My lockscreen no longer shows Windows Spotlight, and everything is in German

SheilaMorris-1101 20 Reputation points
2026-08-09T01:26:13.6466667+00:00

I was recently travelling in Norway. At some point, all of the ads or promos on my lock screen started being in German. No big deal, but it continues now that I'm back in the US. And, the lock screen is just the standard blue Windows one, instead of my selected Windows Spotlight. I've checked, and my selections haven't changed, they just aren't being applied.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Desktop, Start, and personalization | Other
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Answer accepted by question author
Hendrix-V 18,515 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-08-09T06:09:02.64+00:00

Hi Sheila Morris,

It sounds like Windows Spotlight is still selected, but the lock screen is no longer refreshing with Spotlight images and tips. This can sometimes happen if the Spotlight content cache becomes out of sync.

As a quick refresh, you can:

  1. Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen and temporarily change the background from Windows Spotlight to Picture.
  2. Restart your PC.
  3. Open File Explorer and navigate to: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState
  4. Then clear the contents of the Assets folder.
  5. Restart once more and switch the lock screen background back to Windows Spotlight.

You may also want to verify that Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region reflects your preferred region, as Spotlight content can vary based on regional settings.

If the issue continues, please share your Windows version (Settings > System > About) and whether the problem affects only the lock screen or also Desktop Spotlight. That information can help narrow down whether this is related to the Spotlight cache or a build-specific behavior.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-08-09T01:26:34.31+00:00

    Try this in order:

    1. Verify Spotlight is selected again
      • Open Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.
      • Under Background, select Windows spotlight.
      • Turn On or Off Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen depending on whether the same image should appear on the sign-in screen.
      • If enabled, also review Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen.
    2. Check language/region for Microsoft content
      • Microsoft Store region settings can affect language and region behavior for Microsoft content.
      • Go to Microsoft Store online and, at the bottom of the page, select the World icon to choose language and region.
      • Caution: changing country or region can affect items bought in one region.
    3. If Spotlight still does not apply, clear the Spotlight cache
      • A commonly reported fix is to delete the contents of these two folders, then sign out or restart and reselect Windows Spotlight:
        • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets
        • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\Settings
      • Risk: delete only the contents, not the folders themselves.
    4. If Bing/Spotlight images keep appearing incorrectly on the sign-in screen
      • In Settings > Personalization > Lock screen, keep Personalize your lock screen set to the preferred option.
      • Turn off Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen.
      • Turn off Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more.

    If the issue is specifically that Spotlight images are missing on the lock screen, there is also a reported case where it was not working on certain builds, so the behavior can be build-related.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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