Spotlight is one of the most useful built-in features in Windows 10. It’s a setting for the lock screen background images that uses Bing to display a variety of images.
Spotlight also prevents you from receiving notifications from apps that are shown on the lock screen.
Many customers, however, claim that Spotlight is a poor performing function, claiming that the image gets stuck in the lock screen or that Windows Spotlight Not Working.
How to Resolve the Error of Windows Spotlight Not Working on Windows 10
The error Windows Spotlight Not Working could be caused by a variety of factors. Either your Spotlight folder is corrupted, or other options that are enabled are preventing your application from working.
If you’re having trouble with Windows Spotlight, don’t panic. We’ve outlined a few options in this article that you can try to solve the problem.
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Solution 1: Re-selecting Spotlight
If you’re having problems with Windows 10’s Spotlight feature, the first and best remedy is to re-enable it.
It’s actually the Spotlight application being reactivated and configured. You can now follow the steps below to attempt and apply this solution to your PC.
Step 1: In the Start Menu’s search box, type “Settings.”
Step 2: Select “Personalization” from the drop-down menu of system options.
Step 3: On the left side of the screen, select the Lock Screen option under Personalization options.
Step 4: Now, select Pictures from the Lock Screen drop-down menu and wait for the picture to be entirely previewed in the preview window.
Step 5: Do the same thing for Windows Spotlight from the Lock Screen drop-down menu.
Step 6: Return to your desktop and restart your computer to see if Windows Spotlight is operational.
Solution 2: Disable Mail and Calendar
When you lock your computer or it locks itself after a period of inactivity, the Lock Screen appears.
The Lock screen displays app notifications from your favourite apps by default, but you can turn them off to protect your privacy. Here are the methods to setup them in order to turn them off.
Step 1: Go to the “Weather” options from the Start Menu.
Step 2: Click the Settings icon in the weather settings window.
Step 3: Select the General tab and look for the “Launch Location” option. Make sure it’s set to “Default Location” in this section.
Step 4: Return to the Lock screen settings after closing the above weather app. Change the status of the app to “None” by clicking on the Mail icon. Carry out the same procedure for Calender.
Step 5: Once you’ve made all of your adjustments, uncheck the box next to “Show lock screen background on the sign-in screen.”
Step 6: Finally, restart your computer to see if Spotlight has returned to its previous state.
Solution 3: Delete the Contents of the Spotlight Folder
Delete the contents of the Spotlight folder is definitely another option to try. By doing so, Windows will be notified that the folder’s contents are missing when you re-enable Spotlight.
It will attempt to update the folder with all necessary configurations automatically. To learn how to erase the contents of a folder, follow the instructions below –
Step 1: In the Start menu’s search box, type “Settings.”
Step 2: Select “Personalization” from the drop-down menu of system options.
Step 3: On the left side of the screen, select the Lock Screen option under Personalization options.
Step 4: Now, select Pictures from the Lock Screen drop-down menu and wait for the picture to be entirely previewed in the preview window.
Step 5: Return to the settings and navigate to the file location listed below. Make sure you use the username from your profile instead of the user.
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Packages\
Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager cw5n1h2txyewy\Settings
Step 6: Open File Explorer and select “View” to enable the “Hidden objects” option. This will display all of the folder’s contents.
Step 7: Close File Explorer and delete all of the contents of the Folder.
Solution 4: Remove the Assets Folder from your Computer
If eliminating the Folders didn’t fix your issue, try deleting the Assets folder as well.
Step 1: After disabling Windows Spotlight, browse to the following file location. Before you do anything, double-check that the user is your profile’s username.
C:\<USER>\ibrah\AppData\Local\Packages\
Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager cw5n1h2txyewy\
LocalState\Assets
Step 2: Now you must erase everything in the Assets folder and restart your computer.
Hopefully, this method will solve your Spotlight Not Working issue.
Solution 5: Disabling Proxy Settings
Proxy masks your IP address by rerouting your internet traffic through a remote server. However, we strongly advise you to turn off the proxy and VPN because they can hinder various programmes.
Also, while using a proxy or VPN server, Windows Spotlight does not download images. Disable the proxy settings by following the steps below.
Step 1: Go to the Start menu and search for Proxy in the search box.
Step 2: Select Configure proxy server from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: Select LAN Settings from the new pop-up window that appears.
Step 4: Uncheck the box that says “Use a Proxy Server for your LAN.”
Step 5: When you click OK, your changes to the settings will be saved.
Step 6: Reopen Spotlight and check to see whether you can now download photographs from it.
Solution 6: Create a Local Account
It’s possible that the user profile you’re trying to launch Spotlight with has become corrupt, or that it lacks specific privileges, resulting in a Windows Spotlight Not Working issue.
So, in this scenario, many customers claimed that they were able to deploy the error by creating a new local account. Now, without further ado, proceed to the steps below to create a new local account.
Step 1: Select Accounts and other users from the settings menu.
Step 2: From the window, select the “Family and other users” option.
Step 3: Next, select “Add another user to this computer.”
Step 4: Click “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” in the new window that appears.
Step 5: Next, choose “Add a user who does not have a Microsoft account.”
Step 6: Fill in all of the required information and click the Next button.
Step 7: Now close all tabs and go back to the Settings menu and select Your Account.
Step 8: Select “Sign in with a local account instead,” enter the username and password, and then select Next.
Step 9: Once you’ve made all of your adjustments, close all of your applications and restart your computer. Finally, launch Spotlight and look for any errors.
Solution 7: Run the System Maintenance Troubleshooter
To accomplish your work, you may need to download several types of software and programmes.
As a result, there’s a chance that these apps will be halted by Windows Spotlight, which could cause problems. So, try running the system maintenance troubleshooter to get Spotlight working again.
Step 1: From the Start menu, open the Run dialogue box, put “Control Panel” in the search field, and then press Enter.
Step 2: Find “Troubleshoot” in the list of options and pick it.
Step 3: In the Troubleshooter window, go to the left side of the window and click “View all.” All of the troubleshooters appear on the screen as a result of this.
Step 4: From the drop-down menu, choose “System Maintenance.”
Step 5: First, go to Advanced and select “Run as administration” from the System Maintenance troubleshooter window. Second, select the option that says “Automatically apply repairs.”
Step 6: If Windows detects any faults, it will tell you and resolve them without interrupting your work.
Step 7: Finally, restart your computer to see if Spotlight is working.
Solution 8: Re-Register Spotlight
If you’re still having trouble with Windows Spotlight after trying all of these methods, try reregistering Spotlight.
Step 1: Type “Cortana” into the Start menu and press Enter.
Step 2: Select “Cortana and search settings” from the list of options.
Step 3: In the settings menu, uncheck all of the boxes to disable Cortana’s functionality on your machine.
Step 4: Return to the Start menu and type “Lock screen,” then select the first option that appears.
Step 5: To examine the photo and leave the settings window, select “Picture” from the drop-down menu under the lock screen settings.
Step 6: Finally, type “PowerShell” in the same Start menu dialogue box and start it as administrator to access Powershell’s settings.
Step 7: Once you’re in Powershell, run the commands listed below, pressing Enter after each command.
/cleanup-image /restore-health /dism /online
sfc /scannow sfc /scannow sfc /s
powershell
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object $_.InstallLocation -like “*SystemApps*” | Foreach -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml” | Foreach -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xm
Step 8: The commands above will update Windows Spotlight’s installation. Following the instructions above, you must now re-enable Cortana.
Step 9: Finally, under the lock screen settings, re-enable Windows Spotlight.
Solution 9: Use a Dynamic Theme (Alternative to Spotlight)
You may be experiencing troubles with Spotlight because you have not installed the most recent Windows update.
In addition, numerous customers stated that the issue was resolved with the newest Windows update. If Spotlight is still not working on your PC, consider utilising Dynamic Theme, a third-party application.
This app is believed to be the greatest replacement for Spotlight. To obtain the application, follow the instructions outlined below.
Step 1: To access the Start menu, press the “Windows + S” key combination.
Step 2: Type “Store” into the search box and press Enter.
Step 3: Once the store is open, type “Dynamic Theme” into the search field and select the first app from the list of results.
Step 4: At this point, you can download and install the programme.
Step 5: Dynamic Theme, like Spotlight, allows you to download photos from Bing to use on your Lock screen. If you want to download Windows Spotlight images to your computer, go to “Daily Windows Spotlight image” and select the option from the Lock screen.
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Conclusion
We’ve compiled a list of the finest available ways for getting your Spotlight to work without a hitch in this article. Personally, I was able to resolve the issues by implementing one of the options listed above.
So, I hope you find this tutorial useful in making your Lock screen more appealing by using high-resolution photographs.
