This beginner’s dedicated guide will show you how to fix Windows Spotlight not working on Lock Screen in Windows 10.
But let me explain first what is Windows Spotlight?
Windows Spotlight is a nifty feature in all versions of Windows 10. It can downloads pictures and images from Bing and then displays them on your Lock Screen background image.
But, many users have complained that Windows Spotlight is not working properly or it disappeared or the same picture was displayed every time. There may be a number of reasons, why your Windows 10 computer is not fetching new wallpaper from Bing.
If you’re also victim of this issue, try out the ways mentioned below and see if they helps.
But before you begin you must be connected to the Internet as Windows Spotlight features requires an active internet connection to show new wallpaper on the lock screen. Otherwise, Windows will not able to download or get new images for your lock screen.
How To Fix Windows Spotlight Not Working In Windows 10
Method 1. Reset Windows Spotlight preferences
If Windows Spotlight not working in Windows 10, you may want to reset Windows Spotlight settings & preferences and check if that helps. To do this, follow these steps:
Step 1. First of all, disable Windows Spotlight feature in Settings app.
Press Windows Key + I to open Settings panel. Then go to Personalization > Lock Screen. Under the Background option, choose Picture/Slideshow option for Lock Screen background.
Step 2. Press Windows Key + E to open File Explorer. Click on the View tab. Then under Hidden Files & Folders, check Hidden items option. Then go to the following folder:
C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_<characters>\LocalState\Assets
Note: Replace C with your system root drive and <yourusername> with your user account name. Here, characters may be an arbitrary value like cw5n1h2txyewy.
Step 3. Now, delete everything in the Assets folder.
Now enable Windows Spotlight feature in Settings app. Then press Windows Key + L to lock screen and check. You should be able to see Windows Spotlight screen now.
Here is the video to illustrate more:
Method 2. Re-register Windows Spotlight
If Windows Spotlight not working in Windows 10, you may want to try re-register Windows Spotlight. To do so, follow these steps below:
These following steps would let you re-register Windows Spotlight in Windows 10
Step 1. Click Start menu and type “Powershell“. Then right click on Windows PowerShell in the result and click Run as administrator.
Step 2. In the Powershell window, type the following and press Enter:
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager -allusers | foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register “$($_.InstallLocation)\appxmanifest.xml” -DisableDevelopmentMode}
Re-register Windows Spotlight
Step 3. Wait until the process finishes and close Powershell window.
Now press Windows Key + L to lock screen and check if you have a new wallpaper or not.
Method 3. Using System Maintenance Troubleshooter
In case if the problem still remains after trying Method 1 & 2, you can try to use the System Maintenance troubleshooter.
Step 1. Go to Control Panel (view icons) > Troubleshooting > View all to locate built-in troubleshooters.
Step 2. In the troubleshooter window, click Advanced and check Apply repairs automatically option. Then click Next and let the troubleshooter identify problems.
Step 3. Follow the on-screen instructions. The troubleshooter will detect problems and cross-check on the default settings. If the troubleshooter founds a problem, it will automatically try to resolve it.
I hope after trying both the solutions, the problem would be resolved.
