Personalization Reset and Re-register Windows Spotlight in Windows 11


  • Staff
Windows_Spotlight_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to reset and re-register Windows Spotlight for your account in Windows 11.

In Windows 11, you can have Windows Spotlight as a theme and display different background images on your desktop and lock screen, and occasionally offers suggestions on the lock screen.

If Windows Spotlights stops working and/or stops changing the background image, you can reset and re-register Windows Spotlight to fix it.


Windows Spotlight will not work while connected to a metered network (ethernet or wireless), or in Battery Saver mode.

Windows Spotlight requires Background Apps to be turned on.


Sometimes it may take 24 to 48 hours after resetting for Windows Spotlight to sync again.


Another option is to use the Windows spotlight, dynamic images theme.



EXAMPLE: Windows Spotlight on Desktop and Lock screen

Windows_Spotlight_desktop_background.jpg
Windows_Spotlight_lock_screen.jpg



Here's How:

1 Change your desktop background to something other than Windows Spotlight. (see screenshot below)

This step is only available in Windows 11 build 22557 and higher.


www.elevenforum.com

Change Desktop Background to Spotlight, Picture, Solid Color, or Slideshow in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you different ways to change the desktop background to a picture, solid color, slideshow, or Windows Spotlight image for your account in Windows 11. You can change your desktop background in Windows 11 to be a picture, solid color, a slideshow, or Windows Spotlight...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Windows_Spotlight_desktop_background-1.png

2 Change your lock screen background to something other than Windows Spotlight. (see screenshot below)

www.elevenforum.com

Change Lock Screen Background to Spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you different ways to change the lock screen background to Windows Spotlight, a picture, or slideshow for your account in Windows 11. The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Windows_Spotlight_lock_screen_background-1.png

3 Click/tap on the download button below to download the file below.

Reset_and_re-register_Windows_Spotlight.bat​


(Contents of BAT file for reference)
Code: 
:: Reset Windows Spotlight
DEL /F /S /Q /A "%USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets"
DEL /F /S /Q /A "%USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\Settings"

:: Re-register Windows Spotlight
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage *ContentDeliveryManager*).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}"

4 Save the .bat file to your desktop.

5 unblock and run the .bat file.

6 Restart the computer to apply.

7 After you sign in, you can change your desktop background back to Windows Spotlight if wanted. (see screenshot below)

This step is only available in Windows 11 build 22557 and higher.


www.elevenforum.com

Change Desktop Background to Spotlight, Picture, Solid Color, or Slideshow in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you different ways to change the desktop background to a picture, solid color, slideshow, or Windows Spotlight image for your account in Windows 11. You can change your desktop background in Windows 11 to be a picture, solid color, a slideshow, or Windows Spotlight...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Windows_Spotlight_desktop_background-2.png

8 Change your lock screen background back to Windows Spotlight if wanted. (see screenshot below)

www.elevenforum.com

Change Lock Screen Background to Spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you different ways to change the lock screen background to Windows Spotlight, a picture, or slideshow for your account in Windows 11. The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock (Win+L) the PC. You will need to dismiss the lock screen to to see the...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Windows_Spotlight_lock_screen_background-2.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

  • Reset_and_re-register_Windows_Spotlight.bat
    696 bytes · Views: 212
  • Windows_Spotlight.png
    Windows_Spotlight.png
    4.6 KB · Views: 74
Last edited:
Click to expand...
The problem cleared on 3 PCs but still using the Dynamic Theme app on new build
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Core i7-13700K
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Plus WiFi Z790
    Memory
    64 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Super Gaming OC 8G
    Sound Card
    Realtek S1200A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000 2TB NVME SSD & SATA HDDs & SSD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNova G2 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Digital Media Pro
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    50 Mb / s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
It took many many tries over a few days to solve my Windows Spotlight not working on the lock screen. Finally got it working. Brink's bat file did not work until I also turmed off Microsoft Edge Settings option for startup boost and then logged and back in so that edge would not be running when I ran the bat file. The method for launching the bat file was to open an adminstrator command prompt and use the command line to launch the bat file. Not sure if that makes any difference other than you can see if there are any errors doing it that way. I also had repaired Microsoft Edge a little earlier. At least it works now! My system has never run better.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ABS Master Gaming PC
    CPU
    INTEL i5 10400F
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime B560M-A AC
    Memory
    G.SKILL F4-3200C16D-16GVKB x 2
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DUAL-RTX3060TI-O8G-V2
    Sound Card
    RealTek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAMSUNG 40" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1080p, 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    INTEL 660p NVMe SSD PEKNW512GB
    PSU
    ASUS TUF GAMING BRONZE 650W
    Case
    TUF GAMING GT301
    Cooling
    THERMALTAKE UX100 ARGB
    Keyboard
    TUF GAMING K1
    Mouse
    TUF GAMING M3
    Antivirus
    Windows defender + MBytes Free
Jimbo93 said:
It took many many tries over a few days to solve my Windows Spotlight not working on the lock screen. Finally got it working. Brink's bat file did not work until I also turmed off Microsoft Edge Settings option for startup boost and then logged and back in so that edge would not be running when I ran the bat file. The method for launching the bat file was to open an adminstrator command prompt and use the command line to launch the bat file. Not sure if that makes any difference other than you can see if there are any errors doing it that way. I also had repaired Microsoft Edge a little earlier. At least it works now! My system has never run better.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your feedback. :shawn:

Another option may be to boot into Safe Mode, then perform the steps in the tutorial to not have to worry about anything interfering with the BAT.

www.elevenforum.com

Boot to Safe Mode in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to boot Windows 11 into normal mode, Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, or Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Safe mode starts Windows in a basic state, using a limited set of files and drivers. If a problem doesn't happen in safe mode, this means that default...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
My desktop PC had this issue a couple of times and fixed by trying the .bat file multiple times until randomly the issue was fixed. Now randomly getting the same issue on my ROG Ally. What in the world is going on with Windows 11 and spotlight?!? Seems super flaky to me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ROG Ally
VGAglory said:
My desktop PC had this issue a couple of times and fixed by trying the .bat file multiple times until randomly the issue was fixed. Now randomly getting the same issue on my ROG Ally. What in the world is going on with Windows 11 and spotlight?!? Seems super flaky to me.
Click to expand...
Typical shoddy software engineering by MS
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Core i7-13700K
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Plus WiFi Z790
    Memory
    64 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Super Gaming OC 8G
    Sound Card
    Realtek S1200A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VP2770
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000 2TB NVME SSD & SATA HDDs & SSD
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNova G2 850W
    Case
    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Digital Media Pro
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    50 Mb / s
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
Having seen the number of people reporting this issue, I have reverted to using the Dynamic Theme app and it works perfectly. This spotlight issue seems to stretch right back into the early days of Windows 10. Surely this problem is common enough now for Microsoft to sit up and take note. They are implementing Ai heavily in Windows but can't get a basic picture rotation right on the lock screen. Madness.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ROG Ally
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