Windows Spotlight lock screen picture won't change

Anonymous
2018-02-09T16:26:33+00:00

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!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows Hello, lock screen and sign-in

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Anonymous
2018-05-22T00:04:55+00:00

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-12-29T12:30:19+00:00

    Set "its" app to ON. Which app? The issue for many of us is the app does not appear. The closest app I get is "Daily Picture," and I don't think that is it. Is it?

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-12-29T07:34:45+00:00

    Lucas' excellent road map has reappeared several times in the course of this thread (rope). I followed it myself in Oct 2020, but I would like to insert an amendment that showed up about that time, but is not in Lucas' instructions here (Dec 2020).

    Alternative method -- "...reset the settings using the following steps: "  May I suggest inserting the following: 

    First, ensure that the Settings app can run in the background.

    1.     In the search box type:  Background Apps

    1a.   A single cmd is displayed:  Open      click it

    2.     First choice is Let apps run in the background. This should be ON.

    3.     Run down the list of Apps (alphabetical) to "Settings." Its (possessive) On/Off  must be On.

    Now follow the reset of Settings as given. Which brings us to the Power Shell and the Get -AppxPackage command.

    This is the screen shown above in the Lucas text, which is 

    Imagecalled "Select Administrator: Windows PowerShell" and displays the entered Get -AppxPackage cmd and returns the prompt. (You'll need full screen to read these.)

    The 2d screen shows what happened after I exited PS, and carefully re-chose the PS, again as Admin, but notice the difference. The title is now "Administrator: Windows PowerShell" on a white rather than blue field. And when I entered the copied command, it executed, gave me feedback as it did so (the green field was a fleeting one: Deployment operation progress: etc), then a Location operation followed by the execution of the entered cmd.

    This might be a factor in why I have had no problem with Spotlight since Oct 14. I offer it in the hope that it may help. (I followed with a Restart, then a re-do of the Settings/Assets bit, and another Restart.)

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-12-23T16:38:20+00:00

    Hi Lucas

    The methods that you suggest do not work for me. Not on my old PC, and not on a new ASUS Vivibook running Windows 10 Home. Do you have any new information since you wrote this May 2018?

    BR Helge

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-12-20T20:15:31+00:00

    Creating new windows account always solve this problem.

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