How to Disable the Lock Screen Shortcut Key (Win + L) in Windows

If you are using Windows for even part of the time, then you will probably know that the fastest way to lock your Windows computer is to use the built-in shortcut “Win + L.” As useful as it is, you sometimes may need to disable this shortcut to prevent yourself or other users from accidentally using it.

So, if you ever need to, here is how you can easily disable the Win + L shortcut in your Windows system.

Disable Win + L Shortcut Key

Note: before editing the Windows registry, make sure that you have a good backup of your Windows registry, just in case.

Disabling the “Win + L” shortcut key in Windows is fairly easy. All you have to do is to edit a registry key. To do that, press Win + R to open the Run dialog box, type regedit and press the Enter button to open the Windows Registry.

Once the Windows Registry has been opened, navigate to the following key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

Now we need to create a new key. To do that, right click on the “Policies” key appearing on the left hand side and select the “New” option and then “Key.”

Name the key as “System” and press the Enter button. This action will create the required key. Once the key has been created, this is how it looks.

After creating the key, we need to create a new DWORD value. To do that, right click on the right pane and select the “New” option and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value.”

Name the key as “DisableLockWorkstation” and press the Enter button. Once the key has been created, this is how it looks. The default value data is set to “0.”

To disable the “Win + L” shortcut key, double-click on the newly created value and enter the Value Data as “1” and click on the “Ok” button to save the changes.

Now just log off or restart your system and you are good to go. If you ever want to get your “Win + L” shortcut back, just delete the DWORD value we just created.

Disabling Entire Win + Keys Shortcuts

Of course, if you want to, you can also disable the entire Win + Key shortcuts. To do that, create a new key under “Policies” named “Explorer.”

Now, create a new DWORD value in the right pane and name it “NoWinKeys” and press the Enter button.

After creating the new value, double click on it and enter the value data as “1.” Now, click on the “Ok” button to save the changes.

Just restart or log off your system and all of the “Win + Keys” shortcuts will be disabled. If you want to roll back the changes, simple delete the key we just created, and you are good to go.

Do comment below sharing your thoughts and experiences about using the above methods to disable the Win + L shortcut in Windows.

Vamsi Krishna

Vamsi is a tech and WordPress geek who enjoys writing how-to guides and messing with his computer and software in general. When not writing for MTE, he writes for he shares tips, tricks, and lifehacks on his own blog Stugon.