Windows Spotlight is an option for the lock screen and desktop background that displays different Bing daily background images, and occasionally offers fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on the lock screen.
If you don’t like the current Windows Spotlight picture on your lock screen or desktop, you can switch to the next picture on demand to change it.
This tutorial will show you how to switch to the next Windows Spotlight picture on the desktop and/or lock screen for your account in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock the computer (Win+L). You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
Users can change their lock screen background to Windows Spotlight, a picture, or a slideshow by default.
When you select to use picture or slideshow as your lock screen background, you can select to Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen for your account in Windows 11.
Notifications are alerts from apps, system, and other senders.
Windows 11 shows notifications on the lock screen (Win+L), Notification Center (Win+N), and notification banners at the lower-right corner of the screen above the taskbar on the main display.
You can choose to hide content of notifications from apps when on the lock screen for privacy.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off hide content when notifications are on the lock screen for your account in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock the computer (Win+L). You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
Users can change their lock screen background to Windows Spotlight, a picture, or a slideshow by default.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable changing the lock screen background for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock the computer (Win+L). You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
There are two separate lock screens in Windows 11.
The time on the lock screen displays the system time in a 12 hour clock format by default.
If you like, you can have the lock screen time display in a 24 hour clock format (aka: Military Time).
This tutorial will show you how to change the lock screen to display time in a 12 or 24 hour clock format in Windows 11.
In Windows 11, you can have Windows Spotlight display different background images on your desktop and lock screen, and occasionally offers suggestions on the lock screen.
If Windows Spotlights stops working and/or stops changing the background image, you can reset and re-register Windows Spotlight to fix it.
This tutorial will show you how to reset and re-register Windows Spotlight for your account in Windows 11.
Windows Hello is a more personal, more secure way to get instant access to your Windows 11 devices using a PIN, facial recognition, or fingerprint. You’ll need to set up a PIN as part of setting up fingerprint or facial recognition sign-in, but you can also sign in with just your PIN.
These options help make it easier and safer to sign into your PC because your PIN is only associated with one device and it’s backed up for recovery with your Microsoft account.
You can set up facial recognition sign-in with your PC’s infrared camera or an external infrared camera.
After you set up your face with Windows Hello, you can turn on or off to automatically unlock the lock screen when Windows Hello recognizes your face to sign in.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off automatically dismiss the lock screen if Windows Hello recognizes your face in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
For added security, you can enable secure sign-in to require users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete on the lock screen before signing in. This guarantees that the authentic Windows sign-in screen appears, protecting the system from programs that mimic a sign-in to retrieve password info.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable secure sign-in to require users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete on the lock screen before signing in to Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
If you prefer, you can disable the lock screen to only see the sign-in screen at startup and when users lock (Win+L) the computer.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the lock screen for all users in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
If your Windows 11 device (ex: tablet) has an accelerometer, the lock screen background by default will pan around a still image as you physically move your device.
If you prefer a traditional static lock screen background image, you can prevent lock screen background motion.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable lock screen background motion for your account or all users in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign-in screen and sign in to Windows.
The lock screen background picture will show on the sign-in screen by default.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable show lock screen background on the sign-in screen for your account or all users in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the sign in screen and sign in to Windows.
You can choose an app to show detailed status on the lock screen.
You can select to have Windows Spotlight, picture, or slideshow as the lock screen background.
This tutorial will show you different ways to change the lock screen background to Windows Spotlight, a picture, or slideshow for your account in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the stand by screen you see at startup, when you lock the computer, or when you sign out and are idle at least one minute.
The lock screen displays a background image, time, date, detailed status of selected app, and notifications by default.
When you dismiss the lock screen, you will see the sign-in screen.
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off showing notifications on the lock screen for your account in Windows 11.
The lock screen is the screen you see when you lock your PC (or when it locks automatically after you haven’t been using it for a while). The lock screen will also show at startup, and when you are signed out and idle for one minute. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to be able to see the sign in screen and sign in to Windows. Users can dismiss the lock screen using touch, the keyboard, or by dragging it up with the mouse.
Starting with Windows 10 build 18932, a new hidden experimental feature is available to enable adding a search box on the lock screen allowing users to search the web with Bing directly on the lock screen.
If enabled, the search box will only be on the lock screen when users lock the computer (Win+L). The search box will not be available on the lock screen at startup.
When users type in the search box, it will show them Bing web search results. If a user clicks/taps on a link in the search results, it will only open in Microsoft Edge after they sign in.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable a search box on the lock screen to search the web with Bing for all users in Windows 10.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock the computer.
Users can select to use Windows Spotlight, a custom single picture, or a custom slideshow of images as their lock screen background.
This tutorial will show you how to find and save custom background images displayed on the lock screen for users in Windows 10.
The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock the computer. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to be able to see the sign in screen and sign in to Windows 10.
By default, the lock screen for your account will display notifications, and show the detailed status and quick status of apps you choose.
You can choose none or one app to show detailed status on your lock screen, displaying up to three strings of text.
You can choose none or up to seven apps to show quick status on your lock screen, displaying up to one short string of text.
This tutorial will show you how to choose apps to show detailed and quick status of on the lock screen for your account in Windows 10.