Lock Screen slideshow not working in Windows 11/10

The Lock Screen slideshow adds panache to the overall UI. However, as of late, some Windows 11 and Windows 10 users have started complaining that the Lock Screen slideshow is not working. In this article, we are going to see how to resolve the issue with some simple solutions.

Lock Screen slideshow not working in Windows 11/10

If the Lock Screen slideshow not working on Windows 11/ or Windows 10 computer, first check if your PC needs any Windows Updates. Updating can not only resolve some of the most issues, but it is also a good practice. After updating, these are the things you can do to resolve the issue.

1. Enable Slideshow Manually
2. Make sure that images are not deleted
3. Re-add folders
4. Don’t turn off the screen after the slideshow has played
5. Change Power Options Settings
6. Check Group Policy
7. Check Registry Editor
8. Check Indexing Options

Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Enable Slideshow  Manually

Let us start by enabling Slideshow from Windows 11 Settings. It is quite easy and you can follow the given steps to do the same.

1. Open Settings by Win + I.
2. Then go to Personalization > Lock screen.
3. From the drop-down menu of Personalize your lock screen, select Slideshow.

Now, restart your computer and see if the issue persists.

2] Make sure that the images are not deleted

Both Windows 11 and Windows 10 have a picture folder that is used by the OS to do the Slideshow. However, sometimes, by accident, users tend to delete these images or the folder itself. In that case, the slideshow won’t work on your system. Therefore, you need to make sure that the folder is not deleted. You can open File Explorer and see if the Picture folder is available.

3] Re-add folders

There are two scenarios in which this solution can be applied, you have deleted images or there is some glitch in the added folder. If the former is what you are dealing with, there is no need to remove anything, just go to Settings > Personalization > Lockscreen, and then under Personalize your lock screen, you will see the Browse button placed next to Add an album for your slideshow.

However, if a folder is already attached, then you need to remove it and then re-add that folder.

4] Don’t turn off the screen after the slideshow has played

Windows tend to turn off the screen after the slideshow has been played in order to preserve the battery. Some users complaining about the slideshow not working issue are oblivious to this feature. However, you can control it. So, if you don’t like this setting, you should disable it and let the slideshow run continuously. Follow the given steps to do the same.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Personalization > Lock screen.
3. In Advanced slideshow settings, go to “Turn off screen after slideshow has played for”, and use the drop-down menu to select Don’t turn off.

Now, you won’t face this issue.

5] Change Power Options Settings

If you are seeing this issue when you are on battery and not when you are plugged in, then you need to check your Power Options and see if Slideshow on the battery is disabled. Follow the given steps to do the same.

1. Open Control Panel by searching it out of the Start Menu.
2. Make sure to change View by to Large icons.
3. Then click Power Options.
4. Now, click Change plan settings of the selected power plan.
5. Go to Change advanced power settings.
6. Expand Desktop background settings > Slideshow > On battery and then select Available from the drop-down menu.

Now, you need to restart your computer and you will see that you are not facing this issue anymore.

6] Check Group Policy

You need to make sure that the slideshow is not disabled in Group Policy. This solution is for Enterprise/Pro variants of Windows, so, if you don’t have Windows 10 or Windows 11 Enterprise/Pro, you can skip this solution and move to the next one as you won’t have Group Policy.

Open Group Policy by searching it out of the Start Menu. Then navigate to the following location.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

Now, look for Prevent enabling lock screen slide show, double-click on the policy to open it, select the Not Configured or Disabled option, and click Apply > Ok.

Disables the lock screen slide show settings in PC Settings and prevents a slide show from playing on the lock screen. By default, users can enable a slide show that will run after they lock the machine. If you enable this setting, users will no longer be able to modify slide show settings in PC Settings, and no slide show will ever start.

7] Check Registry Editor

If you don’t have Group Policy Editor then you will have Registry Editor. You need to check if the Registry is configured in a way to stop the slideshow.

Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization

Then look for NoLockScreenSlideshow and delete the key or set its value to 0.

8] Check Indexing Options

Sometimes, Windows fails to index certain file types. Some of these files won’t bother you but if it fails to index JPEG or PNG, then the slideshow won’t work on your system. Therefore, it is recommended to check the Indexing Options and make sure that both these file types are indexed. To do that, follow the given steps.

1. Hit Win + S and search out “Indexing Options”.
2. Then click on the Advanced button.
3. Go to the File types tab.
4. Now, look for JPEG, JPG, or PNG files, tick them and click Ok.

Finally, restart your computer and see if the issue persists.

Bonus Tip: Use Windows Spotlight

Similar to Slideshow, Windows Spotlight is a great way to make your lock screen look enthralling. It’s just that, you need an Internet connection all time. Windows will use the Internet to extract images from Bing and then put different images on your lock screen. It’s easy to enable as well and you can just follow the given steps to enable it.

1. Open Settings by Win + I.
2. Click Personalization > Lock screen.
3. From the drop-down menu of Personalize your lock screen, select Windows Spotlight.

This is how you can enable the feature on Windows.

Why is my Wallpaper Slideshow not working?

Your Wallpaper Slideshow may not work if there is some app that’s stopping its normal functioning. Also, this feature may be disabled in Control Panel’s Power Option when you are on battery.

How do you make your background a Slideshow on Windows 11?

If you want to enable Background Slideshow on Windows 11, you can follow the steps mentioned here.

1. Open Settings either by searching it out from the Start Menu or by Win + I.
2. Now, go to Personalization > Background.
3. From the Personalize your background, select Slideshow.

If you want to customize it a bit, you can even add a folder by clicking on the Browse option, then navigate to the location where you have stored images, then open them. You can also change the timing after which the picture should be updated by changing the drop-down menu of Change picture every. There are some other options that you can change such as Shuffle the picture order or Let slideshow run even if I’m on battery power.

That’s it!