Posted by3 years ago
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Basically, after upgrading to Windows 10 from 8.1, I can no longer change the lock screen, leaving me stuck at the picture that was set before the upgrade. Whenever I try to set any picture as the lock screen background from the Photos app, I get an error saying 'Can't set as lock screen: Make sure the file isn't damaged and try again'. If I attempt it from Settings, I can choose a picture but it will never update. There is also no picture browser next to the 'Browse' button in the Settings screen.
Has anyone encountered this issue before or know how to fix it? Any help is appreciated!
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On Windows 10, the Lock screen is the experience that you always see before signing in to your account, and while it may seem like something unnecessary, it provides some useful functionalities, even before accessing the desktop.
For example, in the Lock screen, you can see the current date and time, show calendar events, and notifications from other apps. You can also interact with Cortana, showcase your favorite background images, personal pictures, and beautiful images from Bing using Windows Spotlight.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to customize and get the most out of the Lock screen experience.
How to customize background in the Lock screen
Windows 10 allows you to customize the look of the Lock screen using the Windows Spotlight service, a single picture, or you can even showcase a collection of images from one or multiple folders.
Using Windows Spotlight
Spotlight is a feature that connects with Bing to download and set new background images automatically to keep the experience fresh every time you have to sign in to Windows 10. You can enable the feature using these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Windows Spotlight option.
Once you've completed the steps, the Lock screen will now include a new image every time that you sign in to your account.
If you're having problems getting Spotlight to work, you can use this guide to troubleshoot and fix most common issues.
Using a single image
If you want to see always a particular image, you can customize the Lock screen to display a single image with these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Picture option.
- Click the Browse button to locate the image you want to use.
In addition, you may want to turn off the Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen toggle switch to get a cleaner experience.
Using image collection
Alternatively, you can use the following steps to showcase a collection of images from one or multiple folders in the Lock screen:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Use the 'Background' drop-down menu, and select the Slideshow option.
- Select the Pictures item.
- Click the Remove item.
- Click the Add a folder button.Quick Tip: Using this option, you can add one or more folders with images.
- Browse the location of the folder with images that you want to showcase in the Lock screen.
- Select the folder.
- Click the Choose this folder button.
If you want to customize the experience further, click the Advanced slideshow settings option, and select enable or disable the options that you want to use while showing a collection of photos in the Lock screen, including:
- Include Camera Roll folders from this PC and OneDrive: In addition to the folders you selected, turning on this toggle switch, the Lock screen will also display images stored in your Camera Roll and OneDrive Camera Roll folders, which usually include the photos from your phone and other devices.
- Only use pictures that fit my screen: If you have multiple sizes of images in the folder, only those that will fit the screen will be displayed.
- When my PC is inactive, show lock screen instead of turning off the screen: This option is similar to setting up a screensaver on Windows 10. In addition, you can use the drop-down menu to specify when to turn off the screen after the slideshow played for a period of time.
Finally, you may also want to turn off the Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen toggle switch to get a cleaner experience.
How to customize apps notifications in the Lock screen
The Lock screen is also capable of showing notifications from apps. Using this feature, you can set a single app to display detailed notifications, and you can show quick notifications for multiple apps.
Setting app detailed status
To set an app to show detailed status, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Under 'Choose an app to show detailed status' section, click the Plus (+) button to select the app you want to see more details in the Lock screen. (Using the None option will disable this feature.)
Once you've completed the steps, notifications with detailed information from the app that you specified will appear in the bottom-left corner of the Lock screen.
Setting apps quick status
To set one or more apps to show the number of unseen updates, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Under 'Choose an app to show quick status' section, click the Plus (+) button to select the app you want to see more details in the Lock screen. (Using the None option removes the item from the experience.)
- Repeat step No.4 to configure quick notifications for additional apps (up to 7).
After completing the steps, in the bottom-left corner of the screen, you'll see icons with badges letting you know the number of unseen updates for each application that you configured to appear in the Lock screen.
How to disable the Lock screen background in the sign-in screen
Using the Lock screen settings, you can even decide if the Sign-in screen uses the same background image as the Lock screen:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Turn off the Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen toggle switch.
Once you've completed the steps, the sign-in screen will no longer include the same image as the Lock screen. Instead, it'll show a solid color background from the current scheme configured in the Personalization settings.
How to allow Cortana above the Lock screen
If your device is equipped with a microphone, you can also use Cortana while in the Lock screen to query basic questions. Here's how:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Click the Cortana lock screen settings option.
- Under the Lock screen section, turn on the Use Cortana even when my device is locked toggle switch.
- (Optional) Check the Let Cortana access my calendar, email, messages, and Power BI data when my device is locked option.
After completing the steps, you can say the command 'Hey Cortana' followed by your question, such as 'How's the weather?' to interact with the assistant in the Lock screen.
How to set screen timeout in the Lock screen
Also, if you always lock your device as you step out of the office using Dynamic lock or manually (Windows key + L), it's also possible to set the time before the screen turns off automatically. Here's how:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click on Lock screen.
- Click the Screen timeout settings option.
- Use the 'Screen' drop-down menu to specify when your display should turn off when the device is plugged in.Quick Tip: If you're changing these settings on a laptop, you'll also see the option to adjust the screen settings when your computer is running on battery.
Once you've completed the steps, the screen will turn off automatically after the device is not active for the amount of time you specified.
More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
On Windows 10, similar to Windows 8.1, the operating system features a Lock screen before you sign in to your account. The new experience showcases date and time, quick status for apps you choose, and more importantly a background image, which typically, users opt to display personal pictures or those from Windows Spotlight.
While the Lock screen provides useful information and beautiful pictures, you probably noticed that your computer's display turns off after 60 seconds when you lock your Windows 10 account. This happens even if you change the power options to never turn off the monitor or never put the computer to sleep.
The reason is that by design, the operating system includes a function that detects when the device is locked and waits for 60 seconds. After the time expires, the computer screen goes black. This is a function, which for a mysterious reason, users can't customize in Control Panel or the Settings app. However, you can modify the Registry to enable a new option in the power settings to change the time to anything you want.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to tweak the Registry (or Command Prompt) to customize the operating system should way until turning the display off, which will give you more time to see the background, status, and interact with Cortana on the Lock screen.
How to change the time when the display turns off when your PC is locked
Witcher fox children lostnerevarine-empire. Important: Before diving into this guide, it's worth noting that editing the registry can be dangerous, and it can cause irreversible damage to your system if you don't do it correctly. It's highly recommended to make a full backup of your PC before proceeding. You've been warned!
- Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command, type regedit, and click OK to open the registry.
- Browse the following path:
HKEYLOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPowerPowerSettings7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc998EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7
- On the right side, double-click the Attributes DWORD.
- Change the value from 1 to 2.
- Click OK.
These steps only enabled the option on Windows 10 called 'Console lock display off timeout.' Now the only thing left to do is to customize this option to any time you want. To do this, use these instructions:
- Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Power Options.
- Click the Change plan settings link for the selected plan.
- Click the Change advanced power settings link.
- On Advanced settings, scroll down and expand the Display settings.
- You should now see the Console lock display off timeout option, double-click to expand.
- Change the default time of 1 minute to the time you want, in minutes.
- Click Apply.
- Click OK to complete the task.
Once you complete the steps, you can test the new settings by locking your computer (Windows key + L keyboard shortcut), and now the screen shouldn't turn off until the time you set expires.
At any time, you can revert the changes by following the previous steps, but this time, on step 4 change the registry value key from 2 to 1.
How to change the Lock screen timeout using Command Prompt
The beauty of Windows is that you can configure the same feature in a number of ways. Alternatively, you can use the PowerCfg.exe utility to change you display timeout setting when your computer is locked. When it's connected to AC power or when your device is running on battery (DC power).
To change the Lock screen timeout using Command Prompt, do the following:
- Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Command Prompt (admin).
- Type the following command and press Enter:
powercfg.exe /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 60
Important: You must change '60' in the command-line with the timeout time you want to use, in seconds. For example, if you want the screen to turned on for 5 minutes, then you need to use 300 at the end of the command. - Type the following command and press Enter:
powercfg.exe /SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT
- Use the Windows key + L keyboard shortcut to lock your PC and see if the new settings work.
The command mentioned in step 2 will work when your computer is using AC power. You must replace /SETACVALUEINDEX for /SETDCVALUEINDEX if you want to change the timeout setting on your laptop or tablet running on battery.
It's worth noting that while changing the Registry settings is an advanced task, during my test, I have found that sometimes using the command lines may settings may not work as expected, but it's an alternative.
On the other hand, changing the Registry worked perfectly, and after making the tweak, I can simply go to the Power Options settings in Control Panel and adjust the Lock screen timeout without having to use any commands.
More Windows 10 resources
For more help articles, coverage, and answers on Windows 10, you can visit the following resources:
If you ever wonder how to change the wallpaper of the Windows 10 lock screen? On this tutorial, you will learn how to change the lock screen wallpaper similar to your desktop wallpaper in few steps.
You can choose your own image or one of the Windows 10 wallpapers.
Change Lock Screen Wallpaper in Windows 10
First, you need to open Personalization using one of these methods:
Method #1: This is the fastest, right-click on the desktop and select Personalize:
Method #2: Press the keys Winkey + I to open Settings and click on Personalization
On the left in Personalization, click on Lock Screen
On the right, you can see several options, in Background, you can choose some options including Windows spotlight, Picture, Slideshow.
Cannot Change Lock Screen Windows 10 Home
Now choose the options that you want, in this case, select Picture or Slideshow if you want multiple images showing in your Lock Screen
There you choose some of Windows 10 predefined pictures or browse your own wallpapers using the Browse button
The wallpaper is previewed at the top of the options.
As easy as that you can quickly change your lock screen wallpaper, you don’t need to apple or click on OK.
This setting isn’t challenging to change; you only need to know where the option is and you quickly can change the wallpaper.
Rating: 5.0/5. From 1 vote.