Many times a lot of us have been in a situation where we walk away from our laptop or PC leaving it unlocked and unattended only to remember that you forgot to lock it. So, is it possible to lock your Windows PC remotely?

Yes, fortunately, Microsoft included a feature in their recently rolled out Creator’s update where you can lock your Windows device remotely using your Microsoft account.

Microsoft has also included a neat feature where you can also track your device’s location if it is connected to the internet and then lock it remotely if it is linked to your Microsoft account.

In this article, we will provide a step by step guide on how to lock your Windows PC remotely.

Also read: Does force shutting down your PC hurt the CPU?

How to enable the Find My Device feature on Windows 10?

To locate a device linked to your Microsoft account, you first have to enable a feature called ‘Find My Device’ in the Settings of your PC. This feature allows the Microsoft servers to access your devices remotely over the internet and then track and lock it.

To enable this feature, you need to be logged in your PC with your Microsoft account, and if not, you may have to create one to use this feature from Windows.

Follow the steps mentioned below to enable the Find My Device feature:

Open the Settings app and click on the Update & Security tab.

Look for the Find My Device option on the left side and click on it.

Turn it on if it not already turned on (By default, when you use a Microsoft account on your PC, it is turned on). Also, make sure you toggle the ‘save my device’s location periodically”’ to ON. This helps in tracking your device passively.

How to locate and lock your Windows PC remotely?

Once you enable the Find My Device feature, you will be easily able to locate and lock your device from the Microsoft devices page if it is connected to the internet.

Follow the steps mentioned below to locate and lock your device successfully:

Go to the Microsoft devices page and log in to your Microsoft account. You will see all your devices that are linked to your account. Click on the Show details option of the device you want to lock.

Click on the Find my device tab under your device’s name.

You will see a map which shows the location of your device and some last seen details.

Look for the Lock button available in the right corner of the page. To lock your device, click on the button. You will see a pop-up window, click on the Next button, and Microsoft will lock your device.

If your device is connected to the internet, it will be locked instantly. Otherwise, your device will be locked as soon as it is connected to the internet next. Once your device is locked, it can only be unlocked using your Microsoft account credentials.

Also read: What is Windows Firewall? Is it good enough? Everything you need to know