If you are tired of seeing the same boring screen when you login to your Windows desktop, we will show you how to change your Windows login screen image. We’ll start with easy steps and then move to advanced tricks and third-party apps. Using these methods, you can make sure Windows greets you with the exact image you want every time you log in.
Content
- Change Windows Login Screen Image Using “Personalization”
- Use Group Policy Editor
- Tweak the Registry Editor
- Run a Login Image Script Using Task Scheduler
- Use Third-Party Applications to Change Login Screen Image
Change Windows Login Screen Image Using “Personalization”
To change your login screen image in Windows, right-click an empty space on your desktop and click Personalize, followed by Lock screen. Alternatively, you can navigate through Settings -> Personalization -> Lock screen.
If you’re on Windows 11, select Personalize your lock screen. Windows 10 users will need to select Background. In either case, you will see three options.
- Windows spotlight will show you a different pretty image each day courtesy of Microsoft.
- Picture lets you select a specific image to have on your lock screen.
- Slideshow lets you select a folder (or folders) where your login screen will cycle through the images for an album. You can press Advanced slideshow settings to fine-tune how the image slideshow will work.
When selecting either Windows Spotlight or Picture, you can click Browse photos to add your own wallpaper to the mix.
Once you’ve selected the background for your lock screen, scroll down in the lock screen window to the option that says Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen. Turn the slider to On, and your login screen will now have the same image as your lock screen, which you can control from this window!
Tip: for more personalization to your Windows desktop, check out our guide on how to set the daily Bing wallpaper as your Windows desktop background
Use Group Policy Editor
You can also use the Local Group Policy Editor to set your own login image, even if Windows Personalization settings are different. This is how network administrators make sure all corporate laptops and school computers have the same login background.
Press Win + R to launch the Run command. Type “gpedit.msc.” Once inside, go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Control Panel -> Personalization.
Double-click on Force a specific default lock screen and logon image. Its default status will display Not configured, but you can change it.
A new window will open. Here you need to change the status of Force a specific default lock screen and logon image to Enabled.
After that, look under Options: just below. Here, the Path to lock screen image field allows you to copy and paste any image path. Find your target image and use its local path, such as C:\Windows\Username\Downloads\ImageName.JPG. If you’re on a shared network, use a LAN path such as \\Server\Share\Imagename.JPG.
Click Apply and OK.
Did you know? it’s possible to take a screenshot of the Windows login screen.
Tweak the Registry Editor
You can also use the Registry Editor to have a lock screen image of your choice during the Windows login process. Using the Run command, type “regedit” to open the Registry Editor. There are two ways to change the logon image.
Method 1
Go down the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
If the Personalization key is not shown, then create it. Add a New String Value named LockScreenImage and set it to the full path of the image.
Method 2
There are some users who prefer a flat color background instead of a dynamic wallpaper. They can use a registry fix that disables the logon image altogether. To do this, navigate the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
Create a new DWORD (32-bit) entry called “DisableLogonBackgroundImage.” Right-click to modify it and set its value to “1.”
Also read: facing the “sign-in option is disabled” error in Windows? We have the fixes.
Run a Login Image Script Using Task Scheduler
Though uncommon, the Task Scheduler method frees you from manually changing the logon screen picture yourself. All you have to do is run a script during PC login with an image gallery that will update automatically every time.
Open the Task Scheduler from the Windows search and go to Task Scheduler Library. Right click Create Basic Task. Give it a name such as “Logon Image-Background.” In the Trigger step, set your task to start at When I log on, and in the Action phase, it should Start a Program.
To Start a Program, make sure you have an image gallery script ready, which is in the form of an EXE file. You can find many wallpaper scripts online. Once you click Finish, the new task comprising a custom wallpaper gallery will be added to your Windows schedule.
Use Third-Party Applications to Change Login Screen Image
Apart from the native Windows methods, you can also use third-party applications from the Microsoft Store and other sources to change your Windows login screen image. There are two good options that are easy to download and install.
Firstly, you can use Easy Lockscreen Changer available on the Microsoft Store. It’s very easy to use. Just select a folder with your favorite images and set how often you want the image to change, from 15 minutes to 3 weeks. Once you click Start, you’ll have a custom lock screen all the time.
Another app that’s also really good is Background Switcher. It allows you to change your background image as well as lock screen image.
The login screen is the first thing you see when you open Windows. In a way, it’s your little window into your Windows experience. The above methods cover everything you need to know to change your login screen. If you want, you can check out our list of awesome Windows screensavers (yes, they still exist!)
Image Credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.
Sayak Boral –
Staff Writer
Sayak Boral is a technology writer with over eleven years of experience working in different industries including semiconductors, IoT, enterprise IT, telecommunications OSS/BSS, and network security. He has been writing for MakeTechEasier on a wide range of technical topics including Windows, Android, Internet, Hardware Guides, Browsers, Software Tools, and Product Reviews.
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