Windows 10: I can't change Windows 10 lock screen wallpaper and the preview stuck on loading

I can neither pick a custom image from my computer nor select one of the default Windows wallpapers. They all result like the screenshot below and nothing happens. I've tried several different solutions I came across on the internet, also tried these solutions from Microsoft community and still couldn't fix the problem. I've checked Windows Update and my Windows 10 is up to date. Any idea on why this can happen and how do I solve it?

:)

 

unable to change the lock screen Wallpaper.

Hi,

I appreciate if you could answer few questions to narrow down to the issue.

• 
  What is the exact issue that you are facing?
  
• 
  Are you facing issues while trying to change the lock screen Wallpaper?
  
• 
  Are you not able to choose the directory where the wallpapers has been saved?
  

As an initial troubleshooting step, I suggest you to restart the computer and check if you are able to successfully change the lock screen wallpaper.

• 
  From Desktop, right click and select
  Personalize.
  
• 
  In Personalization window, click on
  Lock Screen in the left pane.
  
• 
  And choose wallpaper you would like to apply for the lock screen by choosing the browse option.
  
• 
  Close the Personalization window.
  

If the issue still persists, please do reply with the required information. We will be glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

Wallpaper and Lock screen previews do not appear in the Settings app

At first I thought this is only about Spotlight, because it also doesn't work properly, it stuck; but this is bigger than this. Settings app won't show the Wallpaper and Lock screen previews and also, Spotlight is stuck.
I tried everything I found on the internet,

• I've created a new account and it also got this problem
• system scans, sfc - no luck
• resetting settings app a few times
• remove default image / settings files from system folders with guides (adding .bak etc.)
• re-enabling Spotlight via some code on Powershell (even I do not think is is only about spotlight) didn't solve

I was an insider, so I enabled insider updates and got the latest update and problem still exists. ( v2004 - Build 20257.1 )

Anyone know something different?

 

[SOLVED] Changing the wallpaper on the BOOT, LOCK, and LOGON screens

Okay, it's like this.

My system had been showing the default Win 10 landscape wallpapers in all screens. Just recently, I decided to change them. I used Settings -> Personalization -> Lock Screen to replace the wallpaper using my own picture collection and set the same wallpaper for log-in (LOGON) screen. I manually locked my system to test it, no problem. When my system timed out, no problem. The new custom wallpaper was shown on both LOCK and LOGON screens. I thought that was it.

Then, every time I cold-booted, the system began showing the default Win 10 landscape wallpaper again. If I touched the mouse or keyboard, the LOGON screen popped up with the new custom wallpaper. From this point on until shutdown, if the system got locked manually or timed out, the new custom wallpaper was shown on the LOCK and LOGON screens all the time. If I shutdown the system and cold-booted, the default Win 10 landscape wallpaper came up again on (what I call) the BOOT screen. I repeated the Settings procedure many times, but it did not produce the result I wanted. I thought the picture or setting was stuck or it was a bug unique to my system/setup.

When I began looking for a solution on-line, I discovered my case was happening to others, too. Almost all of the solutions offered were about the same procedure mentioned above until I came across that of HeatherS1969. Because the last step ended on the Lock Screen settings page, I thought at first that the HeatherS1969 approach simply used a different starting point but was ultimately the same, but the follow-up by MichelleBryant-Thomas in the thread suggested that it worked. So, I carefully repeated the steps as instructed, and it fixed the issue.

Usual procedure:
Settings -> Personalization -> Lock Screen to replace the background picture

The HeatherS1969 approach:
Start -> click on account picture -> change account settings -> Sign-in options -> Related settings / Lock screen -> Lock Screen to replace the background picture

I use Classic Shell, so I'm not sure if the steps are the same for people who use the default Win 10 (Metro?) setup. In both procedures, one ends up on the Lock Screen settings page, but choice made through the HeatherS1969 approach actually changes the BOOT screen wallpaper.

I hope that clears things up for you.