How to Customise the Lock Screen Background in Windows 11

The lock screen is the very first visual interface you encounter whenever you power on your PC, wake your laptop from sleep, or lock your workstation with the Windows + L shortcut. Beyond displaying the current time, battery percentage, and widget data, the lock screen provides an immediate canvas to personalise your desktop experience. By default, Windows 11 often ships with standard rotating landscape imagery, but Microsoft gives users full control over how their lock screen looks and behaves.

Whether you want daily high-resolution photography curated by Microsoft, a favourite personal family photo, or a dynamic folder slideshow that rotates throughout the day, configuring your preferences takes only moments. This guide walks you through customising the lock screen background in Windows 11, exploring Windows Spotlight, single picture choices, and custom photo slideshows, as well as disabling background blurring on the sign-in screen.

Choosing Your Lock Screen Background Type

All lock screen personalisation options are consolidated within the modern Windows 11 Settings app:

1. Right-click any empty space on your desktop and select Personalise (or press Windows + I and navigate to Personalisation).
2. In the Personalisation menu, click on Lock screen.
3. At the top of the pane, locate the setting labelled Personalise your lock screen. Click the dropdown menu next to it.

You will see three distinct options: Windows Spotlight, Picture, and Slideshow.

Option 1: Windows Spotlight (Daily Rotating Photography)

Windows Spotlight is Microsoft’s cloud-delivered background service that downloads breathtaking daily photographs from around the globe directly to your lock screen. Along with crisp scenery, it provides clickable interactive hotspots describing where the picture was taken.

• Select Windows Spotlight from the dropdown menu.
• Spotlight will immediately fetch the current global featured image and cycle automatically to new imagery every 24 to 48 hours.
• If you enjoy a particular image, you can click the small camera icon labelled “Like the image that you see?” in the corner of your lock screen to provide feedback that tunes future selections.

Option 2: Setting a Custom Picture

If you prefer displaying a specific photograph (such as personal art, pet pictures, or family portraits):

1. Select Picture from the dropdown menu.
2. Choose an image from the Recent images thumbnail row, or click the Browse photos button.
3. Navigate to the folder on your hard drive where your desired image is stored, select it, and click Choose picture.
4. The selected image will now remain as your permanent, static lock screen background.

Option 3: Setting Up a Dynamic Photo Slideshow

To rotate through an entire album or collection of images automatically:

1. Select Slideshow from the dropdown menu.
2. Click Add a folder and select the image directory you wish to include. You can add multiple folders or remove default directories like “Pictures” if you only want specific sub-folders displayed.
3. Click Advanced slideshow settings below the folder list to fine-tune playback:
   • Only use pictures that fit my screen: Prevents low-resolution or awkwardly cropped vertical photos from displaying.
   • When my PC is inactive, show lock screen instead of turning off the screen: Allows the slideshow to function like a digital photo frame.
   • Turn off screen after slideshow has played: Configures automated display sleep to save battery power on laptops.

How to Show the Lock Screen Picture on the Sign-In Screen

Once you dismiss the lock screen by pressing a key or clicking the mouse, Windows 11 transitions to the sign-in screen where you enter your PIN or password. By default, Windows 11 can carry over your chosen lock screen wallpaper behind a soft acrylic blur effect.

To ensure consistency across both views:

1. Scroll down in the Settings > Personalisation > Lock screen window.
2. Ensure the toggle switch labelled “Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen” is switched to On.

Customising your lock screen background creates a polished, welcoming entrance to your operating system that reflects your personal taste every time you sit down at your computer.