Windows 11 Lock Screen: Picture, Spotlight, Widgets, Timeout

The lock screen is the first thing you see when you wake the PC and the last thing between your desk and anyone walking past. Windows 11 lets you choose what it shows: a photo of your own, a slideshow, or Microsoft’s rotating Windows spotlight images, plus widgets such as weather. This guide covers customising the Windows 11 lock screen, what each option does, and the related settings that decide when the PC locks and how you sign back in.

The steps apply to Windows 11 version 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2.

Open Lock screen settings

Open Start > Settings > Personalization > Lock screen, or right-click the desktop, select Personalize and then Lock screen. Microsoft’s customize-the-lock-screen page uses the same path.

Choose the background

Under Personalize your lock screen, pick one of three options:

Option	What you get
Windows spotlight	A rotating set of images from Microsoft, with tips, tricks and notifications
Picture	One photo of your choice
Slideshow	Photos from one or more folders on your PC

Picture

Choose one of the recent pictures or select Browse photos to pick your own. Landscape photos at your screen’s resolution look best; portrait photos are cropped.

Slideshow

Select Browse to add a folder, such as Pictures or a holiday album. The Advanced slideshow settings let you include the Camera Roll, use only pictures that fit the screen, show the lock screen instead of turning off the screen, and turn off the screen after a set time. A slideshow keeps the screen on longer by default, which uses more power on a laptop.

Windows spotlight

Spotlight downloads new images regularly. You can select the image’s info button to learn about it or say whether you like it. If spotlight stops changing, switch to Picture, restart, and switch back; check that the PC has internet access.

Widgets and status

The lock screen can show weather and other information:

• Lock screen widgets (or status, depending on your build) controls what appears. Microsoft notes that you can add, remove, rearrange and customise widgets, but only widgets that support a small size can be added to the lock screen.
• Turn them off if you prefer a clean picture or do not want information visible on a locked PC.

Notifications on the lock screen are controlled separately, under Settings > System > Notifications, where you can hide them or their content when the PC is locked; see Windows 11 notification settings.

Match the sign-in screen

Turn on Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen so the screen where you type your PIN uses the same picture. Turn it off for a plain background.

Lock the PC and sign back in

• Lock now: press Windows logo key + L, or select your account picture in Start and choose Lock.
• Lock automatically when you leave: Dynamic lock uses a paired phone; some laptops also have presence sensing.
• Ask for sign-in after sleep: in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, set when Windows requires you to sign in again after you have been away.
• Sign in faster: a PIN, fingerprint or face via Windows Hello; see Windows 11 PIN and password and Windows Hello.

When the lock screen turns off

The display on a locked PC turns off after a short time, separately from your normal screen timeout. That is expected behaviour; see change screen timeout in Windows 11 for the details and the screen and sleep timers.

Lock screen and privacy

What appears on a locked PC is visible to anyone near it. A few settings are worth reviewing:

• Notifications on the lock screen: in Settings > System > Notifications, choose whether notifications appear on the lock screen at all and whether their content is shown. Hiding content keeps message previews private.
• Widgets and status: weather is harmless, but calendar or mail status can reveal more than you want in an office. Turn off what you do not need, and review the list again after major updates, which can add new widgets.
• Account details on the sign-in screen: in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, there is an option to show account details such as your email address on the sign-in screen. Turn it off on shared or public-facing PCs.
• Camera on the lock screen: some tablets and convertibles allow the camera from the lock screen; check the device’s settings if that concerns you.

On a PC that several people use, each account has its own lock screen picture once signed in, but the screen shown before anyone signs in uses system defaults. If your chosen picture or widgets change back after a restart or an update, check whether a work or school policy applies, and that you are changing the setting in the right account.

Troubleshooting

• Settings greyed out with “Some settings are managed by your organization”: a work or school policy controls the lock screen. Ask IT.
• Picture option locked: Windows may not be activated; personalization needs activation. See Windows 11 activation.
• Lock screen skipped straight to sign-in: some PCs show the sign-in screen directly when waking with a keyboard press; this is normal.
• Black lock screen: check the graphics driver and see black screen.

For wallpapers, themes and colours on the desktop, see Windows 11 personalization and dark mode in Windows 11.