How to Enable or Disable Fast User Switching In Windows 11
- 10 steps
- Needs administrator rights
- Group Policy needs Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education
- Includes a restart or sign-out
Fast user switching in Windows 11 is controlled by a policy you can turn on or off in the Local Group Policy Editor or the Registry Editor. To enable fast user switching in Windows 11, set the “hide” policy back to its default, as shown in the steps below. Once it is on, several people can stay signed in on the same PC at once. You can jump between accounts without closing open apps or games, and each person’s files stay separate.
The Local Group Policy Editor is available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education. The Registry Editor method works on every edition, including Home, which does not have the Group Policy Editor. To check your edition, go to Settings System About and look under Windows specifications.
Enable fast user switching in Windows 11 by opening the Local Group Policy Editor (type gpedit.msc in the taskbar search), going to Computer Configuration Administrative Templates System Logon, and setting Hide entry points for Fast User Switching to Not Configured. On Windows 11 Home, run a command in Windows Terminal as administrator instead. Sign out and back in to confirm.
What You Need
The change applies to the whole PC, not just your account. If the setting does not seem to take effect right away, sign out and back in, or restart the PC.
Option 1Using Local Group Policy Editor
Use these steps to enable fast user switching in Windows 11 on Pro, Enterprise and Education. The policy is named Hide entry points for Fast User Switching. It works in reverse: when the policy is Enabled, the switch-user options are hidden and fast user switching is off. When it is Not Configured, the options show and fast user switching is on.
- Type
gpedit.mscin the search box on the taskbar and press Enter. The Local Group Policy Editor opens. - In the left pane, go to this location:
Expand each folder by clicking the arrow next to it. The right pane then lists the policies for that folder.Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon - In the right pane, find the policy Hide entry points for Fast User Switching and double-click it. A settings window opens.
- To enable Fast User Switching (turn it on): select the dot next to Not Configured, then click OK. This is the default setting.
- To disable Fast User Switching (turn it off): select the dot next to Enabled, then click OK.
- Close the Local Group Policy Editor.
Changes usually apply the next time you open the Start menu or the sign-in screen. If the switch-user options are still shown or still hidden, sign out and back in, or restart the PC. To undo your change, repeat the steps and pick the other option.
Option 2Using Registry Commands
Use this method to enable fast user switching in Windows 11 Home, or on any edition where you prefer the command line. It changes one value, HideFastUserSwitching, in the registry. When that value is set to 1, fast user switching is off. When the value is removed, fast user switching is on, which is the default.
- Admin privileges required: right-click Windows Terminal in the Start menu and select Run as administrator. If a User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes. A terminal window opens with administrator rights.
- To enable Fast User Switching (turn it on): copy and paste this command, then press Enter:
reg delete “🗝️HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\ ” /v HideFastUserSwitching /fMicrosoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ System You should see a message that the operation completed successfully. If Windows says it cannot find the value, the setting was never changed, so fast user switching is already on. This is the default setting.
- To disable Fast User Switching (turn it off): copy and paste this command, then press Enter:
reg add “🗝️HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\ ” /v HideFastUserSwitching /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /fMicrosoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ System The terminal should report that the operation completed successfully.
- Close the terminal, then sign out and back in, or restart the PC, so the change takes effect.
To undo either change, run the other command. The enable command removes the value, and the disable command adds it back.
Summary
With fast user switching on, everyone stays signed in and you can move between accounts without closing any programs. With it off, other users must wait until you sign out before they can sign in.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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