How to: Remove Windows 10 Password (No Login Screen)

Infopackets Reader Sheila P. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

How do I disable my Windows 10 password so I can log into Windows 10 automatically? Ever since I upgraded to Windows 10 I have to enter in my email address and then a password. Before using Windows 10, I was using Windows 7 and the system booted straight into the desktop. I want to do the same thing with Windows 10. Can you help? "

My response:

It is possible to login to Windows 10 without a password, but doing so is a very poor security policy. If someone were to gain access to your device (whether it was by remote or locally), they could also gain access to all of your files.

Also note that once you convert your Windows 10 email account login to a local account (with no email address), you will lose access to certain Microsoft services unless you sign into each service independently with a Microsoft account (and only if the app provides the functionality). Microsoft One Drive is an example of such a service that requires an email address / email account login to function.

If you're OK with all of that, then keep reading.

How to Remove Windows 10 Password (No Login Screen)

In order to disable your windows 10 password, you will first need to convert your Windows 10 email account login to a local account (with no email), then modify your local account so that it has no password. There's a lot more to mention than that (with some caveats), but that's the general idea. Once you do that, you can boot straight into the Windows 10 desktop.

Here are the steps in more detail:

1. The first thing you will need to do is to enable the hidden Administrator account. Later you will login as the Administrator account so that you can set your local user password as blank. Note that if you don't use the Administrator account to set your password blank, you will receive an error message stating that "Windows can't change the password". To enable the Administrator account: click Start, then type in "cmd" (no quotes), then right click CMD.EXE or Command Prompt (once it appears in this list), and select Run as Administrator. Now, highlight the text below with your mouse:
   
   net user administrator /active:yes
    
2. Go to the black command prompt window you opened in Step #1, then right click in the middle of the window and select Paste from the dialogue menu. The text you copied in Step #1 should now output to the screen. Press Enter on the keyboard to execute the command. The Administrator account should now be enabled.
    
3. Now we will set your Windows 10 account as a local account instead of using an email address to sign in. To do so: click Start and type in "user accounts" (no quotes); click the User Accounts icon that appears in the list. Your user account name will be displayed with the title "Make changes to your user account". Directly underneath that heading there is a link which says "Make changes to my account in PC Settings"; click that link.
    
4. The "Settings" app will now open a new window. On the top left of the screen, click on the "Your Account" heading. Your account name should be listed at the top of the page. Look for and click the link that says "Sign in with a local account instead".
    
5. On the proceeding page, enter your current password associated with your account, then click Next. Now, enter your new user name (this will be your new Windows 10 local account name), then enter your user password (twice), and password hint, and click Next. The password is only temporary, but needed to continue onto the next few steps.
    
6. On the proceeding page, click "Sign out and finish" and the system will log you out and take you back to the Windows 10 login screen. Click the screen with the date and time to activate the login process. Now, look at the bottom left of the screen and you should see the Administrator user. Click the Administrator user icon, then click "Sign in" button to sign in as the Administrator. You may need to wait for Windows 10 to set up the Administrator user if you've never used the account before.
    
7. Once you've logged in as the Administrator user, click Start and type in "user accounts" (no quotes); click the User Accounts icon that appears in the Start menu list. The Administrator user account will be displayed with the title "Make changes to your user account". Directly underneath that heading there is a link that says "Manage another account"; click that link.
    
8. A new window will appear with the heading "Choose the user you would like to change". Select your local user account name you created in Step #5. On the proceeding page, click the "change the password" link. A new page will appear; leave the both password fields blank, and for the password hint, input "None", then click the "Change password" button to save the changes. Your local user account should now be set without a password. If you have a Windows Hello account (for use with a finger print reader, for example), you will need to disable that as well,  described further down.
    
9. Now it's time to do a little cleanup using your local user account. To do so: click Start, Shut Down, then Log Off to log off as the Administrator user. You will be taken back to the Windows 10 login screen; click the left mouse button to activate the login process, then select your user name to login. NOTE: if you have previously set a Pin password or have a Windows Hello account with your user account, you will need to click the key icon under the "Sign-in options" heading, so that you can login without a password.
    
10. Once you are signed in as your local user account, click Start and type in "user accounts" (no quotes); click the User Accounts icon that appears in the list. Your user account will be displayed with the title "Make changes to your user account". Directly underneath that heading there is a link that says "Make changes to my account in PC Settings"; click that link. The Settings app window will appear; on the left of the screen, click the "Sign-in options" heading. Under the Windows Hello setting, click the "Remove" button if it is there.
     
11. Now it's time to test to ensure that everything is working as it should. Click Start, then Shutdown, Restart, and you should be able to login to Windows 10 without a password.

If you have more than one user account on that machine, you can sign in as another account by clicking Start, Shutdown, then Log Off, then at the login screen you can select another user near the bottom left of the screen. Otherwise, the system will continue to login as your local user account automatically, unless you log off and choose another account to login to.

Once you are satisfied everything is working as it should, you should disable the Administrator account. To do so: follow Steps #1 and #2 again, but change the copied text from "net user administrator /active:yes" to "net user administrator /active:no".

Hope that helps.

Additional 1-on-1 Help: From Dennis

I wrote this entire article and tested all of the above steps myself. Your mileage may vary but this should certainly work for the majority of people, providing all instructions are followed in the order written. If you still can't get it to work, you are welcome to contact me for remote desktop support assistance and I will set it up for you.

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About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.