Windows Spotlight lock screen picture won't change

Question

Hello,

I have an HP laptop running Windows 10, and usually when my laptop is locked, the picture changes every now and then on my lock screen and I really enjoyed that. But recently for the past month or two, it's been stuck on the same picture and it stopped changing to new pictures. I checked my settings and I still have "Windows Spotlight" set as my lock screen but still nothing happens. It just stopped working and changing pictures for some reason.

If anyone can help, please do!

Answer 1

Just follow these steps of Windows Central:

How to fix Windows Spotlight Lock screen errors Is Windows Spotlight broken or stuck on the same image? If so, this guide details the steps to fix the issue.

Windows Spotlight is a feature included with Windows 10 that uses Bing to automatically download and set new background images on the Lock screen, to keep your experience fresh every time you sign in.

The only caveat with Windows Spotlight is that sometimes it will stop working, or you'll notice that it gets stuck on the same image. Unfortunately, Windows 10 doesn't include an option to reset this feature. However, it's possible to fix the Windows Spotlight settings with this simple workaround.

In this Windows 10 guide, we show you the steps to fix Windows Spotlight on your computer and keep getting fresh images from Bing on your Lock screen.

How to reset Windows Spotlight

If the Windows Spotlight feature is stuck on the same image, or it's not working at all, you can use the following steps to fix the issue:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click on Lock screen.
4. Under "Background," make sure Windows Spotlight is NOT selected and change the option to Picture or Slideshow.
5. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
6. Type the following path and click OK. %USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets
7. Select all the files (Ctrl + A) and hit the Delete key to clear all old images (if applicable).
8. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command again.
9. Type the following path to where the Windows Spotlight settings are stored and click OK. %USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\Settings
10. Right-click settings.dat and roaming.lock individually, then click Rename and name them settings.dat.bak and roaming.lock.bak.
11. Restart your computer.
12. Open Settings.
13. Click on Personalization.
14. Click on Lock screen.
15. Under "Background," make sure to enable Windows Spotlight.

Once you complete these steps, you can lock your PC (Windows key + L), and the Lock screen should show new Bing images.

If everything worked as expected, remember to go back to the Settings folders where Windows Spotlight stores the settings and delete the settings.dat.bak and roaming.lock.bak files.

Alternative method to fix Windows Spotlight

If the steps mentioned above didn't fix Windows Spotlight, you can try to reset the settings using the following steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click on Lock screen.
4. Under "Background," make sure to enable Windows Spotlight. (If you don't enable the feature, you're likely to get an error while running the PowerShell command.)
5. Open Start.
6. Search for Windows PowerShell, right-click the result, and select Run as administrator.
7. Enter the following command and press Enter to reset the Windows Spotlight: Get-AppxPackage -allusers *ContentDeliveryManager* | foreach {Add-AppxPackage "$($_.InstallLocation)\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -register }
8. Restart your computer.

After completing these steps, you should be able to lock your PC (Windows key + L), and the Lock screen should show new Bing images.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-fix-windows-spotlight-stuck-same-image-windows-10?passport=1526946645

Answer 2

I tried following the steps in the article but it's still not working

Answer 3

I did both methods and none of the two worked, for me.

Funny thing is that I have another PC (HP DV9000 notebook) with same O.S., same level, and on that PC lockscreen is working OK, without any action.

The only difference between  the two PC's is that the DV9000 has the O.S. of a different language.

Hi, Aurelio!

I think you might have disabled (as I did) the apps running in background.

You must have Settings allowed to run in the background for the Windows Spotlight to work.

Best,

Guto.

Answer 4

Hi again, Aurelio!

I'm glad everything is working for you now, so maybe there is no point in exploring this anymore.

If you want to check anyway, in my computer I go for Settings -> Privacy -> Background Apps.

There, if I enable "Let apps run in the background", there is a list of Apps under "Choose which apps can run in the background".

In that list I can see "Settings" and can enable or disable it (in my case it was disabled and all worked when I enabled it back).

It might be different in your version or in other language, though.

Best,

Guto.

Answer 5

Reset or Re-register Windows Spotlight:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/82156-reset...