Events
Nov 19, 11 PM - Nov 21, 11 PM
Gain the competitive edge you need with powerful AI and Cloud solutions by attending Microsoft Ignite online.
Register nowThis browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
Windows spotlight is a feature that displays different wallpapers and offers suggestions, fun facts, tips, or organizational messages:
Windows spotlight is available on Windows Enterprise and Education editions only.
Windows spotlight is enabled by default, but you can customize it to meet your organization's needs. There are several options to configure Windows spotlight.
If you need to configure a device for a single user, go to:
For advanced customizations and when you need to configure multiple devices, you can use one of the following options:
Here's a sorted list of the policy settings to configure Windows spotlight:
You can replace the Windows spotlight lock screen and background images with a custom image. When you do so, users can still see suggestions, fun facts, tips, or organizational messages on the lock screen, but the background image is replaced with the custom image.
To configure the lock screen and background images, use the Personalization CSP.
Policy name | CSP | GPO |
---|---|---|
DesktopImageUrl | ✅ | ✅ |
LockScreenImageUrl | ✅ | ✅ |
Note
A concern with custom images is how they'll appear on different screen sizes and resolutions. A custom image created in 16:9
aspect ratio (for example, 1600x900
) scales properly on devices using a 16:9
resolution, such as 1280x720
or 1920x1080
. On devices using other aspect ratios, such as 4:3
(1024x768
) or 16:10
(1280x800
), height scales correctly and width is cropped to a size equal to the aspect ratio. The image remains centered on the screen.
Lock screen images created at other aspect ratios might scale and center unpredictably on your device when changing aspect ratios. The recommendation for custom images that include text (such as a legal statement), is to create the lock screen image in 16:9
resolution with text contained in the 4:3
region, allowing the text to remain visible at any aspect ratio.
Tip
You also have the option to configure a custom lock screen image using organizational messages in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
When Windows spotlight is enabled, devices apply a new image on the lock screen and in the background every day. The image is displayed in the background when the user signs in, and on the lock screen when the user locks the device. Users can still receive suggestions, fun facts, tips, or organizational messages. If you deploy a custom lock screen or background image, devices apply the custom image instead of the Windows spotlight image:
To learn more about organizational messages, see:
Events
Nov 19, 11 PM - Nov 21, 11 PM
Gain the competitive edge you need with powerful AI and Cloud solutions by attending Microsoft Ignite online.
Register now