Personalization Enable or Disable Changing Desktop Background in Windows 11

Brink · Feb 11, 2023

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable changing the desktop background for specific or all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

You can change your desktop background in Windows 11 to be a picture, solid color, a slideshow, or Windows Spotlight image.

You can disable changing the desktop background to prevent unwanted changes to the desktop background.

You must be signed in as and administrator to enable or disable changing the desktop background.

Contents

Option One: Enable or Disable Changing Desktop Background for All or Specific Users in Local Group Policy Editor
Option Two: Enable or Disable Changing Desktop Background for All Users using REG file

EXAMPLE: Desktop background settings disabled in Windows 11

Option One

Enable or Disable Changing Desktop Background for All or Specific Users in Local Group Policy Editor

The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in the Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

All editions can use Option Two to configure the same policy.

1 Open the all users, specific users or groups, or all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how you want this policy applied.

2 Navigate to the policy location below in the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor. (see screenshot below)

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

3 In the right pane of Personalization in the Local Group Policy Editor, double click/tap on the Prevent changing desktop background policy to edit it. (see screenshot above)

4 Do step 5 (enable) or step 6 (disable) below for what you want.

5 Enable Changing Desktop Background

This is the default setting.

A) Select (dot) Not Configured. (see screenshot below)

B) Click/tap on OK, and go to step 7.

6 Disable Changing Desktop Background

A) Select (dot) Enabled. (see screenshot below)

B) Click/tap on OK, and go to step 7.

7 You can now close the Local Group Policy Editor if you like.

Option Two

Enable or Disable Changing Desktop Background for All Users using REG file

1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you would like to do.

2 Enable Changing Desktop Background for All Users

This is the default setting

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Enable_changing_desktop_background_for_all_users.reg

Download

(Contents of REG file for reference)

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
"NoChangingWallPaper"=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
"NoChangingWallPaper"=-

3 Disable Changing Desktop Background for All Users

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Disable_changing_desktop_background_for_all_users.reg

Download

(Contents of REG file for reference)

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
"NoChangingWallPaper"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
"NoChangingWallPaper"=dword:00000001

4 Save the REG file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.

That's it,
Shawn Brink