How to Automatically Change Desktop Background Wallpaper in Windows 11

Computer screen with gears and mobile devices
Computer screen with gears and mobile devices

The article outlines two methods for automatically switching desktop background wallpaper in Windows 11. The first method utilizes the slideshow feature, which rotates pictures in a chosen folder. The second method uses Windows Spotlight, which downloads and rotates random images from Microsoft servers worldwide. Both features are found in the Themes settings on the Personalization page.

This article describes steps one can take to change the desktop background wallpaper in Windows 11 automatically.

Windows 11 has two ways to change the desktop background wallpaper automatically. One is to use its slideshow feature, where you select a folder with pictures to change at intervals. The other is to use Windows Spotlight.

Windows Spotlight lets users set up their desktop background to automatically connect to Microsoft servers to discover and download random images from around the world.

These two features come with the Themes settings on the Personalization page.

Below is how to set up your desktop background to automatically change with images you choose or ones selected by Microsoft from around the world to display on your desktop.

How to change desktop background automatically in Windows 11

As mentioned above, Windows 11 has two ways to change the desktop background wallpaper automatically. One is to use its slideshow feature, where you select a folder with pictures to change at intervals. The other is to use Windows Spotlight.

Below is how to do that.

Change background wallpaper automatically with Windows Spotlight

If you don’t have images to display as your background wallpaper, you can allow Microsoft to select images from around the world to display on your desktop.

This can be done with Windows Spotlight.

To do that, click on the Start menu, and select the Settings app.

windows 11 new settings button
Windows 11 new settings button

Within the Settings app, click the Personalization button on the left.

windows 11 personalization tile setting
Windows 11 personalization tile setting

On the right, select the Background tile to expand.

windows 11 personalization background tile
Windows 11 personalization background tile

On the Personalization -> Background settings tile, choose Windows spotlight, as highlighted in the image below.

windows 11 personalization background windows spotlight
Windows 11 personalization background windows spotlight

Once you do that, Windows will change the background immediately and automatically during the day.

Change background wallpaper automatically via Slideshow

Alternatively, you can choose what images are displayed on your desktop background. Instead of Microsoft selecting and displaying random images from around the world, you can select a folder that contains your pictures to display.

Click on the Start menu -> Settings -> Personalization – Background tile to expand.

On the expanded background tile, choose Slideshow, as highlighted below.

windows 11 personalization background slideshow
Windows 11 personalization background slideshow

Once you select Slideshow, you can click the Browse button to browse the folder containing your images.

Choose the folder with your images, and you’re done.

You can also choose to enable the Shuffle the picture order toggle button.

windows 11 personalization background slideshow browse
Windows 11 personalization background slideshow browse

That should do it!

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to automatically set up Windows to change the background wallpaper. Please use the comment form below if you find any errors above or have something to add.

Posted by
Richard

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

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