How to Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10

information   Information
When you have the Account lockout threshold policy setting set to a number greater than 0, the Account lockout duration policy setting determines the number of minutes that a locked-out local account remains locked out before automatically becoming unlocked. The available range is from 1 through 99,999 minutes. A value of 0 specifies that the account will be locked out until an administrator explicitly unlocks it. If Account lockout threshold is set to a number greater than zero, Account lockout duration must be greater than or equal to the value of Reset account lockout counter after. This policy setting is dependent on the Account lockout threshold policy setting that is defined, and it must be greater than or equal to the value specified for the Reset account lockout counter after policy setting.

This tutorial will show you how to change the Account lockout duration for how many minutes a locked-out local account remains locked out before automatically becoming unlocked in Windows 10.

You must be signed in as an administrator to change the Account lockout duration.


CONTENTS:
  • Option One: To Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts using Local Security Policy
  • Option Two: To Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts using Command Prompt


EXAMPLE: "The referenced account is currently locked out and may not be logged on to" error
Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10-referenced_account_is_currently_locked_out.jpg






OPTION ONE

To Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts using Local Security Policy


Note   Note
Local Security Policy is only available in the Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

All editions can use Option Two below.


1. Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type secpol.msc into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Local Security Policy.

2. Navigate to Account Policies and Account Lockout Policy in the left pane of Local Security Policy. (see screenshot below)

Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10-account_lockout_duration_secpol-1.png

3. In the right pane of Account Lockout Policy, double click/tap on the Account lockout duration policy. (see screenshot above)

4. Type in a number between 0 and 99999 for how many invalid sign-in attempts you want before the account will be locked out after, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshots below)
Note   Note
Account lockout duration must be greater than or equal to the value of Reset account lockout counter after.

The default setting is 30 minutes that a locked-out account remains locked out before automatically becoming unlocked.

Setting 0 minutes will specifiy that the account will be locked out until an administrator explicitly unlocks it.


Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10-account_lockout_duration_secpol-2.png Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10-account_lockout_duration_secpol-3.png

5. When finished, you can close the Local Security Policy window if you like.






OPTION TWO

To Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts using Command Prompt


1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Enter the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and make note of the current Lockout duration. (see screenshot below)

net accounts

Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10-net_accounts.jpg

3. Enter the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

net accounts /lockoutduration:Number

Note   Note
Substitute Number in the command above with a number between 0 (none) and 99999 for how many minutes you want for a locked-out local account to remain locked out before automatically becoming unlocked.

Account lockout duration must be greater than or equal to the value of Reset account lockout counter after.

The default setting is 30 minutes that a locked-out account remains locked out before automatically becoming unlocked.

Setting 0 minutes will specifiy that the account will be locked out until an administrator explicitly unlocks it.


Change Account Lockout Duration for Local Accounts in Windows 10-account_lockout_duration-command.png

4. When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt if you like.


That's it,
Shawn


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