How to Personalize the Windows 11 Lock Screen

Customizing your Windows 11 computer’s Lock Screen is the first step to making the system look like you own it. Microsoft has made Lockstreen more customizable with Windows 11, along with adding a few other features and improvements.

With this, Microsoft has updated the interface of Windows 11. Besides customizing the Start Menu, you can also customize the Lock screen. This means that your previous lock screen customization settings are reset when you update to the new operating system.

But streamlined menus make it easier than ever to customize your operating system. Read on to see exactly how you can change the look and functionality of your lock screen.

How to Personalize Your Lock Screen

While Windows 11 lets you customize the Lock screen, Microsoft dropped a few things. For starters, Windows 11 no longer supports multiple lock screen widgets, but you can still use widgets on your computer. However, you can use a widget that will appear at the bottom. Here’s how to do this:

Stage 1: Right-click on an empty area of ​​your desktop and select Personalize to bring the contextual menu down.

Step 2: From the Personalization settings menu, click Lock screen.

Stage 3: Select the drop-down menu next to ‘Customize your lock screen’ to choose between Windows Spotlight, Picture or Slideshow.

Note that for Windows Spotlight to work, your computer must be connected to the internet as it automatically downloads new backgrounds every day.

The Slide Show option allows you to select a folder containing photos and automatically rotate them from time to time. Finally, Picture will make it possible for you to select an image file from your computer and set it as your lock screen background.

Step 4: Click the drop-down menu from Lock screen status to select the widget you want to display at the bottom of the lock screen

The widgets you will see in the list depend on the apps you have installed. If you’ve just updated, the only widget options will be stock options like Mail to show your emails and Calendar to view your appointments.

Productivity, finance, or shopping apps available through the Microsoft Store are more likely to include lock screen widgets. Currently, software installed manually using executables does not appear in the widget list.

Step 5: Enable ‘Show lock screen background image on login screen’. This allows Windows to display your lock screen wallpaper on the login screen.

You will only see the PIN security screen if you have set a password for your user account. In addition, the themes you have installed and applied will not have any effect on your lock screen.

Additional Settings You Can Change

The Lock Screen customization page also contains related settings that affect how your lock screen behaves. You can change how long the screen stays active when you are not using your computer by following these steps:

Stage 1: Open the Settings app, click on Personalization and select Lock Screen in the right pane. Next, click on Screen timeout.

Step 2: Select the display and sleep option.

Stage 3: You can change the two values ​​and set the timeout to anything between 5 minutes and Never.

Some of these settings will only be useful if you are using a laptop. You can also set a screen saver to appear on your screen when you’re not using your computer:

Stage 1: Open the Settings app, click on Personalization and select Lock Screen in the right pane.

Step 2: Select Screen Saver from the Lock Screen personalization page.

Stage 3: Open the drop-down menu under the Screen Saver section. This will open another popup.

Step 4: Choose a screen saver from the list.

Step 5: Change the Wait value to set how long Windows 11 waits before displaying the screen saver. This means that the screen saver will appear only after the time you specify.

You can also check the ‘Display the login screen as you continue’ option, which will show the login screen option when you want to use your computer again.

Personalize Lock Screen

While Microsoft has reduced some of the customization freedom that Windows 10 offers, you can change the operating system to look the way you want.

Everything from the start menu to the taskbar and cursor is customizable. Follow the steps presented above and make your Windows 11 installation reflect your personality.