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Some Windows 11 users have suddenly noticed that ‘Windows Spotlight Not Working’ no longer changes the images, and fun facts no longer show up at all on the login screen. Some people who are having this problem say they had it before on Windows and thought that upgrading to Windows 11 would fix it, but it didn’t.
The Spotlight is a feature of Windows 11 that can download pictures from Bing and show them on the screen where you sign in or lock your computer. Also, it lets people say whether they like the picture or not. But many users said that when they lock the login screen, especially after upgrading to Windows 11, they always see the same picture.
After looking at a lot of user reports and posts, we’ve found that the problem can be caused by a number of things, such as a bad network connection, the Spotlight cache, a metered connection, interference from an antivirus programme, an inconsistent asset folder, a disabled dynamic theme, or even a corrupt system file. Don’t be afraid. We give answers that make sense for the problem.
Fix: ‘Windows Spotlight Not Working’ Issue
Manually Reset Windows Spotlight Settings
- Press the Windows key, type Run, and choose the appropriate option to open the Run dialogue box.
- Paste “%USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\Settings” path into the dialogue box and press Ok. This will open the Settings folder.
- You’ll find two files settings.dat and roaming.lock in the Settings folder. Rename these files to settings.dat.bak and roaming.lock.bak respectively, by right-clicking on each file and pressing Rename.
- Close the folder and restart your computer.
Restart Windows Spotlight
- Navigate to Windows Settings by pressing Win + I.
- Click on Personalization and then hit Lock screen located in the left-hand panel.
- Under Background, open the dropdown menu and choose Picture or Slideshow
- Close the Settings app and restart your computer.
Check Network Connection
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Make Sure All the Necessary Apps Work in the Background
- Click the Windows button on the taskbar or press the Windows button on your keyboard. Click on Settings > Privacy > Background apps.
- Turn on Let apps run in the background and ensure that Settings, Microsoft Store, and Microsoft Edge are all enabled and allowed to run in the background.
- You can lock your system’s screen by pressing the Windows key + L to check if Spotlight is now changing the photos displayed on the lock screen.
Re-enable Windows Spotlight
- Open the Settings app by clicking on the Windows button in the taskbar, or press the Windows button + I. Click on Personalization.
- Go to the Lock screen from the left-hand side of the window. On the drop-down menu, choose Slideshow or Picture. Then restart your computer.
- Navigate once again to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. The Background option previously changed to either Slideshow or Picture should be changed back to Windows Spotlight.
- Lock your laptop’s screen by pressing the Windows key + L and see if the problem persists.
Run System Maintenance Troubleshooter
- Search for the Control Panel from the search box in the taskbar, click on Control Panel. Search for troubleshooting in the search box and click.
- To the left of the new window, click View all.
- From the list of troubleshooters displayed on the screen, click on System Maintenance.
- While in the System Maintenance window, click on Advanced > Apply repairs automatically, you will find a checkbox. Check the box by clicking on it.
- Click Next to start troubleshooting. This issue should be resolved after troubleshooting.
Run SFC Scannow Command
- Open Command Prompt as administrator, input the sfc /scannow command, and press Enter.
- Ensure that you do not close the Command Prompt while executing the SFC command, as it may take some time.
- When the command has been successfully executed, check if the Spotlight feature on your computer is now functioning properly.
Reset Spotlight Settings
- Click on the Windows button on the taskbar and select Settings. When in the Settings app, open Personalization.
- Pick the Lock screen on the left side of the Personalization window. Turn off the switch for Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen, and also change the Background drop-down menu to Picture.
- Open Run window by pressing Windows key+ R and paste the link below in the directory box, and press Enter.
- There are two files in the settings folder that you would rename. Rename roaming.lock and settings.dat to roaming.lock.bak and settings.dat.bak.
- Restart your computer. When your computer has restarted, go to Settings again and open Personalization.
- Go to Lock screen and change the Background drop-down menu to Windows Spotlight and then turn on the switch for Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen.
- Lock your screen with Windows key + L and check if the problem has been solved.
Adjust Your Time and Date
- Right-click the time and date settings at the bottom right corner and select Adjust date and time.
- Toggle on the switch next to Set time automatically from the right pane and select your current time and date from the Time Zone section.
- Go to the Language & region section and check if you set the Country or region correctly.
You can get more help at the Microsoft Support Center.
FAQ
Why is my Windows Spotlight image not changing
Pressing Win + I will take you to Windows Settings. Click on Personalization, and then in the left panel, click on Lock screen. Open the drop-down menu next to Background and choose Picture or Slideshow. Close the Settings app and turn on your computer again.
How do I reset Windows Spotlight
- Click the Windows icon on your taskbar to open the Start menu, then click Settings.
- Click on the tile that says “Personalize.”
- Make sure to stay on the menu that comes with the Lockscreen.
- Choose “Picture” or “Slideshow” from the “Background” menu.