How to change desktop background without activating windows

If you have not activated your Windows 10 installation, Windows 10 doesn’t let to personalize the operating system. In other words, you can’t change the desktop background, change the accent color, change lock screen image, and access Start menu settings. In fact, most of the settings in the personalization section of the Settings app are grayed out on an unactivated installation of Windows 10.

The best way to access all personalization settings is to activate Windows 10 using a valid key or purchasing a new license. And if you’re having issues with activation, you can always contact the Microsoft support team using the built-in Get Help app. Using the app, you can have a chat with the support team and request a call back as well.

At times, when you’re unable to activate Windows 10 or when you are waiting for a solution from the Microsoft support to fix the Windows 10 activation issue, you might want to change the default desktop wallpaper to a picture that you like.

If you’re wondering how to change the desktop wallpaper on an unactivated copy of Windows 10, you will be glad to know that there is a way to change the desktop background without activating Windows 10. And the good is that we are not using any third-party software or unsupported way to change the desktop background.

Follow one of the two given below solutions to change Windows 10 desktop wallpaper without activation. Note that we here at IntoWindows in no way encourage our readers to run unlicensed version of Windows 10.

Tip: 5 ways to change wallpaper in Windows 11.

Method 1 of 2

Change desktop background from File Explorer

Step 1: Visit the folder containing the picture that you want to set as the desktop background.

Step 2: Right-click on the picture file that you want to set as the desktop background and then click Set as desktop background.

The new picture should now appear as your desktop background. As simple as that!

Method 2 of 2

Set a picture from the web as Windows 10 desktop background

Step 1: Open the Internet Explorer browser by typing Internet Explorer in the Start menu search box and then pressing Enter key.

Note that you must use the Internet Explorer browser as the new Edge browser doesn’t let you set an image as a desktop background.

Step 2: Visit the webpage displaying the picture that you want to set as your unactivated Windows 10 desktop wallpaper.

Step 3: Right-click on the image and then click Set as background option.

Step 4: Click Yes button when you see the confirmation dialog with “Are you sure you want to replace your desktop wallpaper” message.

I hope this helps!

Even without activating Windows 10, you can change the wallpaper quite easily. Here’s how to change wallpaper without activating Windows 10.

After installing Windows 10, you have to activate it using a valid license key or by signing into your Microsoft account. That being said, even without activating, Windows OS will work perfectly fine even. However, unless you activate Windows 10, Microsoft will block all the personalization options. This means that you cannot change the wallpaper on Windows 10 without activating it first.

If you try to change the wallpaper or other personalization options from the Settings app, you will see a simple “You need to activate Windows before you can personalize your PC” message at the top of the Settings app. Simply put, you are stuck with the default wallpaper.

Sure, the default wallpaper looks good. However, seeing that same wallpaper every day can be a bit jarring. So, here are a few methods that can help you change the wallpaper in a non-activate Windows 10 system.

There are three different ways you can change the wallpaper in a non-activated Windows 10 machine. All of them are pretty easy to follow. The first two methods require no software installation whatsoever; you can use the built-in apps to change the wallpaper. The third method lets you change the wallpaper and lets you set a new wallpaper every day automatically.

Jump to:

• File Explorer method
• Internet Explorer method
• Third-party app method

Note:
1. For this article, I assume that you’ve already downloaded your favorite wallpaper(s). If not, try Unsplash or Pixabay to download some gorgeous copyright-free wallpapers.
2. The below-shown methods to change the wallpaper in Windows 10 without activation will also work on Windows 7 and Windows 8.

#1 – Use File Explorer to Change Desktop Wallpaper in Non-Activated Windows 10

The file explorer method is one of the easiest ways to change the wallpaper in Windows 10 without activation.

1. Open the File Explorer.
2. Go to the folder where you’ve saved the wallpaper.
3. Right-click on the wallpaper image.
4. Select the option “Set as desktop background“.
   
   

That is it. As soon as you select the option, Windows 10 will set the image as your wallpaper instantly.

#2 – Use Internet Explorer to Change Wallpaper in Windows 10 Without Activation

Internet Explorer is mostly useless in this day and age, and you can uninstall Internet Explorer with just a few clicks. If you still have Internet Explorer lying around, you can use it to change the wallpaper on Windows 10 without activation.

1. Open the start menu.
2. Search for “Internet Explorer” and open it.
3. Drag and drop the wallpaper in the Internet Explorer.
4. The above action will open the wallpaper in the Internet Explorer.
   
   
5. Right-click on the image and select “Set as background” option.
   
   
6. You will see a confirmation window. Click “Yes“.
   
   

As soon as you select the option, Internet Explorer will change the Windows 10 wallpaper instantly.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3 id="app"&gt;#3 – Use Wallpaper Changing Applications to Set New Wallpaper in Non-Activated Windows 10&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;You can also use third-party apps like Dynamic Theme, Artpip, etc., to change wallpapers in the not-activated Windows 10 system. One of the benefits of using third-party applications is that you can configure them to set a new wallpaper every day in Windows 10 automatically. This eliminates the need to download and set the wallpaper every time manually. Moreover, a new wallpaper every day makes the desktop feel fresh.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I’ve already written a detailed article on &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://windowsloop.com/automatically-change-wallpaper-everyday/"&gt;how to change wallpaper automatically every day on Windows 10&lt;/a&gt;, Windows 7, and Windows 8. Follow the instructions in the linked article, and you should be golden.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="wp-block-image"&gt;&lt;figure class="aligncenter"&gt;&lt;img width="800" height="625" alt="Change wallpaper without activating windows 06" class="ezlazyload wp-image-3365" title="Change wallpaper without activating windows 06" data-ezsrcset="https://windowsloop.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/windowsloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/change-wallpaper-without-activating-windows-06.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w,https://windowsloop.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/windowsloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/change-wallpaper-without-activating-windows-06.png?resize=768%2C600&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-recalc-dims="1" ezimgfmt="rs rscb1 src ng ngcb1 srcset" data-ezsrc="https://windowsloop.com/ezoimgfmt/i0.wp.com/windowsloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/change-wallpaper-without-activating-windows-06.png?resize=800%2C625&amp;ssl=1"&gt;&lt;noscript&gt;&lt;img width="800" height="625" src="https://i0.wp.com/windowsloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/change-wallpaper-without-activating-windows-06.png?resize=800%2C625&amp;ssl=1" alt="Change wallpaper without activating windows 06" class="wp-image-3365" title="Change wallpaper without activating windows 06" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/windowsloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/change-wallpaper-without-activating-windows-06.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/windowsloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/change-wallpaper-without-activating-windows-06.png?resize=768%2C600&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-recalc-dims="1"&gt;&lt;/noscript&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;As you can see, even if you don’t activate Windows 10 and even if the settings app doesn’t allow it, you can easily bypass those restrictions and change the wallpaper in a non-activated Windows 10 system.&lt;span id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-143" class="ezoic-adpicker-ad"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you like this article, check out &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://windowsloop.com/stop-background-apps-in-windows-10/"&gt;how to stop background apps in Windows 10&lt;/a&gt; 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