Windows 11 holds a separate picture per display - but only if you assign it while the right monitor is selected, and only if the fit mode does not override both.
Set one image as background first, then right-click any recent image under **Personalisation > Background** and choose **Set for monitor 1** or **2**. Use **Fill** per monitor and avoid **Span**.
Pick any picture under **Personalisation > Background** and let it apply to every display. The per-monitor option only appears once a background exists and recent images are listed.
Settings > Personalisation > BackgroundRight-click an entry in the recent images list and choose the monitor number. Do it once per display; the list keeps the assignment after a reboot.
Right-click a recent image > Set for monitor 1 / 2**Fill** scales and crops to each screen without distortion, which is what you want with native-resolution images. **Span** stretches one image across the whole desktop and undoes the per-monitor work.
Fit mode: FillChoose an image at or above the native resolution of that monitor. A 1080p picture on a 1440p screen is upscaled and visibly soft, and Fill crops whatever does not fit the aspect ratio.
Save the setup as a theme and export it. A theme carries the wallpapers, accent colour and cursor, which makes the desktop reproducible after a reinstall.
Personalisation > Themes > Save themeA slideshow applies to all displays at once in Windows 11. Per-monitor slideshows need a third-party tool or a single large image composed for both screens.
The assignment was made without selecting the monitor, or the fit mode is Span. Set each monitor again with Fill.
The aspect ratio differs from the screen. Use Fill, or crop the image to the native ratio first.
Theme sync or a cleanup tool is resetting it. Save and export the theme, then check for third-party wallpaper software.
The image was never applied once as a background. Set it as background, then reopen the settings page.
Yes, per-monitor backgrounds arrived with Windows 8 and work the same way in 11.
Not with Windows alone. Tools such as Lively Wallpaper handle it, at the cost of GPU time.
Pick a single picture under **Personalisation > Background** and set the fit mode back to Fill. The theme file can be deleted at any time.
Free · no account needed · tracks your progress