Windows 10 Lock Screen

Nov 122016

Don’t like the Windows 10 lock screen? There’s good news and there’s bad news

On the first release of Windows 10 it was possible to stop the “lock screen” or “sign-in” screen from appearing – see my own blog article on the Windows Lock Screen, for instance.

Figure 1. Why no option to stop these pictures from appearing?

However, with the release of the “anniversary update” in July(ish) of this year, this has no longer been possible. I gather from some of the things I have read on the internet about this subject that there are some people who actually like seemingly random, over-photoshopped, ghastly “photographs” appearing on their screens when they switch on. Microsoft certainly seem to think that people must like them – see the writing on the image in Figure 1. Note that there is no option there that says “No, I hate this pointless, ugly, distraction. Please remove it – permanently”.

Is this meant to be a night scene?

I’ve been trying to find how to get rid of it in the latest versions of Windows 10. I thought I came across something once, but it didn’t work – at least, not on my machine. So, that’s the bad news.

Having just bought myself a new laptop, I thought that this is a good time to try again. I failed. However, I’ve worked out that it’s fairly simple to rid oneself of the awful jarring sensation of seeing these monstrosities and of being bomabarded with multiple, un-necessary, changing, images upon every re-boot.

So here’s the good news. All you have to do is select a lock screen image that is the same as your normal desktop image. This can even be an image of a single, flat, colour if you wish. All that is necessary is to have a suitable image on your computer.

To change your desktop background image:

Click on the “Start” button
Type the word “background” (without the quotes)
Click on the option that says “Background settings”
In the dropdown selection box beneath “Background”, ensure that “Picture” is selected
Click on “Browse” and select the desired picture. Remember which picture you chose as this is the same one you will choose below
If the image isn’t the same dimensions as the screen then you may have to play with the different options under “Choose a fit” to find the best match between the screen and the image
Close the Background Settings (“x” in top right corner)

To change your lock screen image:

Click on the “Start” button
Type the word “lock” (without the quotes)
Click on the option that says “Lock screen settings”
In the dropdown selection box beneath “Background”, ensure that “Picture” is selected
Click on “Browse” and select the desired picture. This is the same picture as selected for the desktop background (above)
You may wish to slide the next setting to the left (off) position (unless, of course, you actually want “fun facts, tips and more from Windows”)
Make sure that the slider is set to “on” underneath “Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen”
Close the Lock Screen Settings (“x” in top right corner)

Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental

Upon re-booting, you will find that everything feels calmer and more “normal” than before.

Like a lot of people writing similar articles, I’ve been a bit naughty in using the phrases “lock screen” and “sign-in screen” as if they were the same thing. They are not. The “sign-in screen” is what appears when you first switch the machine on. The “lock screen” is what appears (when enabled) when you dismiss the screensaver and need to log back in again. Microsoft also call this the log-in screen. So, strictly speaking, we can get rid of the lock screen by changing the screensaver settings (just click on the Start menu and type in “screen saver” (without the quotes) and then click on “Change screen saver)). It’s the sign-in screen that we can no longer completely get rid of.

The new laptop? A Dell 15 XPS i7. Very pleased with it, so far, and it’s so convenient getting John Lewis to deliver to Waitrose just 200 yards away.

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