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
    2020-12-30T13:20:16+00:00

    And like I wrote, that's exactly what I not seeing! 

    There is no cog icon named Settings within background app to turn on or off.

    In the beginning of the thread at "the solution" it also tells you to turn on Microsoft Edge in background apps, don't see that icon/app either. So last night I did check 2 other Pc's in the house that I know for sure is updated with latest 10 updates. There was no Microsoft Edge app in any of them - but Settings are there.

    Did check the other account on my Pc that my son have left there for more than half a year when he was studying. It's the same - lock screen and Spotlight is broken. Both MS Edge and the Settings app missing from background applikations. So it has replicated on to his account also. 

    Found another page that had "a little extra" about the reset of Spotlight and followed the steps starting with elevated cmd> dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth  followed by the sfc/scannow before doing the Spotlight reset.

    It did do a lot more things now then before and for a short while I believe things could be back to normal, then I rebooted ...

    For now I would just be happy if I could get rid of that pesky photo of the snowy german town that lock screen always fall back to.

    Must be another cache or Assets folder somewhere but even registry is clear from any clues where it normally would point to ex. Landscape or Port trait locations.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-12-30T06:21:52+00:00

    I'm so sorry. I know the frustration this process can cause, having suffered some myself.

    It's difficult for me to advise you when I don't know where you are, and exactly how you got there, but it sounds as if you might be mired in the 3 steps to ensure that Settings app can run in the background. If you are, then I assume you have followed each of the first 15 steps Lucas laid out.

    My 3 steps are now 3+ steps as of this noontime.

    1. In the Search Box type - this time, in its entirety - Background apps

    1a. The right half of the window will have only one cmd: Open        Click it.

     2.  [The menu is on the left; ignore it now.] On the right is "Let apps run in the background" and an On/Off oval/switch. It must be On

     3.  From the list of apps, which are listed alphabetically find Settings, which should be On. Here's what you should see--

    minus the scrawls. I seldom do freehand. For a reason.

    What I am pointing out is the fact that the same words may appear in the menus AND in the options and mean different things.

    In the menu at the top is Settings, the top of the menu tree--NOT the same as the Settings app 

    At the bottom of the menu is what you asked for, Background Apps, which agrees with what's on the right: a listing of apps that can run in the background.

    The encircled Settings is what you were supposed to find.

    May I suggest that you read the reply I sent to HereForAGuffaw . Having reached the Lock Screen menu, and the next instruction being to set the background, I think he chose Background from the menu rather than the label Background on the right above the drop list. 

    The Background menu has nothing to do with the Lock Screen.

    I hope I have helped.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-12-29T22:49:19+00:00

    I can read and follow instructions very well after almost 30 years in IT and this is one of the most annoying things I can remember ever even compared to ex. old Exchange servers that would spit out all kind of errors, there is no "Settings".

    Look back on page 2, second reply made by GutoOvsky to Aurelio Crippa who also couldn't see "Settings" but GutoOvsky did.

    Exact like that it's for me too, if not worse! Because even after chosen a custom lock screen and deleted all in the Spotlight cache and so on, the same **** photo is there after next logon done after a reboot.  

    No instruction anywhere telling me what to delete and clear out had manage to remove that snowy winter town photo I see every logon and at this time really hate it now.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-12-29T20:34:26+00:00

    Please read my lengthy reply to HereForTheGuffaws, or you might first want to see the minor addition I made to my 3 instructions. 

    I suspect that you two may not use Windows Settings all that often. It can be confusing at first. Just remember that the left side of the window is the menu, whose name is at the top. [Sub] menu names have no icons associated with them. Once you're on the menu you want, options, settings, etc, are on the right. THESE MAY HAVE SOME OF THE SAME NAME(S) AS MENU OPTIONS.

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