Guide: Restrict a Normal Windows 10 Account Login Hours

Update March 2021: One final point that I didn’t originally mention - the account that you want to be logged off automatically cannot be an Administrator account. You can instead have an administrator account that is separate, that you use to do thing that require elevated privileges.

Update May 2020: This method apparently doesn’t work on my Microsoft account profile. I had to make my account a local account, after which this method continued working.

I’m a bit of a night owl. Lately I’ve found myself working late (or not working, but just staying up). When the family is asleep and the sun is down, it’s difficult to tell how much time has passed. I’d like Windows to firmly remind me to go to bed when midnight rolls around.

Windows 10 has parental controls that you may use to enforce time limits or logon hours, but the targeted account must be a designated child account.

It is possible, however, to enforce logon hour limits and force a user to log off when they have crossed a time limit.

Step 1: Set Time Limits for Your Account

Open a privileged command prompt, and use the following command:

net user <username> /time:<day>,<time>

<day>: This is a day or day span. The days are Su, M, T, W, Th, F, and Sa. A day span would be two days separated by a dash, like Su-Sa.

<time>: This is a time span of the time the user should be allowed to log in, such as 8am-4pm.

You may also have multiple spans of time separated by a semicolon and surrounded by quotes, such as:

net user bradford /time:"M-F,6am-8am;M-F,4pm-10pm"

Step 2: Edit Group Policy to Enforce Logon Hours

From Superuser:

To lock user session after logon hours expire, run the Local Group Policy Editor and set action to take when logon hours expire:

1. Press Win+R, then type gpedit.msc.
2. Under User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Logon Options, click on Set Action to take when logon hours expire.
3. Choose Enabled, then set the action to Lock or Logoff, depending on your needs.

That’s it! Your account should now lock you out when you’re outside your hours. Go to bed.

Resources

• How-To Geek: How to Set Time Limits for a Regular Account in Windows 10
• Superuser: Lock User Session After Logon Hours Expire