How to Fix Spotlight Not Working in Windows 11? [Ultimate Guide]
The Spotlight is a Windows 10 feature that can download various pictures from Bing and displays the images on the login/lock screen. Also, it allows users to give feedback if they like the image or not. However, many users reported that they see the same picture each time they lock the login screen especially upgrading to Windows 11.
What causes Windows 11 Spotlight not working? After analyzing extensive user reports and posts, we find the issue can be triggered by many reasons, including poor network connection, Spotlight cache, a metered connection, antivirus interference, inconsistent asset folder, disabled dynamic theme, and even system file corruption. Don’t worry. We provide corresponding solutions to the issue.
Fix 1. Make Sure You Have an Active Internet Connection
Since the pictures displayed on the lock screen are downloaded from Bing daily, you may be stuck on the same picture if you have a poor network connection. To fix the Spotlight not working in Windows 11, make sure that you provide a fast and stable internet connection. If the issue persists after this, move down to the following methods.
Fix 2. Turn off Metered Connection
Some users reported that the Spotlight on Windows 11 not working issue can be caused by a metered connection. This is because it cannot download new images. If this scenario applies to you, you can fix it by turning off Metered connection.
Step 2. Expand your network connection from the right pane such as Ethernet.
Step 3. Toggle off the switch next to Set as metered connection. After that, reboot your computer to make the change take effect and check if the Windows 11 lock screen Spotlight not working issue gets resolved.
Fix 3. Uninstall Bitdefender If Applicable
According to user reports from the answers.microsoft forum, uninstalling Bitdefender antivirus can help fix Spotlight not working in Windows 11. Here you may have a try.
Step 3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the uninstallation. Then you can repeat the same process to uninstall other Bitdefender-related antivirus programs from your Windows 11 PC.
Fix 4. Re-register Spotlight Using PowerShell
The Spotlight on Windows 11 not working issue can be triggered by a potential inconsistency. To fix it, you can re-register the Spotlight using PowerShell. This method has been proven by many people to be useful. Let’s try.
Step 2. In the elevated PowerShell window, copy and paste the following command in it and hit Enter.
Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose}
Once finished, close the PowerShell and restart your computer to see if the Spotlight not working on Windows 11 is fixed.
If your time and date are not set properly, you may encounter the Spotlight not working issue. Follow the steps below to change your time and date.
Fix 6. Re-enable Spotlight in Windows 11
Another simple solution on how to fix Spotlight not working in Windows 11 is to enable and disable Spotlight.
Fix 7. Delete Spotlight Cache
Sometimes, the Spotlight not working on Windows 11 issue can be caused by corrupted Spotlight cache. In this case, you can clean the cache and re-register the Spotlight app.
Step 1. Press Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box, and then type cmd in it and hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the elevated Command Prompt window. Click on Yes in the UAC window.
Step 2. In the pop-up window, type the following commands in order and hit Enter after each one.
- DEL /F /S /Q /A “%USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets”
- DEL /F /S /Q /A “%USERPROFILE%/AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\Settings”
Step 3. Open the Windows PowerShell with admin right and run the following command to register the Spotlight app again.
Get-AppxPackage -allusers *ContentDeliveryManager* | foreach {Add-AppxPackage “$($_.InstallLocation)\appxmanifest.xml” -DisableDevelopmentMode -register }
Once done, restart your PC and check if the Windows 11 lock screen Spotlight not working issue is gone.
Fix 8. Run System Maintenance Troubleshooter
The system maintenance troubleshooter is a fix utility that can apply a series of automatic fixes related to common issues affecting the lock screen, desktop icon, and other components. It’s worth trying.
Step 3. Click on System Maintenance.
Fix 9. Clear Spotlight Assets
Some users reported that the Windows 11 lock screen Spotlight not working issue can be resolved by clearing the assets. Here’s how to do that:
C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_<Package ID>\LocalState\Assets
Now, restart your PC and check if the Windows 11 Spotlight can work properly.
Fix 10. Reset Spotlight Settings
If the Spotlight is still not working, you can try resetting your Windows 11 Spotlight settings. For that:
After that, you can press Win + L keys to lock your screen and see if the issue is fixed.
Fix 11. Run an SFC Scan
If none of the above methods work, then the Windows 11 Spotlight not working issue could be caused by system file corruptions. System File Checker is a Windows system utility that’s often used to scan and repair corrupted system files. You may have a try.
Step 2. Type sfc /scannow command in the elevated command prompt. This process may take you much time to scan, please wait patiently.
Once this repairing process completes, restart your PC and see if the problem is gone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Position: Columnist
Ariel is an enthusiastic IT columnist focusing on partition management, data recovery, and Windows issues. She has helped users fix various problems like PS4 corrupted disk, unexpected store exception error, the green screen of death error, etc. If you are searching for methods to optimize your storage device and restore lost data from different storage devices, then Ariel can provide reliable solutions for these issues.
Originally published at https://www.partitionwizard.com on December 23, 2021.
