Fix Windows Not Showing Users Must Enter a Username and Password to Use This Computer?

Windows offers multiple ways to login to your computer using a password. However, if you are using the PC or laptop as a single person, then entering password every time is an additional work. You can disable password login from user accounts settings by simply disabling the checkbox against the option “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” as we have explained in this article. If this option is not showing in your computer, then here is how you can fix the issue.

User Accounts Dialog Box

You can open the user account dialog box by entering netplwiz in the Run prompt. It should look like below showing all the user accounts available in your computer. You can select any of the account and disable “User must enter a username and password to use this computer” option. This will disable the password login prompt so that the user can use the system without entering the password. This works for both logging in with local administrator as well as using Microsoft account for login.

The Problem

Problem happens when you are not seeing “Users must enter…..” option in the user accounts dialog. It means you will not be able to automatically login to system without password even if you are willing to opt for that option.

How to Fix the Problem?

Follow the below instructions to enable the password login option in user accounts dialog box.

• Right click on the Start menu and select “Settings” option.

• This will open Windows Settings app and go to “Account” section.
• On the right-side panel, select “Sign-in options”.

• Under “Addition settings” section, the first option should show as “For improve security, only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device (Recommended)”.
• If this option is turned on, click the button to turn it off.

• Close user accounts window and reopen again using netplwiz command from Run prompt.
• Now, you should see the username/password check box for all the accounts in the list. If you are still not seeing the option, restart the computer and check again.

Reason for Disabled Username/Password Setting

Windows Hello is the password-less login recommended by Microsoft to either use facial recognition, fingerprint or PIN. You can choose one of these options and enable improved security setting to allow only Windows Hello login option in the initial login screen. This will make sure you enter the PIN or use fingerprint/face to login to the computer and not the password. Hence it will conflict with the option for removing username/password from the login screen. Therefore, the option “User must enter a user name and password for to use this computer” will be disabled to make sure you are using Windows Hello PIN or biometric recognition.

Remember, the improved security option works at device level which means it will affect all the users in your computer both local admin as well as Microsoft account login. When you have multiple admin users on your computer, one user enabling Windows Hello with improved security will affect other password login user who is not using Windows Hello at all. The solution here is to login with the account that uses Windows Hello and disable improved security option in Settings app.