533333+00:00

Hello Dal Ste,

Thanks for replying.

I'll see what I can do. I'll keep you updated.
Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-21T05:00:35.34+00:00

Thanks Carl! I replied wrong in the last reply, I wrote that the daily image and news 'are not still missing', this is a mistake, I meant to write 'are still missing'.

Answer 3

Thoura Sopheak Nanta 655

Hi, @Dal Ste

Press Win + R, type regedit, then inside the Registry Editor, paste this path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\SessionData

And make sure there's a value called AllowLockScreen. If there is one, make sure the value is set to 1. If the value is 0, change it to 1, then restart your computer to see if it fixes the problem.

If there's no AllowLockScreen, create a DWORD (32‑bit) Value, name it exactly AllowLockScreen, and set the value to 1.

Also, you mentioned creating a new value; may you tell me what value it is? Is it HideLogonBackgroundImage?

Hope this helps!

Dal Ste 10 Reputation points

2026-08-14T18:39:26.23+00:00

Hello Thoura,

Thank you for your answer. There is an "AllowLockScreen' DWord of 32-bit value already set to 1. The value I created was 'Personalisation' under 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows' .