Dynamic Lock can provide a fallback when you leave your Windows 11 PC and forget to lock it. Its usefulness depends on the phone you carry, so test the actual arrangement rather than assuming that an enabled switch proves it works.

Use your own phone and PC, and keep the screen free of private material during the trial. Have a trusted person observe the computer while you move away, so an unlocked desktop is not left unattended in a public area.

Pair the phone and enable the setting

Both devices need Bluetooth. Make the phone discoverable using its own instructions. In Windows quick settings, open Manage Bluetooth devices beside the Bluetooth control, choose the phone under New devices, and complete the pairing prompts. Check that you selected the intended phone.

Open Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options and enable Dynamic lock under the additional settings. Available controls can vary with device configuration or organisation policy.

Microsoft describes a lock triggered when the phone’s Bluetooth signal falls below the required level, with Windows locking within a minute after the phone leaves Bluetooth range. It is therefore not an immediate lock the moment you stand up.

Check the real departure and return

Take the paired phone along the route you normally use when leaving the desk. Have the observer note whether and when the lock screen appears. Returning after an arbitrary short walk without seeing the lock is inconclusive: the phone may still have been in range.

On return, sign in normally and confirm that your session is available. Repeat the check if you change the paired phone or the arrangement stops behaving as expected.

Consider the ordinary exception: a phone left charging beside the PC cannot demonstrate that you have walked away. Bluetooth being unavailable also undermines the planned trigger. Continue locking Windows manually when leaving the desk; Dynamic Lock is the tested fallback for a missed manual lock.

Sources: Microsoft Windows sign-in options; Microsoft Bluetooth pairing.