5 ways to change Theme in Windows 11/10

In Windows 11 or Windows 10, a Theme may specify the accent color for apps and window frames and may include one or several desktop backgrounds, a set of sounds, mouse cursors, and desktop icons. In this post, in addition to changing the theme via the Settings app, we will show you 5 other ways to change the Theme in Windows 11/10. You can change Windows Themes via Command Prompt, PowerShell, Control Panel, Explorer, etc.

5 ways to change Theme in Windows 11/10

A theme file is a classic text file containing parameters, values and resources such as wallpapers are usually located in a subdirectory. Microsoft uses the Themepack and Deskthemepack archive (ZIP or CAB) package files that contain all the theme resources to simplify theme sharing and for their redistribution via the Microsoft Store. There are three types of themes stored in different locations in Windows 11/10 viz;

My Themes — manually created or saved, or downloaded and installed from a themepack file or Microsoft Store. These themes are saved in the %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes folder.
Windows Default Themes — pre-installed themes on your Windows OS. These themes are stored in the C:\Windows\Resources\Themes folder.
High Contrast Themes — specially made for people with vision problems and are part of the Ease of Access feature. These themes can be found in the C:\Windows\Resources\Ease of Access Themes folder.

There are several ways to change the theme in Windows 11/10. We will discuss these methods as follows:

1] Change Theme via Desktop

The easiest method to change the theme in Windows 11/10 is via the desktop. To change the Theme via Desktop, do the following:

Right-click on an empty area on the Desktop.
Select Personalise from the context menu.
In the Personalisation window, under the Select a theme to apply section, simply click the theme you want.

2] Change Theme via File Explorer

To change Theme via File Explorer in Windows 11/10, do the following:

Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer.
Navigate to the folder below or any other folder containing the theme you want to apply

C:\Windows\Resources\Themes

At the location, double-click the theme file for the theme you want.
Close the Settings app that automatically opens once you double-click the theme file.
Close File Explorer.

3] Change Theme via Command Prompt

To change Theme via Command Prompt in Windows 11/10, do the following:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box, type cmd and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
In the command prompt window, type or copy and paste the path below OR the full path to the theme file you want and hit Enter:

start "" "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"

The theme will be applied and the Personalisation page in Settings app will automatically open. you can close the Settings app. If you want the theme to be applied without you having to interact with extra windows, run the modified command as follows:

start "" "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme" & timeout /t 3 & taskkill /im "systemsettings.exe" /f

When the command executes, it will apply the theme, wait for 3 seconds with the timeout command, and forcibly close the Settings app with the taskkill app.

4] Change Theme via PowerShell

To change Theme via PowerShell in Windows 11/10, do the following:

Press Windows key + X to open Power User Menu.
Tap I on the keyboard to launch PowerShell (Windows Terminal).
In the PowerShell console, type or copy and paste the path below OR the full path to the theme file you want and hit Enter:

start-process -filepath "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"

start-process -filepath "C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"; timeout /t 3; taskkill /im "systemsettings.exe" /f

5] Change Theme via Control Panel

To change Theme via Control Panel in Windows 11/10, do the following:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box, copy and paste the shell command below and hit Enter:

shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}

In the Personalisation window, click the desired theme under the My Themes, Windows Default Themes, or High Contrast Themes sections.
Exit Control Panel when done.

That’s it on the 5 ways to change Theme in Windows 11/10! Let us know in the comments section below if you know any other method to perform this task.

Tip: PC users can personalize your computing experience, and can make your system faster, and private using our Ultimate Windows Tweaker 5.

Does Windows 10 themes work on Windows 11?

Most of the themes are old ones from Windows 10 and they have been adapted for Windows 11 but that’s still a huge selection to consider. You can right-click anywhere on your desktop and click on Personalize > select Themes to apply any of the installed themes on your PC, or click on Browse themes to find some more themes on the Microsoft Store.

Are Windows 10 themes safe?

Themes from Microsoft are generally fine; but be cautious of any other source. Some ‘themes’ include screensavers that contain malware. Make sure your Windows 11/10 PC is running an active and updated antivirus software.