How to change lock screen and screensaver timeout settings on Windows

Meanwhile, screensaver is an image or animation that appears when your PC has been idle for a while. Like the lock screen, the screensaver will also appear for about a minute.

If you are wondering how you can display the lock screen or screensaver longer, this article will show you various ways to change the timeout settings of the lock screen and screensaver.

1. How to change the lock screen timeout setting

First, let's see how you can configure the Windows 10 lock screen timeout setting.

Using Windows System Settings

Windows System Settings comes in handy in many different situations. Let's see how you can use them to change Windows 10's screen lock timeout setting:

1. Press Win + I to open System Settings.
2. Select the Personalization option from the menu items.
3. Click the Lock screen option in the left pane.
4. Scroll down on the right hand side and select the Screen timeout settings option .
5. Click the On battery power drop-down menu in the right pane and choose your preferred option.

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Apply the same settings to the When plugged in option in the right pane. From there, close System Settings and reboot your device to save these changes.

Using Edit Plan Settings (via Control Panel)

Control Panel is a trusted Windows tool that helps you configure various System Settings. The article will show you how to use it to configure screensaver timeout settings. In this case, we will use the Control Panel to navigate to the Edit Plan Settings.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Type Control Panel into the Start menu search bar and select the best match.
2. Click the View by drop-down menu and select Small icons .
3. Select Power Options from the menu items.
4. Click the Change plan settings option on the right hand side.
5. Locate the Turn off the display option . From there, select your preferred options on the On battery and When plugged in drop-down menus .
6. Finally, click the Save changes button .

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Using Advanced Power Options (via Control Panel)

You can also use the Control Panel's Advanced Power Options to configure the lock screen timeout settings. It's very simple, just follow these steps:

1. Press Win + R to open the Run command dialog box.
2. Enter Control Panel and then click OK.
3. Select Power Options from the menu items.
4. Click Change plan settings . From there, select the Change advanced power settings option on the next screen.
5. Scroll down and click the Display option . Next, click the Turn off display after option .
6. Select the On battery option , then configure the lock screen timeout setting using the arrow buttons. From there, apply the same settings to the Plugged in option .

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When you're done, click Apply > OK. Finally, close the Control Panel and then restart the device to save these changes.

Using Command Prompt

Command Prompt is a reliable tool that can help you fix various Windows system problems. Interestingly, this tool can also help you configure settings on your device.

Here's how to configure the Windows lock screen timeout setting using Command Prompt:

1. Press Win + R to open the Run command dialog box .
2. Type CMD and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt with admin rights.
3. Next, type the following commands - one by one - and press Enter :

powercfg.exe /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOIDLE 60

powercfg.exe /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 60

The "60" in the command indicates how long (seconds) the lock screen should be displayed. If you want to increase the lock screen duration, apply the previous steps and change "60" to another value of your choice.

When you're done, type the following command and press Enter :

powercfg.exe /SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT

Finally, restart your PC to save these changes.

How to change screensaver timeout settings

Now let's explore how you can change screensaver timeout settings.

Using System Settings

Here's how to change the duration of screensavers using System Settings:

1. Press Win + I to open System Settings.
2. Type screensaver in the Settings search bar and select the Change screen saver option .

Remember that you can only change screensaver timeout settings if screensavers are enabled. If screensavers are currently disabled, click the Screen saver drop-down menu and select your preferred image.

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From there, follow these steps to configure screensaver timeout settings:

1. Navigate to the Wait option on the Screen Saver Settings window.
2. Click the arrow buttons to select the screen saver duration (in minutes).

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Finally click Apply and then click OK to save these changes.

Using Local Group Policy Editor

Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE) is an amazing tool that makes it easy to configure a variety of system settings. Now, here's how you can use this tool to configure screensaver timeout settings:

1. Press Win + R to open the Run command dialog box .
2. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open LGPE.
3. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization .
4. Double-click the Screen saver timeout option on the right hand side.

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In the next window, select the Enabled option . From there, use the arrow buttons next to the Seconds box to choose the duration of the screensaver.

Click Apply > OK , then close LGPE. Finally, reboot the device to save these changes.

If you want to disable screensaver settings, here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Navigate to the Personalization option on LGPE following the previous steps.
2. Double-click the Screen saver timeout option and select the Disabled or Not Configured option .
3. Finally, click Apply > OK , and then close LGPE.

Using Registry Editor

Registry Editor can help you adjust screensaver timeout settings easily. But this is a rather sensitive tool, so you should consider backing up the Registry before proceeding.

Now, here's how to configure screensaver timeout settings using Registry Editor:

1. Press Win + R to open the Run command dialog box .
2. Type Regedit and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
3. Copy-paste the following command into the address bar:

HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTControl PanelDesktop

Locate the ScreenSaveTimeOut option on the right hand side.

If the key is missing, right-click in the empty space to the right and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value . From there, rename the value to ScreenSaveTimeOut and press Enter.

Next, double-click the ScreenSaveTimeOut value.

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Now enter the screensaver's wait time (in seconds) in the Value data box . The default option is usually 900 seconds (15 minutes), but you can enter the desired value. Finally, click OK and then restart the device to save these changes.

Kareem Winters

Update 27 March 2023