How to Show or Hide the Lock Screen Background on the Sign-in Screen in Windows 11

Option 1Turn On or Off the Lock Screen Background for Your Account Using Settings

1. Press Win + I on your keyboard to open Settings ⚙️.
2. Click on Personalization on the left side.
3. Click Lock screen on the right side.
4. Look for the setting called “Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen”.
5. Turn it On to show the picture, or Off to hide it.
6. You can now close the Settings ⚙️ window.

You can easily change your Windows 11 lock screen background on the sign-in screen by using the main Settings app ⚙️. This method updates the display picture only for your current user account without touching other profiles on the computer. Open the personalization menu in Settings to locate the toggle switch for the background picture and turn it on or off instantly.

Lock screen settings in Windows 11

Turn the lock screen background on or off here

Option 2Use Windows Terminal and Registry Editor (For Advanced Users)

Advanced users can configure the Windows 11 lock screen background across the entire computer or for specific user accounts by using Windows Terminal and the Registry Editor (a tool for changing low-level system settings). This approach works best if you need to manage multiple user profiles at once or set system-wide preferences through command-line tools.

1. Open Windows Terminal by right-clicking the Start button and selecting it, then choose Command Prompt or PowerShell.
2. Type this command and press Enter to see the list of user accounts and their SID (Security Identifier):
   
   wmic useraccount get domain,name,sid
3. Find your user name in the list and copy the SID next to it. It looks like a long number starting with "S-1-5-21-...".
4. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
5. In Registry Editor, navigate to this path (replace <SID> with your actual SID): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\System\ProtectedUserData\<SID>\AnyoneRead\LockScreen
6. In the right pane, double-click HideLogonBackgroundImage.
7. Change the value to:

   • 0 to show the lock screen background (default)
   • 1 to hide the background
8. Click OK.
9. Close the Registry Editor and Windows Terminal when done.

Option 3Turn On or Off the Lock Screen Background for All Users (Administrator Only)

⚠️ Admin privileges required

Shared machines benefit from registry-level tweaks applied across all user accounts. Administrator credentials are required to execute these changes.

To Enable the Lock Screen Background for Everyone (Default)

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System" /v DisableLogonBackgroundImage /f

To Disable the Lock Screen Background for Everyone

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System" /v DisableLogonBackgroundImage /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Summary

• You decide: You can turn the lock screen background picture on or off based on what you like.
• Multiple ways: Use Settings for easiest control, or Windows Terminal and Registry Editor for more options.
• Admin control: If you manage a computer with many users, you can set this for everyone.
• Default setting: Windows shows the lock screen background by default, but you can change it anytime.
• Look and feel: Showing the background picture makes signing in look nicer and more personal.

Controlling the Windows 11 lock screen background on your sign-in screen gives you a quick way to customize your computer display. You can use the standard Settings app for your personal account, or turn to administrative tools if you need to apply changes for every user on the system. Default settings show the background automatically, but you control how your sign-in screen looks.