So keep in mind it could take up to 90 minutes before this policy gets applied to all computers. The GPO refresh interval is 90 minutes on a computer. If you apply the GPO to an OU with users only the lock screen will not work.ġ) In the group policy management console right click an OU and select “Link an Existing GPO:Ģ) Select the GPO you created in step 2 and click OK. Since this is a computer policy you must apply the GPO to an OU that contains computer accounts. Now you just need to link the GPO to the correct OU. The GPO is created and the policy settings have been added. Step 3: Apply the lock screen GPO and verify its applied I set mine to 900 seconds which is 15 minutes. It is the “Interactive Logon: Machine inactivity limit”īrowse to -> Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security OptionsĬhange the value to whatever you want. There is only one group policy setting that needs to be set. The GPO is created but now we need to set the idle timeout settings. It is group policy best practice to not modify the default domain policy and instead create a new one.ġ) Open the group policy management consoleĢ) Right Click “Group Policy Objects” and click new Step 2: Create a new GPO for the lock screen settingsĭo not add these settings to the default domain policy. In step 4, I’ll show you how I exclude specific computers from the policy. In this example, I want the policy to apply to all computers so I’m going to link the GPO to my ADPRO Computers OU. These requests should all be approved by upper management.ĭepending on your OU structure you could apply the GPO to the root and let the sub OUs inherit the policy or you could apply the policy to specific OUs. I’ve had requests to exclude conference room computers, computers that are used for 24/7 monitoring, then of course there are always a few users that complain and want it disabled.

It’s best to apply this policy to all computers but there will always be exceptions. Later I will show you how to exclude specific computers from the policy. The lock screen policy is a computer policy, this means anyone that logs into the computer will get the lock screen policy applied. You will need to use the GPO settings I provide in this guide for the lock screen to work correctly. If you enable the screen saver settings in group policy they will not work with windows 10. Important: Most articles show you the wrong GPO settings for windows 10 computers.

Enable active directory windows 10