Windows Spotlight is a feature introduced by Microsoft through Windows 10. When the Spotlight feature is enabled on Windows 10 or Windows 11 PCs, images are downloaded daily from Bing. The images are used as the background image on the PC lock screen.
While Windows Spotlight is a great feature for introducing variety to your lock screen backgrounds, it's not without its challenges. One of those challenges is when the feature stops working. That is, the images no longer change, which can be due to a number of reasons.
Ways to Fix Windows Spotlight Image Not Working
If your PC is running Windows 10 or Windows 11 and the Spotlight feature is not active, it may be due to any of the following reasons:
- Background apps disabled
- Corrupt system images in Spotlight folder
- Incorrect locale setting
- Bad internet connection.
Now that you have an idea of what causes Windows Spotlight images to stop working, here is what you can do to fix it:
Enabling Background Applications
Windows Spotlight uses Bing images for the lock screen background image. Windows Spotlight could be affected if Microsoft Edge (the browser that runs Bing as the default search engine) doesn't work. Here's how to fix it:
Step 1: Click on the Start menu and select the gear icon that represents Settings.
Step 2: In the Settings windows, click Privacy.
Step 3: Scroll through the options under App Permissions and select Background apps on the left panel.
Step 4: Scroll through the list of apps and make sure Settings and Microsoft Edge are turned on.
Cleaning corrupted Spotlight images
Cleaning the Spotlight images folder is an easy way to fix Windows Spotlight image not working. You can follow the steps below to use this method:
Step 1: Click the Start button and search for Run. Alternatively, you can just press Windows + R keys on your keyboard simultaneously.
Step 2: Enter the path of the command below in the box in the Run window:
% USERPROFILE% / AppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewySettings
Step 3: Press Enter on your keyboard or click OK and this should open the PC Settings folder.
Step 4: Right-click the settings.dat file and select Rename.
Step 5: Rename the file to settings.dat.bak.
Step 6: Right-click on the roaming.lock file and select Rename.
Step 7: Rename the file to roaming.lock.bak.
Step 9: After the computer restarts, click on the Start menu and select Settings.
Step 10: From Windows settings, click on Personalization option.
Step 11: In the left pane of the window, select Lock screen.
Step 12: Click on the Background drop-down menu and then select Windows Spotlight.
Once you're done with these steps, you can run a quick test to make sure Windows Spotlight. Lock your computer by pressing the Windows + L keys simultaneously on your keyboard. You should see new images every time you try to log in.
Resetting Windows Spotlight with PowerShell
If the other methods above don't work, you can try resetting Windows Spotlight with PowerShell. Is that how it works:
Step 1: From Windows Settings, click on Personalization option.
Step 2: In the left pane of the window, select Lock screen.
Step 3: Click on the Background drop-down menu and then select Image or Slideshow.
Step 4: Click Start and then search for PowerShell.
Step 5: Go to Windows PowerShell results and then select Run as administrator.
Step 6: Copy and paste or type the command below:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers * ContentDeliveryManager * | foreach {Add-AppxPackage "$ ($ _. InstallLocation) appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -register}
Step 7: Press Enter on the PC.
Step 9: From the Start menu, launch Windows Settings.
Step 10: From Windows settings, click on Personalization option.
Step 11: In the left pane of the window, select Lock screen.
Step 12: Click on the Background drop-down menu and then select Windows Spotlight.
Once you complete this process, Windows Spotlight should start working normally.
Save Windows Spotlight Images
That's it for how to fix Windows Spotlight images not working. Once Windows Spotlight function starts working again, you can also save Spotlight images as background of your PC or other use.
The entry The 3 main ways to fix the image of Windows Spotlight not working was first published in TecnoTuto .
