Bug#968394: gnome-shell: No UI option to switch between users even when there are multiple non-system user accounts

[Simon McVittie]

On Fri, 14 Aug 2020 at 16:01:52 +0530, Chandra Sekar wrote:
> There is no option in the status menu to switch to another user on the
> system. There is no option to login as another user on the lock screen
> either.

Workaround, assuming you are using gdm3:

* lock your screen (Super+L, where Super is usually the Windows logo key)
* press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to get back to the gdm greeter
* log in as another user there

I was looking into this myself recently. The "Switch User" menu item (also
known as "fast user switching") is *meant* to show up in the system menu,
near "Log Out", when there is more than one local user available and
the OS can switch between sessions; but that information is getting lost
somewhere in the path systemd-logind -> accountsservice -> gnome-shell.

The "Switch User" menu item is more or less equivalent to locking the
screen, waiting for it to lock, and switching to the gdm greeter.

There is meant to be an equivalent item on the lock screen, but, again,
the information that says it should appear is getting lost somewhere.

    smcv