How to Enable or Disable Account in Windows 11

Why You Might Want to Do This

Disabling a user account in Windows 11 stops someone from logging in without deleting the account. This is useful if you share your computer and need to temporarily prevent access. You can easily turn a disabled account back on later if needed.

Windows 11 users can disable a user account instead of deleting it. This action prevents the account from being used. Users can re-enable the disabled account later if needed.

What Happens When You Disable an Account

Disabling a Windows 11 account prevents anyone from signing in. The disabled account name will not show on the sign-in screen or the Start menu. Users can re-enable the account to make it visible again.

Option One

Enable or Disable Account Using the “net user” Command

1. Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Select either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.
2. Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Press Enter to see a list of all accounts and their status (True or False).
   

   ⬛PowerShell

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   Get-LocalUser

Disable Account

1. Type one of the commands below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Press Enter.
   

   To disable a local account:

   
   
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   Net user "<username>" /active:no

   
   

   OR

   
   

   To disable a domain account:

   
   
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   Net user "<username>" /active:no /domain

   
   

   Replace <username> with the actual account name. For example:

   
   
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   Net user "User1" /active:no

   
   

Enable Account

1. Type one of the commands below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Press Enter.
   

   You can quickly turn an account back on in Windows 11 using a command in Windows Terminal (Admin). Type 'Net user "" /active:yes' and press Enter, making sure to replace "" with the actual username of the account you want to enable. For a domain account, use 'Net user "" /active:yes'.

   
   

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   Net user "<username>" /active:yes

   
   

   OR

   
   

   To enable a domain account:

   
   

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   Net user "<username>" /active:yes /domain

   
   

   Replace <username> with the actual account name. For example:

   
   

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   Net user "User1" /active:yes

   
   
2. You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Option Two

Enable or Disable Account in PowerShell

1. Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Select Windows PowerShell.
2. Copy and paste the command below into PowerShell. Press Enter to see a list of all accounts and their status (True or False).
   

   ⬛PowerShell

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   Get-LocalUser

   
   

Disable Account

1. Type the command below into PowerShell. Press Enter.
   
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   Disable-LocalUser -Name "<username>"

   
   

   Replace <username> with the actual account name. For example:

   
   
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   Disable-LocalUser -Name "User1"

   
   

Enable Account

1. Type the command below into PowerShell. Press Enter.
   

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   Enable-LocalUser -Name "<username>"

   
   

   Replace <username> with the actual account name. For example:

   
   

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   Enable-LocalUser -Name "User1"

   
   
2. You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Option Three

Enable or Disable Account in Local Users and Groups

You can easily disable or enable a user account in Windows 11 using the Local Users and Groups tool, which works great if you have Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education. Just open the tool, find the account you want to manage, and then double-click its name in the Users folder.

1. Open Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc).
2. Click on the Users folder in the left pane. Double-click on the account name (for example: "User1") in the middle pane that you want to enable or disable.
3. In the General tab, check the box next to Account is disabled to disable the account. Uncheck the box to enable it. Click OK.
4. You can now close Local Users and Groups if you like.

Summary

You've learned three straightforward ways to disable an account in Windows 11: using the 'net user' command, PowerShell, or the Local Users and Groups tool.