The Windows x lock screen is more than than a stylish brandish to cover the login screen. It tin characteristic beautiful backgrounds, awarding statuses, and soon Cortana will live hither, as well. Let usa show y'all how to download those stunning Spotlight images, fix a custom paradigm feed, or disable the lock screen entirely, if you'd rather non be distracted.

If you lot think we've missed a cool lock screen feature, please let us know in the comments section below.

Change Background, Add together Apps & More past Default

Before we delve into some of the options available through apps and edits, permit'south accept a look at what nosotros can practice with the Windows 10 lock screen by default. First, press Windows Key + I to enter the new Settings page and and then click Personalization. From the left-manus menu, select Lock screen.

windows 10 lock screen settings

Y'all can gear up your Groundwork here. Windows spotlight will offer up a random display of curated images from Microsoft. Picture will let you select a single image file from your organization. Finally, Slideshow allows you lot to choose folders that images will automatically exist pulled from. If yous select this, go to Advanced slideshow settings to adjust your inactivity options and more.

Moving downwardly, you lot can Choose an app to testify detailed condition. This is a single app choice, which will display on your lock screen in full. Yous can also Choose apps to show quick status to have a more general overview of other apps. The choices will include default Windows apps, but as well any compatible ones that you've installed.

Vote on Spotlight Images

If you've got Windows Spotlight set equally your lock screen wallpaper, you lot'll be served swish and high quality images directly from Microsoft. When on your lock screen, you can vote on whether you like the particular image displaying. To cast your vote, click Similar what you run into? in the superlative right and then select your option.

windows 10 lock screen vote

If you cull I desire more! then you lot'll get similar images in the futurity; if you like a waterfall, y'all're more likely to get a nature snap. This also increases the run a risk of that same picture reappearing downwardly the line. Alternatively, select Not a fan and it'll be removed from your potential image pool and a new background will immediately show upward.

Sometimes Windows Spotlight will display advertisements. A contempo example was for the video game Rise of the Tomb Raider, where a wallpaper for the game was displayed and a link to purchase the game on the Store was provided. If this occurs and you lot don't want to see it again, be sure to vote accordingly. The only other way to not see these promotions, is to opt out of the Spotlight feature altogether.

Download Spotlight Images

If you've got Windows Spotlight set as your lock screen groundwork, y'all're used to seeing stylish and high quality images before you log in. These pictures wheel through Microsoft's curated selection and there'southward no in-built way to download them for other purposes, like setting them as your desktop groundwork.

spotbright

Enter SpotBright, a free app bachelor on the Microsoft Store. It'due south a simple program that will browse for all the Spotlight images that take been used in the by and allow yous download them to your local device. In fact, you can use it even if you don't have Spotlight enabled.

The free version is supported by adverts, merely you can pay a small price to upgrade to remove them. The paid version volition besides notify you lot when new pictures are available. If you lot stick with the gratuitous version, you lot'll need to manually scan for changes each time.

Subreddit equally a Wallpaper Feed

Reddit is full of weird and wonderful subreddits, many of which offer upwardly loads of high quality images (similar /r/earthporn and /r/wallpapers) that are perfect for using as your lock screen background. Rather than download these manually, it'd exist much easier to automatically pull them through in a feed. This is where an app called Readit comes in handy.

Though primarily used equally a Reddit client for Windows, information technology's got a handy feature tucked away, which we tin brand use of. Launch the app and click the settings cog on the left-paw side.

readit

From here, click Lockscreen & Wallpaper. Switch Update lockscreen automatically to On and utilize the Lockscreen Subreddit dropdown to select which subreddit you wish to apply every bit your image feed. If you don't meet the one y'all want listed, navigate back into the app and subscribe to that subreddit.

You can also set the Update frequency (in hours) to choose how oft you wish the epitome to update.

Disable the Lock Screen

If goose egg here has convinced you to keep the lock screen, there's a subconscious way to disable information technology past creating a new entry in the registry. For this, printing Windows key + R, input regedit,and and then click OK.

Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

Right-click the Windows binder and click New > Primal. Name this new cardinal Personalization and then navigate inside it.

nolockscreen

Right-click inside the right-hand pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it NoLockScreen. So double click this new value and change the Value information to ane. Then click OK and exit the Registry Editor.

If you ever want to reverse this change and bring the lock screen back, navigate back to the NoLockScreen fundamental and change the value to 0.

Locking to the Future

Windows x is an e'er-evolving operating system that will continually be updated. Looking to the future, Microsoft recently demonstrated that the lock screen will take Cortana support, pregnant you can fire questions to the virtual assistant without unlocking the device.

If all of this has got you lot in the mood for some customization, check out our guide on how to change the look and feel of your desktop. Alternatively, if y'all're feeling retro, why not notice out how to get Aero glass back in Windows 10 or make Windows 10 look like Windows 7.

Practice you employ the lock screen on your Windows x device? What absurd things have y'all institute can be done with it?