How to Personalize the Lock Screen in Windows 8

When you start up your computer, the first screen that you see is the Lock screen. Unlike earlier versions of Windows, the lock screen in Windows 8 offers a little more in terms of functionality. These include options to personalize the Lock screen such as adding a background to it, adding or removing tiles and more. In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to personalize the Lock screen in Windows 8.

How to Personalize the Lock screen in Windows 8

Apart from displaying the time and power settings, the Lock screen in Windows 8 also displays live tiles that give you information at a glance. While you don’t have the option to engage with the tiles, you certainly know what’s happening behind the scene, at least when it comes to your calendar, mail, and a few other items. Here’s how you customize your Lock screen.

How to Add an App to the Lock Screen

1. Start up the computer and login to it.

2. On the Start screen, press Windows+I or navigate to the Settings Charm.

3. Click Change PC settings.

4. On the PC settings panel, notice that the Personalize option is selected by default. On the right panel, select Lock Screen.

5. Click a plus (+) sign.

6. From the pop up menu, choose an app.

7. To display detailed information about an app on the Lock screen, click Choose an app to display detailed status and from the pop-up menu, select an app.

Press Windows +L to view changes made to the Lock Screen.

How to Add a Background Picture to the Lock Screen

1. Navigate to the Lock Screen settings page, as explained in the previous steps.

2. You can select from one of the pictures on the slide. If you want to add a different background, say an image that’s already saved on the computer, click Browse. In the Pictures folder, select the image. You can also go a few levels back to find the right image.

3. Again, you can press Windows + L to view the changes to the Lock screen.

You can also completely disable the lock screen in Windows 8 if you feel that its an annoying additional screen that serves you no purpose. I will discuss how to do that in another tutorial.