Windows 10: How to I change my sign in settings so that it defaults to PIN on the lock screen?

Ever since one of the last Windows 10 updates, the sign in method defaults to password instead of PIN. How do I change it so that it defaults to PIN when locked or after restarting?

:)

 

different lock screen and sign in screen?

Step 2b is labeled as Change the Login Screen Image, but the steps show you how to change the Lock Screen image. Step 2a is irrelevant. It only tells you how to change the desktop background.

What I want to do:
Set Spotlight as the LOCK Screen Image(s) - Done
Set the Win 10 Hero Image as the SIGN IN Screen Image - This is the one that shows after you click on the lock screen and you are able to type your password. If I uncheck "Show Lock Screen Image on Sign In Screen", it shows a solid blue background behind my Password box and user image. This is what I want to change to the Hero Image....

 

Different Pin Or Password For Lock Screen & Sign-in Screen?

I am wondering if it is possible to have a separate Pin or Password for the lock screen and sign in screen?

For example:
My Microsoft Account Pin and Password is known to more than myself in my home. I do not want to change the Microsoft Account Password. If I change the Pin at the lock screen, others can just use the Microsoft account Password instead.

What I wish to do is lock my computer and when presented with the lock screen, have the Password for that different than the sign in screen. The only option presented at the first lock screen is either a Pin or Password.

The computer will be doing things in the background while it is locked.

Is it even possible to do what I want?

 

Windows Spotlight - Lock Screen image will not show on Sign-In Screen

Hi Bastet and Paul Black,

Thanks for such a quick response! I had tried the steps involved in Brink's tutorial already (both manually and running the .bat file, just in case), but I've given them one more try just to see if it worked - no luck, I'm afraid! While Spotlight itself works on the Lock screen, as soon as I press a key to move to the Sign-In screen to enter my PIN, it changes back to a plain flat-colour background - and that's even with "Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen" enabled under Personalization.

If I set this to 'disabled', the Spotlight image shows on the Lock screen but not the Sign-In screen.
If I set it to enabled, both Lock and Sign-In show as a plain flat-colour background.


Hi Dalchina,

Thanks for this suggestion as well - I've tried this too (both enabling and disabling the registry key). It seems to get me one step closer. If I create and set 'DisableLogonBackgroundImage' to '1' under Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System, then the outcome of "Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen" under Personalization seems to have a different effect. Regardless of whether "Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen", the Spotlight image shows on the Lock screen. However, it still doesn't show on the Sign-In page. That's still just a solid colour.

Do I want DisableLogonBackgroundImage to be 0 or 1? I guessed 1 as I figured that was a 'disable' key - kind of like a double negative

And with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SystemProtectedUserData\<your account's SID key>\AnyoneRead\LockScreen, there's the HideLogonBackgroundImage key - which I guess should be set to 0?

I feel like it's just got to be one darn registry key somewhere to fix this, but I've got no idea where to look!

Apologies - I know this is all very trivial but it's irritated me enough that it's getting personal now *Wink