How to set up a Windows PC for digital signage that runs by itself

A Windows PC behind a screen has a job no office PC is set up for: it has to switch on, sign in and start playing with nobody in front of it, after every restart and every power cut. Our digital signage player for Windows looks after the screen once Windows is running. This guide covers the rest: the PC, the account, the Windows and BIOS settings that get it that far on its own, installing on one PC or many, how updates arrive, and how to get at the PC when you need to.

Everything here applies to Windows 10 and 11. The Windows settings are Windows' own, so they help whatever runs on the PC; the install and update steps are for the SignageStack app.

What the app already takes care of

The app is a thin native shell around the same web player every SignageStack screen runs. Once Windows has signed in, it opens full-screen and holds the screen above other windows and the taskbar, restarts itself if it crashes or freezes, keeps playing from the PC's own storage when the connection drops, and turns off toast notifications, battery warnings and the after-update welcome pages for the account it runs as. The Windows download page explains each of those.

What the app cannot do is switch the PC on or sign Windows in. That part is up to the PC, and it is where the setup starts.

What PC to use

Most office PCs and mini PCs clear the bar easily:

• Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit
• Microsoft WebView2, which is part of Windows 11 and fetched by the installer on Windows 10
• An HDMI or DisplayPort connection to the screen
• Wired ethernet if you can run the cable, 5 GHz Wi-Fi if you cannot
• Outbound HTTPS to the internet; no open ports and no VPN

A small fanless or quiet mini PC mounted behind the display is the usual choice. What matters more than the processor is the power-on setting below, and enough free disk for your largest playlist, since media is stored on the PC so it can play offline.

Give the screen its own account

The app installs for the Windows account that runs the installer, starts when that account signs in, and quiets notifications for that account only. So decide first which account the screen signs into, and install while signed in as it.

A PC that runs only the player is the easiest to look after. The app takes the whole screen and stays on top, so it is not meant to share a desk PC with someone working on it.

Make Windows start on its own

The app starts when Windows signs in. Three settings make sure Windows gets that far by itself after a restart or a power cut:

• Sign in automatically. Run netplwiz and untick "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer". On Windows 11 that box only appears once you turn off the option to allow only Windows Hello sign-in, under Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options.
• Never sleep. In Settings → System → Power (Power & sleep on Windows 10), set the screen and sleep to Never when plugged in. The player keeps the display awake while it plays, but a PC that falls asleep first never gets that far.
• Power on after a power cut. In the PC's BIOS or UEFI setup, turn on the option for AC power loss. It is called "Restore on AC power loss", "AC power recovery" or something close. With automatic sign-in, power coming back is all the screen needs.

Test it once before you mount the PC: pull the plug, put it back, and watch the player come up without anyone touching the keyboard.

Install and pair it

1. Download the installer on the PC from the Windows download page and run it. It installs for the signed-in account and needs no administrator rights. On Windows 10 it fetches Microsoft's WebView2 runtime if the PC does not have it yet.
2. If Windows SmartScreen stops it, choose More info and then Run anyway. The installer does not carry a Microsoft code-signing certificate yet, so Windows does not recognise the publisher on first run. Updates are verified separately: each release ships with a signature file next to the installer, and our updater checks it before installing.
3. The player opens full-screen and shows a six-character pairing code. From then on it starts by itself whenever Windows signs in.
4. Pair it in the dashboard. Open Screens, choose Add screen and give it a name. On its Device tab, type the code and choose Pair device, then give the screen something to play.

The dashboard shows the screen as a Windows device, and from there you can restart it, take a screenshot of what it is showing, and change its volume, orientation and working hours like any other screen.

Installing on several PCs

The installer is one file, the same for every PC. Run it with the /S switch and it installs silently, with no windows and nothing to click, which suits a script or a remote session. Run it as the account the screen signs into, because it installs for that account, and there is no administrator step to plan around.

You do not need to open the player afterwards. Within about a minute of the install it starts by itself, full-screen, and shows its pairing code. Then pair each screen in the dashboard with the code it shows.

How updates arrive

The app updates itself. It checks our release channel, verifies the signature of a new version and installs it for the account it runs as, with no administrator prompt. If the new version does not start healthy, it goes back to the one before.

It waits for a moment when an install disturbs nobody: the player's nightly restart (by default at 03:00 in the screen's local time), the hours outside the screen's working hours, or the pairing screen of a PC that is not paired yet. A screen that never goes dark still gets it, because every six hours the app installs whatever is waiting; the screen goes dark for a few seconds while it restarts.

Windows Update is separate, and it still restarts the PC when Windows decides to. With automatic sign-in the player is back as soon as Windows is, and the full-screen pages Windows shows after an update stay off the screen for the player's account.

When you need to get at the PC

Someone servicing the screen with a keyboard has two ways in:

• The service menu. Press the Up arrow key. The menu shows the Windows version, the PC model, free storage and whether automatic recovery and updates are on. From there you can check for an update, read the recent events, restart the player, close it, or deactivate it so the PC can be paired as a different screen. Your content stays in the dashboard either way.
• The escape key combination. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E asks whether to close the player.

Close Application returns the PC to the Windows desktop with the taskbar back, and the player stays closed until the next sign-in or until someone opens it again. That is the way to reach Windows settings or a network dialog without fighting the kiosk.

Windows app, Android box or browser?

If a Windows PC is already behind the screen, or your IT team manages Windows machines, the app is the natural choice. If you are buying hardware for a new screen, an Android TV box is usually the cheaper player, and our guide to choosing a digital signage player compares the options. The web player remains the way to run SignageStack on a Mac or to try it in a browser on any computer.

All three run the same player and pair the same way, so a mixed fleet is no problem: one dashboard, one playlist, and Windows, Android and browser screens side by side. For the full walkthrough from an empty wall to a playing screen, see how to set up digital signage.