Lock your Windows 10 Computer Automatically with Dynamic Lock

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With the recent release of Creators Update, you’ll be now able to lock your PC with a Bluetooth-paired smartphone or a device. This Dynamic Lock uses Bluetooth signals to lock your PC. If the strength of the Bluetooth signal is weak, it assumes you have stepped away and locked your Computer. Let's see how this works.

Pair your Computer with Your Smartphone

First, you need to pair your phone with your computer via Bluetooth before you enable the Dynamic Lock. You have to pair your phone and check the signal strength of the Bluetooth, Dynamic Lock doesn’t do this by itself, you have to do it.

Put your smartphone’s Bluetooth ON to start pairing. To do this on an Android and iPhone, go to Settings and then Bluetooth. Your phone can be discovered if your Bluetooth is on. Now go to your PC and start the process of pairing. To do that go to Settings and then, Devices and then Add Bluetooth or other devices. Here, click Bluetooth to pair your smartphone with the Windows 10 computer. It takes some time to list the Bluetooth devices. You’ll be able to see your smartphone in the Bluetooth devices list if it is discoverable. Click your smartphone and when prompted, enter the PIN which should be matching on both your computer and phone. Once the pairing is complete, you’ll be informed.

Enabling Dynamic Lock

To enable “Dynamic Lock”, go to Settings, then Accounts, and then Sign in options, now scroll down until you find Dynamic Lock. Now, tick the box which says ‘Allow Windows to detect when you’re away and automatically lock the device’. If you are unable to tick-mark the box, your phone isn’t paired with your computer yet using Bluetooth.

If you don’t see the Dynamic Lock option at all, then your PC hasn’t been upgraded with Creator’s update.

There is no other option for you to configure Dynamic Lock on a Windows 10 PC. You can’t even choose which device Dynamic Lock depends on to connect through Bluetooth, though it would use your smartphone. For example, if your PC is paired with two Bluetooth devices at that particular moment and you walk away, you wouldn’t know which device the Dynamic Lock has used to lock your PC.

The official document from Microsoft tells that Dynamic Lock needs a smartphone to be paired with. But Dynamic Lock can be paired with other devices with Bluetooth like a smartwatch or a headphone. But don’t rely on them. Microsoft says not to pair Bluetooth devices with Dynamic Lock, which you leave near your computer at all the times like keyboard, headphones etc.

Check If Dynamic Lock Is Working

To check if the Dynamic Lock really locks your PC when you step away.  Simply, take your phone and walk away from your PC. This will automatically lock your computer after 30 sec or a minute. Remember that, the time to lock your PC by Dynamic Lock depends on the strength of the Bluetooth signal. So the time to lock your PC may vary depending on the device.

Your computer even gets locked after a minute you turn off the Bluetooth on your smartphone. This is because your computer cannot detect the device anymore. When you are back to your computer, you have to manually sign in. Dynamic Lock does not unlock automatically as soon as it recognizes your device.

Conclusion

To enable Dynamic Lock on your Windows 10 PC, you have to upgrade to the Creators Update. If and when you’ve lost files after an auto-update, here is software that helps you to get your lost data back after Windows 10 auto update. It’s an easy to use tool which retrieves almost 300 file types.

About the Author: John Harris

With a decade of experience in data recovery, John Harris, Senior Editor at Remo Software, is your go-to specialist. His focus includes partition management, Windows solutions, and data troubleshooting, delivering insightful content that serves both users and search engines. John's expertise shines through in illuminating blog posts, untangling data loss intricacies across diverse storage platforms.…