How to Change Lock Screen Wallpaper in Windows 11

Using the Settings App to Change Your Lock Screen

The Settings app is the quickest way to change the lock screen background. One screen lets you choose a single photo, a rotating set of pictures, or a daily featured image. Windows handles the sizing, so the picture fits your display without any editing.

Check two things before you start. Windows must be activated, or the personalization settings stay greyed out and you cannot change the lock screen. Also, on a PC managed by a work or school organization, policies may lock some options, including Windows spotlight.

These steps manually set your lock screen wallpaper to a photo of your choice.

1. Press Win+I. The Settings app opens.

2. Select Personalization. It is in the left-hand navigation menu.

3. Click Lock screen. You should see a preview of your current lock screen and the settings⚙️ below it.

4. Find the Personalize your lock screen dropdown. It sits just under the preview.
5. Select Picture from the dropdown. Choose Slideshow instead if you want rotating photos. Windows spotlight is also in this list if you prefer automatically changing daily photographs.
6. Click the Browse photos button. A file selection window opens. Recently used images may also appear as thumbnails, and you can click one of those instead.
7. Go to the folder with your image. Use the file selection window to open the folder that holds the picture.
8. Click the file, then click Choose picture. The preview at the top of the page updates to show your new lock screen wallpaper.

Below the dropdown you will also see a Lock screen status dropdown. It lets you show detailed status from one app, such as weather or calendar, on the lock screen. Pick None if you want a clean picture with no status information.

To check the result, press Win+L to lock the PC. To undo the change, return to this page and pick another image or another option in the dropdown.

Using Windows Spotlight for Dynamic Wallpapers

Windows spotlight (a feature that downloads and displays rotating daily images from Bing) changes your background automatically. You get a new photo without hunting for pictures yourself. The images are professional photography, travel locations, and similar scenes, sometimes with fun facts about what you are looking at. You do not need to download or manage any image files.

Spotlight needs an internet connection to fetch new images. It may be unavailable if your PC is managed or if your organization disabled Windows spotlight by policy. In that case the option is missing from the dropdown or does not change anything. Windows must also be activated before you can personalize the lock screen.

These steps switch your lock screen wallpaper to a daily Spotlight image.

1. Press Win+I. The Settings app opens.
2. Go to Personalization › Lock screen. The lock screen preview and settings appear.

3. Click the dropdown next to Personalize your lock screen. A list of options opens.
4. Select Windows spotlight. The preview switches to the current Spotlight image, and extra options appear below the dropdown.
5. Review the toggles underneath, such as Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen. Turn them on or off depending on whether you want text overlays on your background images.

To go back to a fixed photo, set the dropdown to Picture and choose an image again.

Creating a Lock Screen Slideshow

A lock screen slideshow cycles through a folder of your own photographs while the device is locked. Point Windows at one or more local folders and it rotates the pictures on your sign-in screen. It runs while the PC is locked and idle, so it works like a small photo frame.

1. Open Settings⚙️ and go to Personalization › Lock screen.
2. Set the dropdown next to Personalize your lock screen to Slideshow. Folder options appear below it.
3. Click the Add a folder button. A folder selection window opens.
4. Go to the folder with the pictures you want and highlight it. Then click Choose this folder.
5. Check the list of albums. The folder you picked should now appear there. Repeat the previous steps to add more folders.
6. Click the Advanced slideshow settings link to adjust options. You can choose whether the slideshow plays when running on battery power, whether camera roll folders are included, and whether the screen turns off after the slideshow has played for a set time.

To remove a folder you added by mistake, select it in the album list and use the remove option next to it.

Changing the Lock Screen via Registry Editor

Registry Editor (a database for low-level system settings) is the advanced route. It lets you enforce a specific background image or lock down the lock screen’s appearance. Administrators typically use Group Policy or the 🗝️HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEcopy policy keys to apply one wallpaper to every profile on a machine. Windows 11 Home does not include the Group Policy editor, so Home users who need this must use the registry.

A wrong change in the registry can cause problems, so back it up first. The steps below include an export, and you can restore it later by double-clicking the saved file.

1. Press Win+R. The Run dialog box opens.
2. Type regedit into the Open field and press Enter. Registry Editor needs administrator privileges, so click Yes if a User Account Control prompt appears.
3. Choose File › Export. Save a copy of the registry as your backup.
4. Go to the following location by clicking through the folder tree in the left pane: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen
5. Check whether the values you need already exist in this key. If they do not, you can create them, or configure your settings through the standard graphical interface instead. For a single PC, the Settings⚙️ app is the safer choice.

Disabling the Lock Screen Background Image

You can’t remove the lock screen itself. The nearest option is to hide the background picture on the sign-in screen, which then shows a solid accent color. A plain sign-in screen is simpler and can slightly reduce resource use on lower-powered hardware. You can do this from the personalization menu without any extra software.

1. Open Settings⚙️ and go to Personalization › Lock screen.
2. Click the dropdown next to Personalize your lock screen and select Picture.
3. Turn off the extra elements tied to background tips and status apps. Switch off the fun facts toggle, and set the Lock screen status dropdown to None.
4. Scroll down and turn off Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen. After you dismiss the lock screen, the sign-in screen shows a solid accent color instead of a picture.
5. Use the policy path if your PC is configured that way in an enterprise environment. Also check your personal preferences in the Settings⚙️ app to make sure no unwanted slideshow or Spotlight features are active.

To bring the picture back, turn the same toggle on again.

Troubleshooting Common Lock Screen Wallpaper Issues

Most lock screen wallpaper problems come down to stuck sync settings or corrupted cache files that stop the background from updating. If your PC keeps reverting to the default image after a restart, check your user profile and image folders first. These checks clear up most stubborn glitches without a full system reinstall.

• Verify that your user profile is fully synchronized if you notice settings reverting across multiple devices.
• Clear out cached Spotlight files if Windows spotlight fails to cycle through new images. A simple first try is to switch the dropdown to Picture, then back to Windows spotlight, and confirm you are online.
• Make sure your image file format is supported. JPEG and PNG work most reliably for Windows wallpapers.
• Confirm that Windows is activated. On an unactivated copy, the lock screen settings stay greyed out.
• Check Windows Update for pending updates. Minor bugs in the Lock Screen feature are often fixed in cumulative patches.
• On a work or school PC, remember that a policy set by your administrator can override your choice. Ask your IT team if the setting keeps changing back.

What to do next

You should now see your chosen photograph or slideshow whenever you lock your computer. Press Win+L to confirm.

Next, you can look at how to change your desktop background wallpaper or customize your taskbar appearance to finish your personalized Windows setup.