HomeWinBuzzer TipsHow to Customize Your Lock Screen Wallpaper and Notifications in Windows 10

How to Customize Your Lock Screen Wallpaper and Notifications in Windows 10

We walk you through the customization of your lock screen in Windows 10, including how to change your lock screen wallpaper, set up notifications, and turn off tips.

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The lock screen may seem like a small aspect of your experience, but the truth is that most of us look at it multiple times a day. Anything that you see that regularly is worth making your own.

Thankfully, provides several options to customize your lock screen, though you still don't get quite as much freedom as we'd like. You can, for example, change your Windows 10 lock screen wallpaper, whether it shows tips and tricks, the notifications you get from apps, and whether you can use Cortana from it.

In this guide, we'll be showing you how to do all of the above. By the end, you'll have a nice custom lock screen in Windows 10 that you can call your own.

How to Change Lock Screen Wallpaper in Windows 10

Changing your lock screen in Windows 10 is simple enough that you may not even need our help. However, it is buried under a few settings menus, so we'll show you how either way.

  1. Open Settings


    Press Start and then click the cog above the power button to open the Settings app.

    Windows 10 - Open Settings

  2. Click ‘Personalization'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization

  3. Press ‘Lock screen' in the sidebar

    Then, in the main pane, look for the drop-down underneath “Background”. Click the dropdown beneath to find more options.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background

  4. Option 1: Click ‘Windows spotlight'


    Windows spotlight is a feature that automatically downloads beautiful images from Bing to use as your windows background. In certain regions, you may also notice that it displays advertisements.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Windows Spotlight

  5. Option 2: Picture


    As you might expect, the picture option lets you set a custom Windows 10 lock screen wallpaper. This has to be an image you've downloaded from the internet rather than a URL.

    You can set it by pressing “Browse”, finding it in File Explorer, and pressing “Open”.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Picture

  6. Option 3: Slideshow


    If you're indecisive like me, you might want to click the “Slideshow” option. Rather than a single image, this lets you cycle your lock screen background between a group of them. This is great for family photos, for example.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Slideshow
  7. Removing the pictures folder from your slideshow


    By default, Windows 10 will use the pictures folder for your slideshow. In my experience, my pictures folder clogs up will all kinds of images that aren't suitable for a background. If you want to remove it, first click “Pictures” under the “Choose albums for your slideshow” heading.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Slideshow - Select Pictures

  8. Click ‘Remove'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Slideshow - Remove Album

  9. Add a folder or folders to your slideshow 


    You can now add any folder you like to act as the image source for your slideshow. You can even add multiple folders if you have images in separate locations. 

    To do this, just press the “Add a folder” button.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Background - Slideshow - Add a Folder

  10. Navigate to your folder and press ‘Choose this folder'


    Repeat this process for any other folders you'd like to include.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Select Slideshow - Add a Folder - Choose a Folder

  11. Click ‘Advanced slideshow settings'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Select Slideshow - Open Advanced Slideshow Settings

  12. Change your slideshow settings


    I would recommend leaving “Only use pictures that fit my screen” ticked, as otherwise, you may get square images with black bars around them. The others are down to personal preference.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Use Background Drop-down - Select Slideshow - Advanced Settings - Select on or Off

  13. Turn lock screen tips on or off


    If you'd like, you can get fun facts, tips, and other tidbits on your lock screen. Some people will enjoy these, but others will just find them distracting.

    You can toggle them on or off by flipping the toggle underneath “Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen”.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Get Fun Facts, Tips, and More from Windows and Cortana on Your Lock Screen

How to Add or Change Windows 10 Lock Screen Apps

One lesser-known customization feature for the Windows 10 lock screen is the ability to designate an app to receive detailed notifications. You can add an additional 8 that will display a quick status.

  1. Open Settings


    Press Start and press the settings cog above the power button.

    Windows 10 - Open Settings

  2. Click ‘Personalization'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Open Personalization

  3. Add app notifications to your Windows 10 lock screen


    In the settings sidebar, click “Lock screen”. Then, in the main pane, click the plus underneath “Choose one app to show detailed status on the lock screen”.

  4. Choose the app you want detailed notifications for


    In the pop-up list, select the lock screen app you want detailed notifications for. The best choice is usually the one you use the most, such as mail or calendar.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization App to Show Detailed- Select App

  5. Add quick status apps to the lock screen


    Underneath that, you can select or change the lock screen apps that you want a quick status for. Press the “+” button on any of the eight squares to do so. A quick status shows the number of unseen updates for any supported app.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Lock Screen - Choose Which Apps Show Quick Status on the Lock Screen

  6. Choose the quick status app you want from the list


    In the pop-up list, click the app that you want to have quick status on the lock screen.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization Add App to Show Quick Status - Select App


How to Remove a Lock Screen Wallpaper from the Sign-in screen

If you want your lock screen background image to be different from your sign-in screen, you can also do so. With the guide below, this should take less than a minute.

  1. Open Settings


    Press the Start button and then the settings cog above the power button.

    Windows 10 - Open Settings

  2. Press ‘Personalization'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Open Personalization

  3. Remove your lock screen wallpaper from the sign-in screen


    Click “Lock screen” in the sidebar to access lock screen settings. Scroll down to the very bottom. You'll see a heading that says, “Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen”. Press the toggle below it to enable or disable the option.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Turn off Lock Screen Background Picture

 

How to Allow Cortana Above the Lock Screen

Though it isn't widely used, you can also make it so Cortana will work even when your computer is locked. This allows you to shout random questions or actions across the room for her to perform.

Just be aware that you may not have this option if you don't have a microphone attached to your PC or have a later Windows version. Here's how to turn it on if you do:

  1. Open Settings


    Press Start, then click the settings cog above the power button.

    Windows 10 - Open Settings

  2. Click ‘Personalization'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Open Personalization

  3. Press ‘Lock screen' in the sidebar, then ‘Cortana lock screen settings'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Open Cortana Lock Screen Settings

  4. Turn Cortana for the lock screen on or off


    At the top of the many, you'll see a section that says, “Use Cortana even when my device is locked”. Toggle the switch to “On” and optionally tick “Let Cortana access my calendar, email, messages, and Power BI data when my device is locked.”.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Cortana Lock Screen Settings

How to Customize the Lock Screen Timeout in Windows 10

If you'd like to use your computer lock screen as decoration, you can modify your settings so that it never times out and turns off. You can also change this setting if you want it to turn off earlier to conserve battery.

  1. Open settings


    Press Start, then click the settings cog above the power button.

    Windows 10 - Open Settings

  2. Press ‘Personalization'


    Windows 10 - Settings - Open Personalization

  3. Open screen timeout settings


    Press “Lock screen” in the sidebar to access lock screen settings, then press “Screen timeout settings” towards the bottom of the main pane.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Open Screen Timeout Settings

  4. Change your screen timeout settings


    Clicking the link in the previous section will take you to the Screen section of the Power & sleep settings. Look for the sections that say, “On battery power, turn off after” and “When plugged in,” turn off after”, and adjust the dropdowns to suit your preferences.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Personalization - Lock Screen - Screen Timeout Settings

There you have it. With this guide concluded you should have a good idea of how to customize your lock screen in Windows 10. If you have any other tips and tricks, let us know below.

In the meantime, you may want to disable the lock screen entirely, disable just the login screen, or fix issues with Windows Spotlight.

 
Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.

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