Windows ‘Dynamic Lock’ feature enables you to lock the computer as soon as you move away with the help of a paired phone. The feature relies on Bluetooth technology to function.

Dynamic Lock helps prevent unauthorized access to your computer which is essential if you work in a co-working space or use a shared computer. However, if it is not working as expected for some reason, there are plenty of methods, listed in this guide, that you can try to fix the issue on your computer.

Understand How Dynamic Lock Works

Chances are you already understand how the Dynamic Lock feature works. However, a quick refresher cannot hurt.

Dynamic Lock automatically locks your computer when the paired device is out of range and there is no input for at least 30 seconds. Pay attention, both of these conditions have to be met in order to invoke the Dynamic Lock on your Windows computer.

Thus, if you are cent percent sure that even when the device you have paired with Bluetooth is out of range and there is no input for 30 seconds or more, still your PC is not locked automatically, you can proceed ahead with the fixes.

1. Make Sure Dynamic Lock is Toggled On

First things first, if the feature has been toggled off, it definitely won’t function on your PC.

Head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile to proceed.

After that, click on the ‘Accounts’ tab from the left sidebar.

Next, click on the ‘Sign-in options’ tile on the right section of the window to proceed.

After that, click on the ‘Dynamic Lock’ tile and make sure the checkbox preceding the ‘Allow Windows to automatically lock your device when you’re away’ option.

Note: Make sure you have connected your phone via Bluetooth to your computer before you turn on the Dynamic Lock.

Once the feature is on, you can check if your computer is being locked via Dynamic Lock now.

2. Update or Reinstall Bluetooth Driver

Since the functionality heavily relies on Bluetooth technology, a corrupt, damaged, or outdated driver can also cause an issue on your device. You can either update it from the Settings app, Device Manager, or choose to force install.

To update the driver using the Settings app, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ tile.

After that, click on the ‘Windows Update’ tab from the left sidebar.

Now, click on the ‘Advanced Options’ tile from the right section to continue.

Next, click on the ‘Optional Updates’ tile to proceed.

Afterward, click on the checkbox preceding the option having ‘Bluetooth’ as a suffix or prefix and then click on the ‘Download & Install’ button.

After installing the update, restart your PC and check if the issue has been resolved.

To update the driver using the Device Manager, head to the Start Menu and type Device Manager to perform a search. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Device Manager’ tile to proceed.

After that, double-click on the ‘Bluetooth’ option to expand the section. Next, right-click on the ‘Intel Wireless Bluetooth’ option and select the ‘Update driver’ option. This will bring a separate window to your screen.

After that, click on the ‘Search automatically for drivers’ option if you wish to have Windows search for a driver for you. Otherwise, if you already have a package present in your local storage, click on the ‘Browse my computer for drivers’ option.

To force update the driver, right-click on one of the components and select the ‘Uninstall device’ option. This will bring an alert to your screen.

Now, click on the checkbox preceding the ‘Attempt to remove the driver for this device’ option and click on the ‘Uninstall’ button to initiate the process. Once uninstalled, restart your device.

After restarting, head to the ‘Optional Updates’ section and download the update as shown in this section previously.

3. Repair Corrupted or Damaged System Files

The issue can also arise due to systemic issues such as damaged or corrupted system files. To fix them, you will need to run the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) process. Once that is completed, you will need to run the SFC (System File Checker) to check the integrity and errors of all system files.

First, head to the Start Menu and type Terminal to perform a search. Then, from the search results, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and select the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

Now, an UAC (User Account Control) window will appear on your screen. If you are not logged in with an admin account, enter the credentials for one. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button to proceed.

Then, on the Terminal window, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned code and hit Enter on your keyboard to execute the command.

DISM /Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth

Once done, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned command to invoke the SFC (System File Checker) that will scan your currently installed Windows image and fix the damaged or corrupted files using the one you downloaded in the previous step.

SFC /scannow

Once the command is successfully executed, restart the PC and check if the issue is resolved.

4. Use Registry Editor

First, head to the Start Menu and type Registry Editor. Then, click on the ‘Registry Editor’ tile to proceed.

After that, copy+paste the below-mentioned path in the address bar and hit Enter to navigate to the directory.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Next, double-click on the ‘EnableGoodbye’ DWORD file.

In case the file doesn’t exist, right-click on the right section and hover over the ‘New’ section. Then, click on the DWORD file. Finally, rename the file to ‘EnableGoodbye’.

Once you have opened its properties by double-clicking on the file, overwrite the ‘Value’ field to 1 and click on the ‘OK’ button.

Once done, restart your PC and check if the issue has been resolved.

5. Use Group Policy Editor

Note: Group Policy Editor is only available in Pro versions of Windows.

First, head to the Start Menu and type Group Policy to perform a search. Then, click on the ‘Edit Group Policy’ tile to proceed.

After that from the left section, double-click on the ‘Administrative Templates’ folder. Then, from the expanded menu, double-click on the ‘Windows Components’, and the menu will be further expanded.

After that, locate and double-click on the ‘Windows Hello for Business’ option. Then, from the right section, double-click on the ‘Dynamic lock factors’ option. This will bring an overlay window to your screen.

Next, click on the ‘Enabled’ option and then click on the ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ buttons to save the changes.

Finally, restart your PC to check if this has resolved the issue on your computer.

6. Roll Back to a System Restore

If you have a system restore point created before you started experiencing this problem, you can simply roll back to the point to resolve the issue. It is simple, easy, and reliable.

Head to the Start Menu and type Control to perform a search. Next, from the search results, click on the ‘Control Panel’ tile to proceed.

After that, locate and click on the ‘Recovery’ tile from the grid of icons.

Next, click on the ‘Open System Restore’ option from the list. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Now, click on the ‘Next’ button to proceed.

All created system restore points will be listed on the screen. Click to select the desired one and then click on the ‘Next’ button to initiate the rolling back process.

Next, a list of drives being impacted by the rollback will be displayed. To also check the specific programs that will be affected, click on the ‘Scan for affected programs’ button. This will bring a new window to your screen.

You will then be able to view the programs that will be deleted when you roll back to a selected restore point. Click on the ‘Close’ button to exit the window and proceed with the rollback.

At last, click on the ‘Finish’ button to commence the system restore process.


That’s about it, folks. Using the above-mentioned methods, you can easily resolve the Dynamic Lock not working issue on your Windows 11 computer.