Change Screen Saver Password Grace Period in Windows  

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    Change Screen Saver Password Grace Period in Windows

    Change Screen Saver Password Grace Period in Windows

    How to Change Screen Saver Grace Period to Bypass Password Protection in Windows
    Published by Category: Customization
    08 Jun 2020
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change Screen Saver Grace Period to Bypass Password Protection in Windows


    When you turn on password protection of a screen saver, it is not effective immediately. There is a 5 second delay by default between the time that the screen saver locks the computer and the time that the password protection is established. During this screen saver grace period interval, you can use a key press or mouse movement to unlock the computer without having to type the password. This screen saver grace period is designed to minimize the disruption that results when the screen saver starts while the user is working.

    This tutorial will show you how to change the screen saver grace period to how many seconds you want for all users in XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

    You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to change the screen saver grace period.





    Here's How:

    1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

    2 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

    3 Browse to the key below in Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

    Change Screen Saver Password Grace Period in Windows-screensavergraceperiod_registry-1.png

    4 In the right pane of the Winlogon key, double click/tap on the ScreenSaverGracePeriod DWORD to modify it. (see screenshot above)

    The ScreenSaverGracePeriod DWORD is not there by default.

    To add the ScreenSaverGracePeriod DWORD, right click or press and hold on an empty area in the right pane of the Winlogon key, click/tap on New, click/tap on DWORD (32-bit) Value, type ScreenSaverGracePeriod for the name, and press Enter to create it.


    5 Select (dot) Decimal, enter a number between 0 and 2147483 for how many seconds of delay you want before screen saver password protection locks the computer, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    0 (zero) seconds will give you no password protection delay for immediate password protection when the screen saver starts.

    Change Screen Saver Password Grace Period in Windows-screensavergraceperiod_registry-2.png

    6 You can now close Registry Editor if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 2,897
    Windows 10 Pro for the Bro
       #1

    ScreenSaverGracePeriod Worked In Windows 8.1, But Not Windows 10


    Hello, I used to have the "ScreenSaverGracePeriod" option set up for my Windows 8.1, but it doesn't seem to be working for Windows 10.

    Check out: Screen Saver Grace Period to Bypass Password - Change in Windows - Windows 10 Forums

    So after 3 minutes of being idle, my computer Locks and goes to the Lock Screen:
    Change Screen Saver Password Grace Period in Windows-2016_08_26_20_38_351.png

    Yet I want to have that Screen Saver Grace Period to move the mouse within 5 seconds when I notice the screen go blank right after those 3 minutes, to return back to the Desktop without typing in the password.

    Any ideas? Thanks!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Hello @pepanee, :)

    It's still working for me in the latest 14905 build of Windows 10.

    You might change the time to be 10 seconds instead as a test to see if that may work better in case you're not getting enough time.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 2,897
    Windows 10 Pro for the Bro
       #3

    Hi Brink, and thank you for all your replies to my issues; you always help me out! Your reply somehow triggered my mind to actually figure out what I did wrong. It was something with the Screen Turning Off that I had confused with the Screen Saver Settings. I had both of them at 3 minutes or something similar that got me confused somehow. But I figured out what I did wrong.

    Thank you so much for your helpful tutorials! =D
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Great news. I'm glad you got it sorted. :)
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 1
    Windows 10
       #5

    pepanee said:
    Hi Brink, and thank you for all your replies to my issues; you always help me out! Your reply somehow triggered my mind to actually figure out what I did wrong. It was something with the Screen Turning Off that I had confused with the Screen Saver Settings. I had both of them at 3 minutes or something similar that got me confused somehow. But I figured out what I did wrong.

    Thank you so much for your helpful tutorials! =D
    So what did you do to fix this? The selection to set time to start the screensaver is grayed out. I've lengthened the time to require password, but I've set it to remain on when plugged in, yet I still get the screen saver and require log in.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Hello mperloe, and welcome to Ten Forums. :)

    I believe it was something to do with the settings below for when to turn off the display when idle.

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...dows-10-a.html
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 2,897
    Windows 10 Pro for the Bro
       #7

    Hi Shawn. Hope you're doing well. Been a long minute, or two, since we last spoke. =P

    So I found this Thread, which is related to the question I have. I love this feature of the "ScreenSaverGracePeriod". But lately, I'm assuming the high likeliness from recent Windows Updates, that this feature no longer works the way it should? I have my "ScreenSaverGracePeriod" set at 10 seconds, yet the grace period is much less than a second lately (well, there isn't really a grace period; I don't have enough time to stop the computer from locking itself).

    I tried changing the value (to 11 seconds), tested the new value out, with no success. I just changed it back to 10 seconds. I still haven't restarted the computer yet, and haven't looked much into testing and trial-ing what could fix this issue.

    Is it possible, whenever you have the time, that you can take a quick look at this feature and see if it's working well on your end or not? There's no rush or anything for a solution to this. I really appreciate all the assistance, and tutorials, you provide. Speak to you soon.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #8

    pepanee said:
    Hi Shawn. Hope you're doing well. Been a long minute, or two, since we last spoke. =P

    So I found this Thread, which is related to the question I have. I love this feature of the "ScreenSaverGracePeriod". But lately, I'm assuming the high likeliness from recent Windows Updates, that this feature no longer works the way it should? I have my "ScreenSaverGracePeriod" set at 10 seconds, yet the grace period is much less than a second lately (well, there isn't really a grace period; I don't have enough time to stop the computer from locking itself).

    I tried changing the value (to 11 seconds), tested the new value out, with no success. I just changed it back to 10 seconds. I still haven't restarted the computer yet, and haven't looked much into testing and trial-ing what could fix this issue.

    Is it possible, whenever you have the time, that you can take a quick look at this feature and see if it's working well on your end or not? There's no rush or anything for a solution to this. I really appreciate all the assistance, and tutorials, you provide. Speak to you soon.
    Hello mate,

    I'll do some testing on the virtual machine in the morning.

    For now, test some more with a higher times to see if one may work better.
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #9

    @pepanee,

    I did some testing with a 5 second ScreenSaverGracePeriod, and it still worked for me.

    I tested using the screen saver set with a "1" minute wait time, and of course On resume, display logon screen checked.
      My Computers


 

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