[Fix] “Users Must Enter a User Name and Password to Use This Computer” Checkbox Missing in Windows 10 (2024)

SUMMARY: If you use automatic login functionality in Windows 10 using “control userpasswords2” or “netplwiz” commands and you found that the required “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox is missing or removed in newer versions of Windows 10, this article will help you in fixing the issue and adding back the not available option.

Long long time back, we posted a tutorial to help users in automatic login to Windows operating system. With the help of the tutorial, users can login to Windows without any need to entering user name and password at login screen or sign-in screen. You can find the tutorial at following link:

How to Auto Login to Windows 10 Without Username and Password

Many people use the above mentioned trick to automatic sign into their user accounts in their computer systems. It saves time and if you are using a personal computer system and no other person uses your computer, there is no harm in using this trick.

PROBLEM SYMPTOM:

The problem started when Microsoft released version 2004 of Windows 10 operating system. The latest Windows 10 version 2004 (or May 2020 Update) doesn’t show the required “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox to some selected users. When the user runs “control userpasswords2” or “netplwiz” commands, the checkbox is missing in these programs.

Surprisingly the problem occurs to some users only. Many Windows 10 users can access the checkbox without any issue.

Following screenshot shows the checkbox is present and missing in Windows 10 devices:

After receiving users emails regarding this issue, I started investigating the issue and found the culprit. Actually it’s a feature by design.

PROBLEM REASON:

Newer versions of Windows 10 come with a new Passwordless sign-in feature (More Info) which allows users to setup Windows Hello Face, fingerprint or PIN instead of traditional password. When the user turns on the device, he’ll not need to enter the account password, instead he can use Windows Hello functionality to sign in to his user account.

The problem (or feature by design) is that if the user enables this new passwordless sign-in feature or the feature is automatically activated in user’s device based on the device hardware, the “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox is automatically removed or hidden from “control userpasswords2” or “netplwiz” programs.

So if you are not getting the above mentioned checkbox, it means passwordless sign-in feature is enabled in your device.

PROBLEM SOLUTION:

To fix this issue, you’ll need to deactivate and disable passwordless sign-in feature and it’ll immediately restore or add missing “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox in “control userpasswords2” or “netplwiz” programs.

If you also want to bring back “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox in Windows 10, following solutions will help you:

SOLUTION 1: Fix Using Windows 10 Settings App

You can turn off passwordless sign-in feature easily and quickly using Settings app as mentioned below:

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu. Alternatively, you can press WIN+I keys together to open Settings directly.

2. Now click on Accounts icon in Settings app and then click on Sign-in Options tab present in left-side pane.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:signinoptions” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. In right-side pane, look for following option:

If the option is set to ON, set the toggle button to OFF.

Now check “control userpasswords2” or “netplwiz” programs and you’ll get “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox back.

PS: If you can’t see above mentioned option in Settings app, following registry method will help you.

SOLUTION 2: Fix Using Registry Editor

Some users will not see above mentioned option in Windows 10 Settings app due to missing or incompatible hardware drivers.

Don’t worry! You can take help of following registry tweak to restore “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device

3. In right-side pane, look for DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion DWORD.

The value of this DWORD would be set to 2 in your device.

Double-click on DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion and change its value to 0

That’s it. Now open “control userpasswords2” or “netplwiz” programs and you’ll get “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” checkbox back.

NOTE: If the checkbox doesn’t appear after editing Registry, restart your computer and it’ll appear now.

PS: If you don’t want to modify Registry Editor manually or if you can’t see above mentioned key in Registry, you can run following command in Command Prompt directly:

reg ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device" /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

It’ll do the same job and bring back missing checkbox in Windows 10.

Big thanks to Winaero for finding the issue…

Also Check:

[Windows 10 Fix] “The User Name or Password is Incorrect” Error Message After Restart

[Tip] Enable or Disable Programs and Apps Automatically Restarting with Windows 10

[Fix] Windows 10 Not Asking for Password on Wake up from Sleep or Hibernate