This guide will show you how to change the background picture that appears on your Windows 11 lock screen. It’s easy and lets you make your computer look just how you like it!

Windows 11 has a cool feature called Windows Spotlight. It shows beautiful photos from around the world on your lock screen, changing every day. But if you want, you can pick your own picture or even a slideshow of your favorite photos.

How to Change Your Lock Screen Background

All the settings you need are inside the Windows Settings menu. You can get there quickly by doing one of these:

Press Windows key + I on your keyboard at the same time.
Click the Start button (Windows icon at the bottom left), then click Settings.
Or, type Settings into the search box on the taskbar and click the Settings app.

Once you open Settings, look for and click Personalization from the list on the left, then click Lock screen on the right.

Here you’ll see options to pick what shows on your lock screen background. You have three choices:

Windows Spotlight: Shows beautiful pictures from Microsoft that change daily. It also gives you tips about Windows.
Picture: Lets you pick one photo you like. You can choose from Windows pictures or any photo saved on your computer.
Slideshow: Lets you pick a folder of photos. Your lock screen will cycle through them like a slideshow.

By default, Windows Spotlight is turned on, so you see new pictures every day. To check how it looks, press Windows key + L to lock your screen. You should see a new image from Spotlight.

If you pick Picture, click the Browse button to find a photo on your computer you want to use. If you choose Slideshow, select a folder with pictures you like.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you don’t see your chosen lock screen picture or the Windows Spotlight photos, try this:

Go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.
Make sure the option Show lock screen picture on the sign-in screen is turned ON.