Set a different wallpaper on each monitor in Windows 11 with dual monitors

Table of contents

After you connect a second monitor, Windows 11 applies the same wallpaper to all monitors by default. To give each monitor its own picture, go to Settings > Personalization > Background, right-click a picture under “Recent images”, and choose a monitor number. This option is hidden in the right-click menu. If you simply click a picture, it is applied to all monitors.

Add the wallpapers you want

Open Windows Settings (Win + I) and go to “Personalization > Background”.

The Settings screenshots below are from Traditional Chinese Windows. In this one, “Personalization” is selected on the left, and the “Background” item is boxed on the right.

The Windows 11 Settings Personalization page, with Personalization selected on the left and the Background item boxed on the right

Leave “Personalize your background” set to “Picture”. Click “Browse photos” and choose a picture. It is applied to all monitors right away and appears under “Recent images”. Repeat this to add the picture for every monitor. “Recent images” keeps only the last few pictures, so work in batches if you have many.

In this screenshot (Traditional Chinese interface), mark 1 points to the “Browse photos” button, and mark 2 points to the first picture under “Recent images”.

The Background settings page, with mark 1 on the Browse photos button and mark 2 on the first picture under Recent images

At this point both monitors show the same picture. Next you change the second one on its own.

Two monitors, with the Settings window open on the left monitor and the same night scene with a red moon as wallpaper on both

Assign a wallpaper to one monitor

Under “Recent images”, right-click the picture you want for the second monitor. The menu lists “Set for all monitors” and the monitor numbers. Choose “2”.

In this screenshot (Traditional Chinese interface), mark 1 points to the second picture in “Recent images” that was right-clicked. The menu lists “Set for all monitors”, “1”, and “2”, and the “2” option is boxed.

Mark 1 on the second Recent images picture after a right-click, with a menu listing Set for all monitors, 1, and 2, and the 2 option boxed

After you apply it, the two monitors show different pictures.

Two monitors, with the left monitor keeping the night scene wallpaper and the right monitor showing an illustration of a snowy train station

The numbers 1 and 2 in the menu match the monitor numbers under “Settings > System > Display”. The numbers come from the order in which the system detected the monitors, so they do not always match the left and right positions. If you cannot tell which is which, open that page and click “Identify” (it appears only when two or more monitors are connected). Each monitor briefly shows its own number. The same steps work for three or more monitors. Right-click each picture and assign it in the same way.