Lock Screen/Windows Spotlight

Hi,
After installing W-10 feature update 1903, when booting up, my spotlight picture is a "blur" with the telltale circle of chess pieces in the center. The chess pieces showed up on a previous update while back and I just let it go. But, at least my "picture" would update from time to time and allow me to "vote" on whether I liked it or was not a "fan". I have my system set to do a "normal" boot up instead of the "fast boot" choice. If I chose to shut my system down via the "sleep" mode, when I turn back on I will see a nice, new picture with choices as before the 1903 update. But, if I totally shut down and have a "normal" full boot up, I get the "blur" with the circle chess pieces (in focus) in the center of the screen. What's up with this ?

Donp said:

After installing W-10 feature update 1903, when booting up, my spotlight picture is a "blur"....

That is by design, a new feature in 1903. Microsoft say that..."The translucent texture of this transient surface helps you focus on the sign-in task by moving the actionable controls up in the visual hierarchy while maintaining their accessibility".

Most users say "that looks awful, How do you turn it off?". This is how....


Enable or Disable Acrylic Blur Effect on Sign-in Screen in Windows 10

Thanks Bree & Brink,
I had to use Option 2 as I have Windows "Home" version. But, I still have some questions:

1. The Blur is gone now, but can I get rid of the circle with the chess pieces in it ? It spoils the view of the picture being right in the center, except for when I get a "new" picture and have options to respond too.
2. My wife has a tablet running Windows 10 (32 bit) and hasn't gotten the latest W-10 Feature update. I've even manually checked for updates and it says she's up to date. In the past, every time I got a feature update (64 bit) she got the same update also. What's going on with that now ?
3. As I continue to get updates, will a future update turn the "Blur" back on ?
4. If my wife finally gets the update, will the same file download that turns the blur "off" (64 bit) work for turning off the blur on her 32 bit machine ?
5. Does your forum have a path to someone in MS to inform them of what you see people going through with Windows 10 and getting fixes for the issues ?

Thanks again for the help.

Donp said:

1. The Blur is gone now, but can I get rid of the circle with the chess pieces in it ? It spoils the view of the picture being right in the center, except for when I get a "new" picture and have options to respond too.

The circle displays your user account picture and has always been displayed in the center of the Sign In screen. The screen with the 'Like what you see?' and other options is the Lock Screen. There are ways to get around it (though I can't say I've ever tried). This worked in 1703....

Remove User Account Picture

2. My wife has a tablet running Windows 10 (32 bit) and hasn't gotten the latest W-10 Feature update. I've even manually checked for updates and it says she's up to date. In the past, every time I got a feature update (64 bit) she got the same update also. What's going on with that now ?

The rollout of 1903 is a phased rollout, not all machines will be offered it straight away. In addition, there may be a known blocking issue that stops it being offered to machines with particular hardware/software until the issue is resolved.

Known issues for Windows 10 May 2019 Update version 1903

3. As I continue to get updates, will a future update turn the "Blur" back on ?

Once the registry setting is there it is highly unlikely to be changed or removed by a cumulative update. A Feature Update to the next (1909?) version may do so, though I suspect that is unlikely too.

4. If my wife finally gets the update, will the same file download that turns the blur "off" (64 bit) work for turning off the blur on her 32 bit machine ?

Yes. I have used it on both 32 and 64 bit machines.

5. Does your forum have a path to someone in MS to inform them of what you see people going through with Windows 10 and getting fixes for the issues ?

It's not 'my' forum, I'm just an ordinary user like you so I cannot say. I suspect MS keep an informal eye on these forums though.