Windows 10 Account Picture Won’t Change: Updating the Photo on Your Sign-In Screen

You chose a new profile photo, but the sign-in screen and Start menu still show the old one. Or the photo changes on the Start menu but not on the lock screen, or reverts after a restart. When Windows 10 account picture won’t change, the new image is usually saved somewhere Windows is not reading from yet.

How Windows stores your picture depends on your account type. A local account keeps it on the PC. A Microsoft account syncs the picture from your online profile, so changes made on the PC must upload, and changes made online must download.

Windows also keeps cached copies of account pictures in a slot hidden folder. If the cache is not refreshed, the old image keeps appearing in some places.

Clearing that cache and syncing again usually updates every screen.

Possible Causes

The picture stays the same for these reasons:

• The new picture has not synced with your Microsoft account yet.
• Old cached images are still being used.
• The chosen file is too large or in an unsupported format.
• A work or school policy sets a fixed account picture.

Some places, such as the lock screen, only refresh after you sign out completely.

Quick Fixes to Try First

Set the picture again and refresh.

1. Open Settings > Accounts > Your info.
2. Under “Create your picture,” select “Browse for one” and pick a JPG or PNG image.
3. For a Microsoft account, sign in at account.microsoft.com and update the picture there too.
4. Sign out of Windows and sign back in.
5. Restart the PC and check the lock screen.

Square images of a few hundred pixels on each side look best and avoid odd cropping.

Advanced Steps for Stubborn Cases

Clear old cached pictures.

1. Open File Explorer and type %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\AccountPictures into the address bar.
2. Delete the old images in that folder, keeping the new one if it appears.
3. Show hidden items, then open C:\Users\Public\AccountPictures and look for a folder that matches your account.
4. Remove old images there if you have administrator rights.
5. Set the picture again in Settings and restart.

On work PCs, the picture may come from the organisation’s directory, so ask IT to update it.

Before You Go Further: Keep Your Files Safe

Only delete images inside the AccountPictures folders. Keep a copy of any photo you want to use again before clearing the cache.

Conclusion

An account picture that won’t change is usually waiting to sync or held in a cache. Update it in Settings and online, clear old cached images, and sign out to refresh every screen.