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On a Windows 10 lock screen, one can configure through policy settings whether it will let you pick one user from a list, or ask for the username.

If the lock screen gives a list, is there a way from the lock screen (i.e. without changing the policy settings etc.) to switch to having to enter the username rather than selecting an existing user, ideally using the keyboard only?

This is to automate some VNC scripts, as the order of the users on the lock screen is not consistent, so it would be easier if one could just type in the username instead of having to guess where to click or the number of times one has to send "Tab" to select the right user.

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  • Total guess, but is there a sequence of keyboard shortcuts that might reliably open the Other User box where you can enter the user name manually (assuming a domain joined machine here)? Commented Aug 6, 2019 at 16:07
  • @TwistyImpersonator That's what I'm looking for, but I've tried every shortcut I could think of to no avail. The machine is not domain joined, though.
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 6, 2019 at 16:12
  • I'm not very confident of the possibility of overriding group policy settings. There was once an option to get to "Other User" by entering an empty password 6 times, but it seems not to exist any more in Windows 10.
    – harrymc
    Commented Aug 6, 2019 at 16:43
  • @harrymc It does actually show it in some circumstances: I have one computer which is set to auto-logon to an account which has an expired password, and it then goes to the username + password screen (while still listing accounts in the bottom left corner). But if I use "Log off" or "Switch user", no luck...
    – jcaron
    Commented Aug 6, 2019 at 16:53
  • Other than being a pain, is there a reason the policy cannot be changed, for this machine that is being accessed remotely? The policy can indeed be changed for a single machine (or a group of specific machines), takes an experienced Administrator to know what they are doing of course.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Aug 6, 2019 at 17:27

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