Computers, Laptops & Tablets > Microsoft How to Lock the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Press Win+L to lock your Surface, or press the Power key to shut down or put it to sleep By Matthew S. Smith Matthew S. Smith Writer Beloit College Matthew S. Smith has been writing about consumer tech since 2007. Formerly the Lead Editor at Digital Trends, he's also written for PC Mag, TechHive, and others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on November 8, 2023 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines In This Article Expand Jump to a Section How to Lock It How to Unlock It Changing Sign-in Options Logging in With a Local Account Bypassing the Login Screen Frequently Asked Questions Trending Videos Close this video player What to Know Press Win+L to instantly lock your Surface Laptop 4.Another way to lock the laptop is through Ctrl+Alt+Del > Lock.Or press the Power button. This could put your laptop to sleep or shut it off, depending on your setup. This article explains how to lock a Microsoft Surface Laptop 4. How to Lock the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Press Win+L to lock the Surface Laptop 4 and display the login screen. As long as you have a password, this is the best and quickest way to lock the computer without turning off the display or shutting down your open files. Another Windows keyboard shortcut that locks the Surface Laptop 4 is Ctrl+Alt+Del. The display will turn blue or black and offer several options. Select Lock to go to the lock screen. Finally, shutting down the laptop is also an effective way to lock it because Windows always requires you to sign in when the computer starts up. Press the Power button on the keyboard, accessible from the upper right corner. This will turn off the display and, depending on how your computer is set up, either shut off your laptop or put it to sleep. If your computer is configured to completely shut down when you press the power button, then doing so will close all your open apps and unsaved files. You can change what the power button does from Power Options. How to Unlock the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 You can unlock the Surface Laptop 4 by signing in to Windows with any available account. In most cases, you'll be prompted to log in automatically when you open the laptop. If this doesn't happen, press the Power button on the keyboard. There are several ways to sign in and unlock the Surface Laptop 4. Tap Sign In (if the laptop has no account security set up) Enter a password Enter a PIN Use Windows Hello face recognition Use a physical security key Tap the right place of a photo You can only unlock the Surface Laptop 4 with a sign-in option that's already set up. In most cases, you'll at least be prompted to enter a password because the Windows setup process asked you to create a password when you first set up your Surface laptop. How Do I Change My Sign-in Options? The sign-in options listed above are all found in the Settings app. Here's how to access it. Open Settings from the Start menu. Select Accounts. Tap Sign-in options. Sign-in options lists all the ways you can sign in to the Surface laptop. You can set up each option by selecting one and following the on-screen instructions. One option that doesn't work by default is fingerprint recognition. This is because the Surface Laptop 4 doesn't have a fingerprint reader. You can buy a third-party fingerprint reader and connect it over USB, however. How Do I Skip Microsoft Sign-In? There's a good chance your Surface Laptop 4 is set up to unlock with a password tied to your Microsoft account. Windows nudges you towards this login method when you first set up a Surface device. However, you can skip Microsoft sign-in by switching to a local account. Consult our guide on creating a local account in Windows for the details. Switching to a local account will remove helpful security features like the ability to remotely track and lock your laptop if it's lost. We recommend you keep Microsoft sign-in enabled if you're already using it. How Do I Log Into My Surface Without a Password? You can log in to your Surface without a password by deleting your Windows password, which is possible if you make a local account. You're free to remove all sign-in protections once that's complete (and some, like Windows Hello, are disabled if you use a local account). Another option that's useful if you don't want to remove your password or disconnect your Microsoft account, is to set up auto login in Windows. Surface Laptop 6: News and Expected Price, Release Date, Specs; and More Rumors FAQ How do I lock the keyboard on my Microsoft Surface laptop? When you fold back the keyboard on the Pro, the keys remain locked and unusable until you fold it forward again. While there is no built-in function to turn off the keyboard for other purposes, You could try disabling the keyboard driver in Device Manager. Alternatively, you might use a third-party utility, such as downloading Keyboard Locker. How do I change the lock screen picture on my Microsoft Surface? Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. Under Background, select Picture or Slideshow. Locate and select the picture or pictures you want to use as your lock screen background. How do I lock rotation on a Microsoft Surface? To lock the display into landscape mode, go to Settings > Display, rotate to portrait mode, enable Lock rotation of this display, and select Landscape in the Orientation menu. Select Apply and Keep Changes. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit