How to Customize Your Windows 10 Lock Screen

You can do a lot of cool things within Windows 10, but you first have to get through the lock screen. Clicking or tapping on it brings you to the sign-in screen where you log into Windows. It might seem unnecessary, but the lock screen carries with it some tidbits that can be useful before you even launch the operating system.

The lock screen can be customized with your favorite background image or slideshow. You can also view your calendar, email, alarms, and local weather. It can even be set to time out or show your screen saver after a certain amount of time. 

To access the settings for your lock screen, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. Here’s how to set everything up.

Windows 10 Lock Screen Background

The first thing you can change is the lock screen image. Under Background, choose between Windows spotlight, a static picture, or a slideshow of multiple images.

If you select Windows spotlight, the lock screen will display different images periodically. If you prefer to make the decision yourself, selecting Picture will allow you to choose from a selection of thumbnails or upload your own images. The Slideshow option will let you choose multiple images to become part of a slideshow of rotating pictures.

If you’re happy with your lock screen image, you can keep the same one for your sign-in screen. Just scroll down in the Lock screen settings page and turn on the option to Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen.

Windows 10 Lock Screen Apps

Windows 10 also allows you to add certain pieces of information to your lock screen. Click the plus sign under Choose one app to show detailed status on the lock screen.

Here, you can opt to see details from Xbox, Messaging, Mail, 3D Viewer, Weather, Calendar, and more. For example, choosing Calendar might show you the day’s appointments, while choosing Weather will display the current temperature.

You can also pick several other apps to display a simpler quick status. Click each icon under the phrase Choose which apps show quick status on the lock screen. Again, you can select such apps as Weather, Messaging, and Calendar, as well as Alarms & Clock, Mail, and Windows Store. The next time the lock screen pops up, you should see information from the apps you chose, assuming any information is available.

Set Your Screen Timeout

If you walk away from your computer for a while, the Lock screen will eventually turn on. You don’t want the screen chewing up battery power and activity, so Windows allows you to control this function. Click the Screen timeout settings link to change screen and sleep settings.

On a laptop, you can control the timeout when it’s plugged in and on battery power. In the section under Screen, you can open the drop-down menus to set the amount of time you want to wait until your screen turns off. In the section under Sleep, you can determine how long to wait until your PC goes to sleep. Windows lets you choose anywhere from one minute to Never.

You can also control your screen saver by clicking the Screen saver settings link at the bottom of the Lock screen page. A small window will open, where you can change your screen saver and set how long before it turns on. Check the box to return to the logon screen when you stop the screen saver. The settings for screen timeout and screen saver apply to all screens, not just the Lock Screen.