Fix: Windows 11 Displays A Black Wallpaper

Many PC users who have upgraded from Windows 10 Windows 11 are reporting that Windows 11 randomly displays a black wallpaper.

According to users who have encountered this issue, Windows 11 sometimes displays a black wallpaper when you apply a new theme or wallpaper. Some users have also mentioned that, at times, opening the Start menu makes the desktop background go black.

While we are unsure what is causing Windows 11 to display a black wallpaper, you can quickly fix the issue with these solutions. We are sure that the team behind Windows 11 is aware of the problem and will release a fix soon.

Restart the File Explorer via Task Manager in Windows 11

Step 1: Launch the Task Manager using the search or with Ctrl + Shift + Esc hotkey.

Step 2: When you launch the Task Manager, you will get a small, simple window. Click on the More details button to see the full version.

Step 3: Under the Processes tab, look for the Windows Explorer entry, right-click on it, and click the Restart option. Restating the Windows Explorer process will refresh the desktop background, and you should now see your actual wallpaper instead of the black background.

NOTE: If the Windows Explorer process is not showing up in the list, open File Explorer and repeat the instructions in Step 3.

Manually change the desktop background once again

Restarting the Windows Explorer processes usually fixes the black wallpaper issue. If not, you can manually try to apply a new wallpaper again. Refer to our how to change the Windows 11 wallpaper guide to know all the ways out there to change the wallpaper.

Update the graphics driver

The graphics or video driver might be causing the issue. So, we advise you to update the graphics driver to the latest version. You can refer to our how to update graphics driver in Windows 10/11 guide for directions.

Restart your computer

If the solutions mentioned above did not help you fix the problem, you could restart your computer. But, first, save the work before you restart your Windows 11 computer.