You can do a lot of cool things in Windows 10, but the first item that greets you when you fire up the OS is the lock screen. Clicking or tapping on it brings you to the sign-in screen where you log in to Windows. It might seem unnecessary, but it carries with it some tidbits that can be useful before you even launch Windows.
From the lock screen, you can view information from certain apps, including your calendar, the weather, and other helpful features. Those who have the Windows 10 Anniversary update and above can also chat with Cortana. And you can customize the screen with your favorite background image or slideshow. Here's how.
To access the settings for your lock screen, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.
Windows 10 Lock Screen Background
The first thing you can change is the lock-screen image. Under Background, choose between Windows spotlight, a static picture, or a slideshow of multiple images.
If you select Windows spotlight, the lock screen will display different images periodically. You can vote on which images you prefer (hover over 'Like what you see?' on the top right to vote yes or no), allowing Windows 10 to better understand your preferences and display images you will like.
If you prefer to make the decision yourself, selecting Picture will allow you to choose from a selection of thumbnails. You can also find a picture of your own by browsing your computer folders. The Slideshow option will let you choose multiple images to become part of a slideshow of rotating pictures.
If you're happy with your lock-screen image, you can keep the same one for your sign-in screen. Just scroll down in the Lock screen settings page to turn on the option to 'Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen.'
Windows 10 Lock Screen Apps
Windows 10 also allows you to add certain pieces of information to your lock screen. Click the plus sign under 'Choose an app to show detailed status.'
Here, you can opt to see details from Xbox, Messaging, Mail, 3D Viewer, Weather, and Calendar, and more. For example, choosing Calendar might show you the day's appointments, while choosing Weather will display the current temperature.
You can then also choose several apps to display a quick status, which simply means fewer details. Click on each icon under the phrase 'Choose apps to show quick status.' Again, you can select such apps as Weather, Messaging, and Calendar as well as Alarms & Clock, Mail, and Windows Store. The next time the lock screen pops up, you should see information from the apps you chose.
Chat With Cortana on the Lock Screen
The coolest option of all may be the ability to chat with Cortana at the lock screen without having to log in. On the Lock screen menu, scroll down to and click on 'Cortana lock screen settings.' Scroll down to Lock Screen and make sure 'Use Cortana even when my device is locked' is turned on.
As long as this option is activated you can say 'Hey, Cortana,' and talk directly to the Microsoft's voice assistant, even if you're not signed into Windows 10. Again, you'll need to have the Windows 10 Anniversary update or higher installed.
To enhance your interactions with Cortana at the lock screen, select the option to allow integration with your calendar, email, messages, and Power BI data even when your device is locked.
You'll find that with a few simple tweaks and setting changes, there are lots of things you can do in Windows 10 before you even have a chance to sign into your account. And if you don't want to remember a password, use a picture instead. You can also go without one entirely, though we don't recommend it.
On Windows 10, Windows Spotlight is a feature that downloads and sets Bing images as the background on the Lock screen automatically, which allows you to get a fresh look every time you sign in.
However, Spotlight is not a perfect feature and sometimes you may experience problems. For instance, you may see the image stuck in the Lock screen for a long time, or the feature may suddenly stop working.
Although the Settings app doesn't offer an option to reset Windows Spotlight, you can fix most common problems with two simple workarounds.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to fix common problems with Windows Spotlight on your device to keep the Lock screen showing fresh and beautiful images from Bing.
How to reset Windows Spotlight on Windows 10
If Windows Spotlight isn't working or it's stuck in with the same image, you can follow these steps to clean the downloaded images and reset the settings to get the feature working again.
Disabling Spotlight feature
To disable Spotlight on Windows 10, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Picture or Slideshow option.
Once you complete these steps, you can proceed with the instructions below to clear the assets, reset the settings, and re-enable the feature.
Cleaning Spotlight assets
To delete the images already locally stored on your device, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Run and click the top result.
- Type the following path and click the OK button.
%USERPROFILE%/AppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewyLocalStateAssets
- Select all the files (Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut) and press the Delete key to clear the old images (if applicable).
After you complete these steps, proceed with the steps below to reset the Windows Spotlight settings.
Resetting Stoplight settings
To reset the Stoplight settings on Windows 10, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Run and click the top result.
- Type the following path and click the OK button.
%USERPROFILE%/AppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewySettings
- Inside the Settings folder, right-click the settings.dat and roaming.lock files individually, then click the Rename option and change their names to settings.dat.bak and roaming.lock.bak.
- Restart your computer.
Once you complete the steps, the last step left to do is to re-enable the feature using the Settings app.
Enabling Spotlight feature
To enable Windows Spotlight, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Windows Spotlight option.
After completing the steps, you can test that Windows Spotlight is working correctly by locking your device (Windows key + L keyboard shortcut) and making sure that new images rotate in the background every time you sign in.
How to reset Windows Spotlight settings using PowerShell
Alternatively, if you're still having issues with Windows Spotlight, you can use PowerShell to reset its settings with these steps.
Disabling Spotlight feature
To disable Spotlight on Windows 10, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Picture or Slideshow option.
Once you complete these steps, you can use PowerShell to reset the Windows Spotlight settings and re-enable the feature.
Resetting Spotlight settings
To fix problems with Windows Spotlight with PowerShell commands, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command and press Enter:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers *ContentDeliveryManager* | foreach {Add-AppxPackage '$($_.InstallLocation)appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode -register }
- Restart your computer.
After completing the steps, Spotlight should start working again on your Windows 10 installation after re-enabling the feature using the Settings app.
Enabling Spotlight feature
To enable Windows Spotlight, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Windows Spotlight option.
Once you complete the steps, make sure the workaround fixed the issue by locking your computer and checking if new images appear in the background.
Updated February 19, 2019: This guide has been revised and updated to make sure it's current with the latest version of Windows 10.
More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
i upgraded my laptop system from windows 8 to windows 10, i can see different lock screens, but my friend who upgraded her system from windows 7 to win 10 can see the geographical location of different scenes which change automatically every day. i want to see the geographical location of the scene too. i searched in the setting but could not find it, please guide me how to set this setting.
pritam spritam s
1 Answer
Edit
I have just found an option on the settings for the lock screen to enable tips and extra information. I don't know if this will give you the information you expect as I have it disabled on my machine.
Original AnswerI suspect your friend has got an extra app to retrieve the geographic location of the images. I haven't been able to find anything that gives this information by default.
All is not lost though. There is a way you can find the information you ask for. Although you have to do a bit of digging.
The images are distributed through Microsoft's Content Delivery Network and are stored on your PC in the following location:
You might have to enable 'show hidden files' in order to get to this location. In this folder there are a lot of files with random names like:
If you add
BurgiBurgi.jpg
to the end of this file name you will discover that it turns into a picture file. You can now open the file properties window and view the metadata. Sometimes this metadata will include GPS co-ordinates, in others (like my example) it will have a completed description and tags.4,4891010 gold badges2929 silver badges4545 bronze badges
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On Windows 10, the Lock screen is the experience that you always see before signing in to your account, and while it may seem like something unnecessary, it provides some useful functionalities, even before accessing the desktop.
For example, in the Lock screen, you can see the current date and time, show calendar events, and notifications from other apps. You can also interact with Cortana, showcase your favorite background images, personal pictures, and beautiful images from Bing using Windows Spotlight.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to customize and get the most out of the Lock screen experience.
How to customize background in the Lock screen
Windows 10 allows you to customize the look of the Lock screen using the Windows Spotlight service, a single picture, or you can even showcase a collection of images from one or multiple folders.
Using Windows Spotlight
Spotlight is a feature that connects with Bing to download and set new background images automatically to keep the experience fresh every time you have to sign in to Windows 10. You can enable the feature using these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Windows Spotlight option.
Once you've completed the steps, the Lock screen will now include a new image every time that you sign in to your account.
If you're having problems getting Spotlight to work, you can use this guide to troubleshoot and fix most common issues.
Using a single image
If you want to see always a particular image, you can customize the Lock screen to display a single image with these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Picture option.
- Click the Browse button to locate the image you want to use.
In addition, you may want to turn off the Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen toggle switch to get a cleaner experience.
Using image collection
Alternatively, you can use the following steps to showcase a collection of images from one or multiple folders in the Lock screen:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Slideshow option.
- Select the Pictures item.
- Click the Remove item.
- Click the Add a folder button.Quick Tip: Using this option, you can add one or more folders with images.
- Browse the location of the folder with images that you want to showcase in the Lock screen.
- Select the folder.
- Click the Choose this folder button.
If you want to customize the experience further, click the Advanced slideshow settings option, and select enable or disable the options that you want to use while showing a collection of photos in the Lock screen, including:
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- Include Camera Roll folders from this PC and OneDrive: In addition to the folders you selected, turning on this toggle switch, the Lock screen will also display images stored in your Camera Roll and OneDrive Camera Roll folders, which usually include the photos from your phone and other devices.
- Only use pictures that fit my screen: If you have multiple sizes of images in the folder, only those that will fit the screen will be displayed.
- When my PC is inactive, show lock screen instead of turning off the screen: This option is similar to setting up a screensaver on Windows 10. In addition, you can use the drop-down menu to specify when to turn off the screen after the slideshow played for a period of time.
Finally, you may also want to turn off the Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen toggle switch to get a cleaner experience.
How to customize apps notifications in the Lock screen
The Lock screen is also capable of showing notifications from apps. Using this feature, you can set a single app to display detailed notifications, and you can show quick notifications for multiple apps.
Setting app detailed status
To set an app to show detailed status, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Under 'Choose an app to show detailed status' section, click the Plus (+) button to select the app you want to see more details in the Lock screen. (Using the None option will disable this feature.)
Once you've completed the steps, notifications with detailed information from the app that you specified will appear in the bottom-left corner of the Lock screen.
Setting apps quick status
To set one or more apps to show the number of unseen updates, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Under 'Choose an app to show quick status' section, click the Plus (+) button to select the app you want to see more details in the Lock screen. (Using the None option removes the item from the experience.)
- Repeat step No.4 to configure quick notifications for additional apps (up to 7).
After completing the steps, in the bottom-left corner of the screen, you'll see icons with badges letting you know the number of unseen updates for each application that you configured to appear in the Lock screen.
How to disable the Lock screen background in the sign-in screen
Using the Lock screen settings, you can even decide if the Sign-in screen uses the same background image as the Lock screen:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Turn off the Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen toggle switch.
Once you've completed the steps, the sign-in screen will no longer include the same image as the Lock screen. Instead, it'll show a solid color background from the current scheme configured in the Personalization settings.
How to allow Cortana above the Lock screen
If your device is equipped with a microphone, you can also use Cortana while in the Lock screen to query basic questions. Here's how:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Click the Cortana lock screen settings option.
- Under the Lock screen section, turn on the Use Cortana even when my device is locked toggle switch.
- (Optional) Check the Let Cortana access my calendar, email, messages, and Power BI data when my device is locked option.
After completing the steps, you can say the command 'Hey Cortana' followed by your question, such as 'How's the weather?' to interact with the assistant in the Lock screen.
How to set screen timeout in the Lock screen
Also, if you always lock your device as you step out of the office using Dynamic lock or manually (Windows key + L), it's also possible to set the time before the screen turns off automatically. Here's how:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Click the Screen timeout settings option.
- Use the 'Screen' drop-down menu to specify when your display should turn off when the device is plugged in.Quick Tip: If you're changing these settings on a laptop, you'll also see the option to adjust the screen settings when your computer is running on battery.
Windows 10 Lock Screen Not Showing Picture
Once you've completed the steps, the screen will turn off automatically after the device is not active for the amount of time you specified.
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More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
This guide explains how to fix Windows spotlight not working in Windows 10 PC and how to save Windows spotlight lock screen images to use them as wallpapers
Windows Phone is the third best mobile operating system which is available out there. There are a lot of smartphones which run on Windows Phone OS and are increasing day by day. One of the cool features which you get in Windows Phone is Bing lock screen wallpaper. With this feature the lock screen of your Windows phone will refresh automatically each day. If you are using Windows 10 operating system, you might be aware of something similar as this feature is called “Windows spotlight” in Windows 10.
Windows spotlight is a great feature in Windows 10 and you will find it in all the latest versions of Windows operating system. There are plenty of complaints by users regarding Windows spotlight on various Windows 10 forums and if you are also experiencing Windows spotlight not working properly on your computer then you are at the right place as today we are going to tell you how to fix windows spotlight not working in Windows 10.
But before we share the methods to fix windows spotlight not working issue, let’s find out what is Windows Spotlight feature in Windows 10 operating system? Here we go.
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What is Windows Spotlight Feature in Windows 10?
With the help of Windows spotlight feature, you will be able to see different and fresh backgrounds on the lock screen of your Windows 10 computer. In simple words, Windows spotlight is an option for the lock screen background in Windows 10 that displays different background images on the lock screen.
Windows spotlight feature is available on different versions of latest Windows 10 operating system such as Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Education and Windows 10 Enterprise etc.
How to Fix “Windows spotlight not working” in Windows 10
If you are experiencing Windows spotlight not working issue on your Windows 10 PC, you can have a look at these two methods which we are going to share in this guide. These both methods will perfectly help you in solving Windows spotlight not working issue on your Windows 10 computer.
Method 1: Using File Explorer
This is the first method which will help you to fix Windows spotlight not working in Windows 10. We are going to take help of File Explorer in order to fix this issue on our Windows 10 computer.
Step (1): First of all, you have to disable Windows spotlight feature from the settings app of our computer. To do this, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Background > Windows spotlight > Picture / Slideshow option.
Step (2): Next you have to press combination of Win + E key which will open File Explorer on your computer. Open View tab and then click on Options.
Step (3): In the Folder Options window, select the View tab and then from the Advanced Settings list, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives option.
Step (4): Now you have to open the following directory:
Note:Change the USERNAME with your username.
Step (5): Once you have opened the Assets folder on your computer, select all the items available there and delete all of them (make the folder empty).
Usb midi to 5 pin midi. Step (5): Finally, enable Windows spotlight feature by going Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Background > Windows spotlight.
Now you can press Windows + L key to open lock screen. You should be able to see the Windows spotlight screen on your Windows 10 computer.
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Method 2: Run System Maintenance Troubleshooter
Windows Will Not Lock Screen
If you were unable to fix Windows spotlight not working in Windows 10 by following the previous method then you can follow this Windows 10 troubleshooting method where we are going to run the System Maintenance Troubleshooter. So, are you ready to know how to solve Windows spotlight not working properly issue? Here we go.
Step (1): At first, open the troubleshooting packages by going to Control Panel > Troubleshooting > View all. You will see the list of available built-in troubleshooters in Windows 10 here.
Step (2): Now you have to open System Maintenance troubleshooter and then click on Advanced option.
Step (3): After that select Apply repairs automatically option and then click on Next option. The troubleshooter will detect for the problems.
Step (4): If you see the notification message like Issues might be found troubleshooting with administrator permissions. Simply, click on Try troubleshooting as an administrator as you won’t be able to find some problems without having admin access.
Step (5): Again the troubleshooter will start detecting issues which might be there on your computer and will cross check them with default settings of your computer.
Step (6): If there are any issues located, the troubleshooter will fix them automatically.
Step (7): Once the troubleshooting has completed and detected issue has been fixed, you will get a detailed report about the issue which has been resolved. You can click View detailed information link to see complete information about the troubleshooting operation:
Thus, you can easily explore on what settings system maintenancetroubleshooter made checks and what issue gets resolved. Finally, click on Next button and then Close the troubleshooter.
Now, you can open the lock screen and you will be able to see the Windows spotlight feature working perfectly on your Windows 10 computer.
Conclusion
We hope after trying both the methods, problem (Windows spotlight not working) would be resolved. Windows spotlight is a great feature which is present in Windows 10 system. If you are not able to use the feature on your Windows 10 computer, you can follow any of these two Windows spotlight issue solving methods which we have shared above.
FAQ
How to save Windows Spotlight lock screen images so I can use them as wallpapers?
In order to find Windows spotlight lock screen image location and save Windows spotlight images so that you can use them as wallpapers:
- First of all, open Run dialog box by pressing Win + R key combinations.
- Enter in the following command and then Press OK.
- A folder will be opened in File Explorer with non-specific file names.
- Copy and paste all the files into a new folder and rename all the files with the JPG extension.
Thus, you can easily get all the Windows Spotlight lock screen images in Windows 10 PC.Use them wherever and wherever you want and enjoy!!