Windows 11 Lock Screen Slideshow Not Working [Fix]

Due to the large number of processes that must run in the background to make it happen, the lock screen slideshow or Windows Spotlight may stop working for no apparent reason at times.

Windows 11, like Windows 10, allows you to customize the lock screen by displaying a slideshow of personal images. Although Windows Spotlight retrieves images from the Bing search engine, the Slideshow feature retrieves images from your local hard disk.

Many factors could be at play when the Windows 11 lock screen slideshow is not working, and we’ve compiled a list of all the alternative options you might want to consider.

What can I do if Windows 11 lock screen slideshow is not working?

NOTE

Ensure Windows is activated before attempting any other option, as failing to do so would prevent any slideshow from appearing.

1. Enable the lock screen slideshow manually

1. Press the Windows key + I to open Windows Settings and go to Personalization, then to Lock screen.
   
2. On the right side, you will see a drop-down button named Picture. Expand the list and select the Slideshow option.
   

Images from the Pictures folder are automatically gathered when the program starts. In other words, you may want to include some images there in order for them to be displayed in the lock screen slideshow.

2. Check your images

By default, Windows 11 includes some photographs in the Pictures folder, allowing you to create a slideshow on the lock screen by selecting Show Slideshow on Lock Screen from the Start menu.

Although this is the case, if any of those photographs are accidentally destroyed, you may find yourself in this situation occasionally.

As a point of reference, this Pictures folder is the Library folder that appears when you first boot up your computer or create a new user account in Windows.

3. Re-add folders and images

1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Windows Settings panel and go to Personalization, then to Lock Screen.
   
2. Click on the carrot arrow to expand the Personalize your lock screen drop-down menu and remove from the list the folders with pictures, by clicking on the Remove button next to them.
   
3. Next, click on the Browse button and choose the folder with images.
   

At the end of the process, restart your computer to see if it has resolved your problem.

4. Don’t turn off screen after slideshow

1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Windows Settings panel and go to Personalization, then to Lock Screen.
   
2. Click on Advanced slideshow settings to expand it, navigate to Turn off the screen after the slideshow has played for and select the Don’t turn off option.
   

When the slideshow is over, Windows 11 automatically turns off the screen to conserve energy. By following the abovementioned methods, you can avoid the need to conserve energy.

5. Open Power Options

1. Press the Windows key + S and search for Control Panel. Click on the most relevant result.
   
2. Go to Power options and click on the Change when the computer sleeps option.
   
3. Select Change advanced power settings.
   
4. Expand the Desktop background settings then Slide slow, expand the list, and select the Available option.
   

When using a laptop, it is possible to enable or disable the slideshow depending on your power plan in order to conserve battery life. That being said, it can be causing the problem at hand with Windows 11.

6. Check indexing settings

1. Press the Windows key + S and search for indexing options. Click on the most relevant result to open it.
   
2. Press the Advanced button and switch to the File Types tab.
   
3. Look up the PNG and JPG options and make sure that both of them are ticked. If not, check the boxes next to them and click the OK button to save the changes made.
   

Windows may fail to index a specific path or folder, or kind of file as a result of malware, viruses, and other malicious software.

Alternatively, if the photos you’ve chosen are PNG or JPG and Windows 11 isn’t indexing those file formats, you may experience problems.

7. Check lock screen blocking in Registry Editor

1. Press the Windows key + R , then type regedit and press Enter.
   
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then to Software and Policies. Go to Microsoft, then to Windows followed by Personalization.
   
3. You may find a REG_DWORD named NoLockScreenSlideshow. If so, right-click on it and select the Delete option.

8. Allow lock screen slideshow in GPEDIT

1. Press the Windows key + R , then type gpedit.msc and press the Enter button.
   
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration, then to Administrative Templates. Go to Control Panel followed by Personalization.
   
3. Double click on the Prevent enabling lock screen slide show setting and select either Not Configured or Disabled option, followed by the OK bottom.
   

If you have this option selected, you will be unable to change the lock screen slideshow on Windows 11. As a result, it is necessary to double-check the settings to ensure that they are correct.

Confirm the removal, then restart your computer to make the changes take effect. Check to see if the slideshow is now functioning properly.

Why is Windows activation important?

Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn’t been used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow.


The activation process is distinct from the installation one, which requires a product code to proceed. It also differs from post-installation registration in another way.

A licensed copy of Windows and a specific computer system are linked together through the process of Windows activation.

In principle, creating such a link should prevent the same copy of Windows from being installed on more than one computer, as was previously allowed with older operating system versions.

So, what exactly happens if you don’t activate your Windows 11 operating system? It’s true that nothing bad happens. There will be virtually minimal disruption in system functionality. The only thing that will be unavailable in this situation is personalization, such as the slideshow one.

What does the Windows Spotlight feature do?

Using the Microsoft Bing site as an example, Windows Spotlight will display your photographs and allow you to vote on which image should be used as the lock screen background on your computer’s Windows 11 operating system.

This enables Windows Spotlight to customize the lock screen’s appearance based on each user’s preferences.

The Windows Spotlight service may also learn from the apps and services you use, and over time, it can provide recommendations about which apps you should try out or which features of the Windows 11 operating system you should take advantage of.

The images typically depict identifiable, well-known locations such as famous historical or natural landmarks and rarely show human beings. Location information is occasionally provided, while photo credits are typically not.

If you were paying attention to the Windows slideshow and enjoyed it, you might be interested in learning how to set a live wallpaper in Windows 11. The live aspect of the desktop has proven to be extremely popular among users.

Using the themes and skins that Microsoft Windows 11 provides, you can further tailor your desktop experience. Check out the top ten greatest Windows 11 themes and skins to download, all of them are available for free download.

Besides, find out what to do when the lock screen background reverts to blue on your Windows 11 PC.

Alternatively, if you miss how the previous user interface looked like, you can make Windows 11 look like Windows 10 again.

Let us know in the comments section below which approach worked best for you and which feature of Windows 11 you enjoy the most.