You step away from your desk for two minutes to grab a coffee, and your session stays wide open. Anyone can sit down, read your emails, or copy a file. In a small business, this is one of the easiest security gaps to close, and yet one of the most commonly overlooked. The good news: Windows 11 has a built-in feature that locks your machine on its own.

It’s called dynamic lock. The idea is simple: your PC pairs with your phone over Bluetooth, and when you walk away with your phone in your pocket, the computer locks the session after about 30 seconds. No shortcut to remember, no willpower required. Here’s how to turn it on, and why it’s worth doing for a business in the Mauricie region.

1. What is dynamic lock?

Dynamic lock is a security feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11. It uses the Bluetooth signal between your computer and a paired device, usually your phone, to guess whether you’re still in front of the machine. When the signal weakens because you’ve stepped away, Windows waits about 30 seconds, then locks the session.

In practice, you come back to the sign-in screen, exactly as if you’d pressed Windows + L. The difference is that it happens without you having to think about it. It’s handy for people who get distracted, for open-plan workstations, and for anyone who forgets to lock up half the time before heading out to lunch.

• It locks the session, it doesn’t close your programs or files.
• It doesn’t replace your password or PIN, it just triggers it more often.
• It works with an Android phone or an iPhone paired over Bluetooth.

2. Why it matters for a small business in Quebec

An unlocked workstation is an open door. A curious coworker, a visitor, a client in the waiting room: all of them can see whatever’s on the screen. For a business that handles client data, it’s also a compliance question. Quebec’s Law 25 requires organizations to protect the personal information they hold, and an unattended, unlocked screen runs against that obligation.

Dynamic lock won’t fix everything, but it’s one more layer, free, already built into Windows. It’s the kind of small setting you roll out across every workstation at once when you’re standardizing your fleet. At OKTO Solutions, we build this kind of baseline hardening into our managed IT services for businesses in Trois-Rivières and the Mauricie region, alongside group policy lock settings on shared computers.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security lists automatic device locking among the basic habits worth adopting. It’s simple, but it closes off an entire category of accidental internal leaks.

3. How to turn on dynamic lock in Windows 11

There are two steps: pair your phone, then check the box. Two minutes, start to finish.

Step 1: pair your phone over Bluetooth

• Turn on Bluetooth on your phone and keep the screen on.
• On the PC, open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices.
• Click Add device, choose Bluetooth, and select your phone from the list.
• Confirm the code shown on both screens to finish pairing.

Step 2: turn on dynamic lock

• Open Settings, then Accounts.
• Go to Sign-in options.
• Scroll down to the Dynamic lock section.
• Check the box for Allow Windows to automatically lock your device when you’re away.

That’s it. Keep your phone on you, step a few meters away, and the session locks on its own. To test it, walk down the hallway with your phone in your pocket and wait about a minute.

4. If dynamic lock isn’t working

A few details can trip this up. Before giving up, check these in order.

• Bluetooth needs to be on for both the PC and the phone, and the pairing needs to be active, not just saved.
• The machine needs a Bluetooth module. Most laptops have one, but plenty of desktops don’t, unless there’s a dongle attached.
• If the Dynamic lock section is missing, it’s usually a missing or disabled Bluetooth driver in Device Manager.
• Keep the phone powered on. If it shuts off or loses Bluetooth, Windows can no longer gauge the distance.
• The delay is about 30 seconds, not instant, and the range is measured in meters, not centimeters.

If you’re managing ten workstations or more, setting this up by hand on every machine gets old fast, and an employee can uncheck the box without telling anyone. This is exactly the kind of thing we automate and monitor remotely. If you’d like a hand standardizing security across your workstations, you can reach out to our team.

5. Best practices to go further

Dynamic lock is a solid habit, but it works better paired with a few other measures. Here’s what to add to really cut down the risk on your workstations.

• Keep the Windows + L shortcut in mind. It’s the fastest manual lock, and it’s instant, unlike dynamic lock’s delay.
• Set an inactivity lock under Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options, so the screen also locks after a few minutes of no activity.
• Turn on Windows Hello, face or fingerprint unlock, so getting back into your session stays quick even with more frequent locking.
• Require a password or PIN on wake. A lock with no password doesn’t do much.
• On shared workstations, use a group policy to enforce locking for everyone, instead of relying on each person’s good habits.

The goal isn’t to stack up restrictions, it’s to make the right behavior automatic. A workstation that locks itself is one less thing to worry about, for you and for your employees, whether you’re in Trois-Rivières or anywhere else in Quebec.

Frequently asked questions

Does dynamic lock work with an iPhone?

Yes. As long as the iPhone is paired to the PC over Bluetooth and stays powered on, Windows uses its signal to detect when you’ve stepped away. It works the same way as with an Android phone.

Why doesn’t my PC lock right away when I leave?

That’s normal. Windows waits about 30 seconds after losing the Bluetooth signal before locking, to avoid cutting your session over the slightest movement. If you want it to lock instantly, use Windows + L.

Does dynamic lock close my programs?

No. It only locks the session, like a password-protected screensaver. Your open files, tabs, and applications stay exactly where they were, and you’ll find them waiting when you sign back in.

Securing your workstations in Trois-Rivières and the Mauricie region

Dynamic lock is a small step that closes a big door, but on its own it’s rarely enough for a business. If you want a managed fleet where every workstation applies the same security rules without any effort from your employees, take a look at our managed IT services or reach out directly through our contact page. We help small businesses in Trois-Rivières, the Mauricie region, and across Quebec rest easy when it comes to IT.