How to Lock Your Windows 10 PC Remotely

This wikiHow will show you how to lock your Windows 10 PC remotely. Locking your PC logs out all accounts on the computer and displays a lock screen message that you can specify. Once locked, only administrators will be able to unlock it. Keep in mind that this will only work if your device is signed into a Microsoft Account.

Part 1
Part 1 of 2:
Enable Find My Device

  1. Image titled Open Windows 10 Settings Step 1
    1
    Open Settings. Click on the Start Button
    Image titled Windowsstart.png
    in the bottom left corner of your screen, then click on the gear icon
    Image titled Windowssettings.png
    .
  2. Image titled Windows Settings Update and Security.png
    2
    Click "Update & Security".
  3. Image titled Windows 10 Find my Device.png
    3
    Select "Find my device" in the left hand panel.
  4. Image titled Windows 10 Enable Find my Device.png
    4
    Enable Find my device. In the menu, select Change, then switch the slider to on
    Image titled Windows10switchon.png
    .

Part 2
Part 2 of 2:
Locking Your Computer

  1. Image titled Microsoft account Devices.png
    1
    Go to account.microsoft.com/devices. Then, enter your password. You need to enter your password even if you are logged in for extra security.
  2. Image titled Microsoft account Devices Select Device.png
    2
    Click "Show details" on the device that you want to lock.
  3. Image titled Microsoft account Devices 2.png
    3
    Select the "Security & protection" tab in the details window.
  4. Image titled Microsoft account Devices Locate device.png
    4
    Click on "Find my device". A new window will open up and a list of all your devices will be shown.
  5. Image titled Select and Lock device.png
    5
    Select the device that you want to lock. Then, click on Lock.
  6. Image titled Verify Lock Windows 10 2.png
    6
    Read the message that comes up. Then, if you still want to proceed, click Lock.
  7. Image titled Microsoft Windows 10 lock enter message.png
    7
    Type in the message that you want to display on the locked device. This message will be displayed on the lock screen. Then, click Lock. This will immediately lock the computer and prevent non-administrator accounts from logging in.
    • If you do not specify a message a generic one will be displayed.
    • If the device is not connected to the internet, then you will see an error message. In this case, you'll have to try again latter.
    • To unlock the computer, log into an administrator account on it.

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References

  1. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/find-and-lock-a-lost-windows-device-890bf25e-b8ba-d3fe-8253-e98a12f26316#:~:text=1%20Go%20to%20account.microsoft.com%20and%20select%20Sign%20in.,a%20map%20showing%20your%20device's%20location.%20See%20More

About This Article

Tested by:
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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time.
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Co-authors: 3
Updated: March 7, 2021
Views: 683
Categories: Windows 10