The Windows 10 lock screen is quite special and deserves some insight.
Not only, in fact, Windows 10 allows you to access certain information and functions directly from the lock screen, but you can also customize its appearance and decide if and when to make it appear.
In this article, therefore, we have to talk about how to customize the lock screen on a Windows 10 PC, leaving also space to understand how to configure the screen timeout, which in Windows 10 is all automatic and governed by different options (so also confusion).
The Windows 10 lock screen consists of two screens, one is the lock screen showing the date and clock, the other is called the login screen where you can enter the login PIN or password.
A bit like on smartphones, you can then touch or click on the first screen to reach the one where you can write the code that unlocks the screen and allows you to access the computer.
The lock screen, the one with the big clock, is nice to look at and can also be comfortable as a screensaver, in order to display the time on the screen when the PC is not in use.
On this screen you can choose the wallpaper, which can automatically change or contain messages from Microsoft.
To change this setting you have to go to Settings> Personalization> Lock screen .
From this section of options you can find the control for the Background and change from the default setting of the Windows Highlights to a static image or a slideshow of images.
The first option, the default, is certainly the most varied and the most attractive, as long as they also accept to display advertisements for games and apps promoted by Microsoft.
If you don't like it, it is better to leave a static image or select a folder of photos to use in the Slide Show, in order to change the background automatically.
When using an image or presentation as a lock screen wallpaper, you will also need to disable the " display information and tips on lock screen " option below to disable any advertising from Microsoft.
By default, the same background image as the lock screen is also displayed on the login screen.
If you prefer to use a colored background without images for the logon screen, you must deactivate the option " Show the background image of the lock screen on the logon screen ".
Still remaining in this section of Windows 10 Settings, you can choose to display notifications for some installed applications on the lock screen .
For example, you can see the weather situation or the latest messages received on the Windows Mail app.
Windows allows a single app to show " detailed status " information on the lock screen and then seven other apps to show "status summary " information.
For example, you can use the detailed status of the Weather app to view weather information while for the Mail app you can only see if there are new emails to read.
If you are not using Windows 10 applications, you can also choose " None " in the selection of apps to be displayed on the lock screen.
Windows 10 normally also allows you to interact with the Cortana voice assistant on the lock screen .
To check if Cortana is available on the lock screen, you must first activate Cortana and then in the Cortana options check that the one is active to use the voice assistant even with the screen locked.
You can then say Hey Cortana at any time to interact with the computer and to know, for example, what appointments we have or what messages we have received, speaking verbally with the PC even if it is blocked.
If the lock screen was not liked or was deemed superfluous (because there is already the login screen which in fact is the same even if it does not display the time and information of the app), then it can be disabled.
This operation is quite laborious and can be done by following the guide to disable the lock screen in Windows 10 already written some time ago.
If desired, you can also add a message to the Windows lock screen .
Finally, as explained in the guide to do automatic login on Windows 10 and login without password, you can make sure that, when you turn on the computer, you do not have to go through the lock screen and login.
In the margins of this article we must also talk about when the screen turns itself off and off, which in Windows 10 happens automatically when the screen is locked.
Changing this curious behavior is not possible requires you to apply a hidden trick go to the guide on how to change the screen lockout timeout in Windows 10
Not only, in fact, Windows 10 allows you to access certain information and functions directly from the lock screen, but you can also customize its appearance and decide if and when to make it appear.
In this article, therefore, we have to talk about how to customize the lock screen on a Windows 10 PC, leaving also space to understand how to configure the screen timeout, which in Windows 10 is all automatic and governed by different options (so also confusion).
The Windows 10 lock screen consists of two screens, one is the lock screen showing the date and clock, the other is called the login screen where you can enter the login PIN or password.
A bit like on smartphones, you can then touch or click on the first screen to reach the one where you can write the code that unlocks the screen and allows you to access the computer.
The lock screen, the one with the big clock, is nice to look at and can also be comfortable as a screensaver, in order to display the time on the screen when the PC is not in use.
On this screen you can choose the wallpaper, which can automatically change or contain messages from Microsoft.
To change this setting you have to go to Settings> Personalization> Lock screen .
From this section of options you can find the control for the Background and change from the default setting of the Windows Highlights to a static image or a slideshow of images.
The first option, the default, is certainly the most varied and the most attractive, as long as they also accept to display advertisements for games and apps promoted by Microsoft.
If you don't like it, it is better to leave a static image or select a folder of photos to use in the Slide Show, in order to change the background automatically.
When using an image or presentation as a lock screen wallpaper, you will also need to disable the " display information and tips on lock screen " option below to disable any advertising from Microsoft.
By default, the same background image as the lock screen is also displayed on the login screen.
If you prefer to use a colored background without images for the logon screen, you must deactivate the option " Show the background image of the lock screen on the logon screen ".
Still remaining in this section of Windows 10 Settings, you can choose to display notifications for some installed applications on the lock screen .
For example, you can see the weather situation or the latest messages received on the Windows Mail app.
Windows allows a single app to show " detailed status " information on the lock screen and then seven other apps to show "status summary " information.
For example, you can use the detailed status of the Weather app to view weather information while for the Mail app you can only see if there are new emails to read.
If you are not using Windows 10 applications, you can also choose " None " in the selection of apps to be displayed on the lock screen.
Windows 10 normally also allows you to interact with the Cortana voice assistant on the lock screen .
To check if Cortana is available on the lock screen, you must first activate Cortana and then in the Cortana options check that the one is active to use the voice assistant even with the screen locked.
You can then say Hey Cortana at any time to interact with the computer and to know, for example, what appointments we have or what messages we have received, speaking verbally with the PC even if it is blocked.
If the lock screen was not liked or was deemed superfluous (because there is already the login screen which in fact is the same even if it does not display the time and information of the app), then it can be disabled.
This operation is quite laborious and can be done by following the guide to disable the lock screen in Windows 10 already written some time ago.
If desired, you can also add a message to the Windows lock screen .
Finally, as explained in the guide to do automatic login on Windows 10 and login without password, you can make sure that, when you turn on the computer, you do not have to go through the lock screen and login.
In the margins of this article we must also talk about when the screen turns itself off and off, which in Windows 10 happens automatically when the screen is locked.
Changing this curious behavior is not possible requires you to apply a hidden trick go to the guide on how to change the screen lockout timeout in Windows 10
