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Quick Answer

Right-click your desktop, select Personalize, and click Background or Lock screen to choose a new image.

How to Change Your Desktop Wallpaper and Lock Screen in Windows ​

Applies to: Windows 11, Windows 10
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-03-09

Summary ​

Personalizing your desktop wallpaper and lock screen makes your workspace feel more comfortable and helps you quickly identify your own device in shared office environments. This article explains how to change both the desktop background and the lock screen image using built-in Windows settings — no admin rights required.

Prerequisites ​

  • Windows 10 or Windows 11.
  • No admin rights required.

Instructions ​

1. Change the Desktop Wallpaper ​

Set a new background image for your desktop.

  1. Right-click any empty area on the desktop.
  2. Select Personalize (Windows 11) or Personalize > Background (Windows 10).
  3. Under Personalize your background, choose one of the following options:
    • Picture — Select from the default images or click Browse photos to choose your own file.
    • Solid colour — Pick a single colour from the palette.
    • Slideshow — Select a folder of images and Windows will rotate through them.
    • Windows Spotlight — Displays rotating high-quality images from Microsoft (Windows 11 only).
  4. If using Picture, click Browse photos, navigate to your image, and select it.
  5. The wallpaper changes immediately.

2. Adjust How the Wallpaper Fits ​

Control how the image is displayed on your screen.

  1. In Settings > Personalization > Background, scroll down to Choose a fit for your desktop image.
  2. Select one of the following:
    • Fill — Scales the image to fill the screen (may crop edges).
    • Fit — Scales the image to fit without cropping (may show bars).
    • Stretch — Stretches the image to fill the screen (may distort).
    • Tile — Repeats the image across the screen.
    • Centre — Displays the image at its original size in the centre.
    • Span — Stretches the image across multiple monitors.
  3. The preview updates immediately.

3. Set Up a Slideshow ​

Rotate through a folder of images automatically.

  1. In Settings > Personalization > Background, select Slideshow from the dropdown.
  2. Click Browse and select a folder containing your images.
  3. Set the Change picture every interval (1 minute to 1 day).
  4. Optionally, enable Shuffle the picture order for a random rotation.
  5. Windows will cycle through the images in the selected folder.

4. Change the Lock Screen Background ​

Customize the image shown when your computer is locked.

  1. Press Win+I to open Settings.
  2. Go to Personalization > Lock screen.
  3. Under Personalize your lock screen, choose:
    • Windows Spotlight — Rotating images from Microsoft with tips and suggestions.
    • Picture — A single image of your choice.
    • Slideshow — A rotating set of images from a selected folder.
  4. If using Picture, click Browse photos and select your image.
  5. The lock screen updates the next time you lock your computer (press Win+L to test).

5. Add or Remove Lock Screen Widgets ​

Control the information displayed on your lock screen.

  1. In Settings > Personalization > Lock screen, scroll to Lock screen status.
  2. Select which app's status to show on the lock screen (e.g., Mail, Calendar, Weather).
  3. To remove widgets, select None from the dropdown.
  4. Optionally, uncheck Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen to use a plain background at sign-in.

Troubleshooting ​

INFO

Some organisations apply a group policy that locks the wallpaper or lock screen to a company-branded image. If you cannot change these settings, your IT department has applied a policy restriction.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Wallpaper settings are greyed outGroup policy restrictionAsk IT to confirm the desktop wallpaper is locked to a company image, and whether the lock screen can still be changed separately.
Slideshow is not rotating imagesFolder contains unsupported file typesEnsure the folder contains .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .bmp files only.
Lock screen still shows the old imageChange has not been applied yetPress Win+L to lock your computer and verify the new lock screen image.