windows spotlight

Windows Spotlight is designed to display different wallpapers and provide suggestions, tips, and organizational messages. However, it is important to note that Windows Spotlight is only available on Windows Enterprise and Education editions.

From your description, it seems that after the latest updates, the functionality of Windows Spotlight may have changed, particularly regarding its interaction with the desktop background settings. If the desktop background is set to a static picture, it appears that Windows Spotlight may not function on the lock screen as you desire. This behavior could be due to the updates you mentioned, which may have altered how these settings interact with each other.

If you want to use Windows Spotlight on the lock screen while keeping a static picture on the desktop background, you might need to check if there are any specific group policies or settings that can be adjusted. Unfortunately, the context does not provide detailed troubleshooting steps for this specific scenario, but it is worth exploring the settings related to Windows Spotlight and lock screen configurations in your system settings or group policy editor.

For further assistance, consider checking Microsoft's official documentation or support channels for any updates or changes regarding Windows Spotlight functionality after the October 2025 updates.

References:

• Configure Windows spotlight (windows-11)
• Configure the desktop and lock screen backgrounds (windows-11)

Hi J-P. F, thanks for sharing the details. I understand how inconvenient it is when Windows Spotlight no longer works on the lock screen unless it’s also set as the desktop background.

First, this change appears to be related to recent Windows 11 updates starting October 2025. Microsoft has modified Spotlight behavior so that lock screen Spotlight now depends on the desktop background setting.

Second, check Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen and confirm that Windows Spotlight is selected for the lock screen. If it’s already set, but still not working when the desktop background is set to Picture, this is likely a design change rather than a bug.

Third, as a workaround, you can keep Spotlight on the lock screen and use a custom picture for the desktop by enabling Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen and adjusting Background settings under Personalization.

Last, if you prefer the old behavior, submit feedback through Feedback Hub (search for “Windows Spotlight lock screen behavior”) so Microsoft can review and possibly restore the previous functionality.

If this helps, please mark the answer as accepted so others can find it too.

-Carl

Good evening, the problem manifests itself differently for me and is not related to the background setting but to the OneDrive login. If you delete your Microsoft account credentials from the Credential Manager, and also delete all the cache files in this path "%localappdata%\Microsoft\TokenBroker\Cache", Spotlight starts working again, but OneDrive, if it is still connected, will work for a few hours after which it will ask you to re-enter your credentials, creating the block again. The alternative is to enter the credentials into the Windows account, since the problem only occurs if the Windows user is a local account. Has Microsoft decided to block the functionality for those who do not use a Microsoft account in Windows? They have been pushing for a long time to prevent the use of local accounts.