Title: Windows 11’s Desktop Gets Modernized: WebP Wallpapers Arrive, Video Backgrounds Loom on the Horizon
By: [WindowsForum] Staff Reporter
Date: January 28, 2026
Lead
Microsoft has quietly taken another step toward modernizing Windows 11’s personalization stack. In mid‑January 2026 the company’s official Windows Insider blog confirmed that the Beta Channel build 26220.7653 adds first‑class support for WebP images as desktop backgrounds. Separately, community sleuths and multiple independent outlets have documented an experimental “video wallpaper” capability — a spiritual return of Vista’s DreamScene — hidden in earlier Insider builds (observed publicly in September 2025). One change is officially shipped to Insiders; the other remains an experimental, gated feature that’s being probed by testers.
Why this matters
For everyday users the WebP change is a small but practical quality‑of‑life improvement: WebP is now a de‑facto web image format and is frequently what users download from sites and wallpaper services. Before this change, many of those images had to be converted to JPG/PNG to be used as Windows wallpapers; that friction is now removed. For enthusiasts and themers, the return of native video wallpapers — if it ships broadly — would eliminate the need for popular third‑party tools (Wallpaper Engine, Lively Wallpaper, DeskScapes) for simple animated backgrounds and would put a native, integrated option in Windows’ personalization settings.
What Microsoft officially announced (WebP)
On January 16, 2026 Microsoft posted an Insider release note for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653 (Beta Channel). Among routine fixes and UI tweaks the blog explicitly calls out a single user‑facing personalization change: you can now set .webp images as your desktop background from Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background. The announcement makes this a confirmed, supported change in the Beta Channel for Insiders on builds at or above that number.
What the WebP change actually does (practical terms)
- The Settings path remains the same: Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background.
- When you pick “Picture” and click Browse, .webp images are now selectable and accepted in the same way JPG and PNG files are.
- Applying a .webp image behaves identically to applying a JPG/PNG: Windows will apply, tile/fit/center/scale according to your chosen wallpaper layout and will cache a local copy for the system wallpaper pipeline as usual.
- The change is delivered in the Beta Channel and Microsoft uses controlled rollouts: not every Beta‑Channel machine will see the feature immediately even if it is on the same build. Expect Microsoft’s enablement toggles to gate availability initially.
- Smaller files, good quality: WebP generally offers better compression than JPG at similar visual quality and often smaller files than PNG for photographic content, which helps with disk usage and faster sync when using cloud profile syncing or enterprise image distribution.
- Alignment with the web: Most modern websites and wallpaper stores serve WebP files by default; native support reduces the need for conversion tools or “save as…” workarounds.
- Cleaner workflows for creators and IT: Wallpaper designers and administrators can publish a single WebP asset instead of bundling multiple legacy formats.
- Join the Windows Insider Program and enroll a test machine in the Beta Channel (only do this on non‑critical hardware).
- Update to the latest available Beta Channel build. Microsoft’s blog lists Build 26220.7653 as the entry point for WebP wallpaper support. Ensure your system shows that build number or later.
- Open Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background. Choose “Picture” and click “Browse.”
- Locate and select a .webp file. Apply the wallpaper as you would any JPG/PNG.
- If .webp files are not selectable, the feature might be gated on your device; Microsoft’s controlled rollout means it can be enabled for some Insiders and not others.
- Controlled rollout: Microsoft commonly flips server/feature toggles to enable features for subsets of devices even within the same build. Don’t be surprised if a machine on 26220.7653 doesn’t see WebP support immediately.
- Enterprise/managed devices: Enterprise configurations and domain‑joined policies may alter or block Insider features. Check with IT before enrolling production machines.
- No change to lock screen pipeline: The announced change concerns the desktop (personalization > Desktop Background). Lock screen behavior is managed by a different pipeline and may not have been changed by this update.
Beginning in September 2025, prominent community testers and multiple technology outlets reported that Windows 11 Insider preview builds (Dev and Beta channel builds in the 26×20.6690 series) contained traces of a native video‑as‑wallpaper feature. The discovery was publicly flagged by an independent Windows researcher (commonly referenced by the handle phantomofearth), who shared short demos showing video files used as desktop backgrounds. This finding was subsequently confirmed and covered by outlets such as Windows Central, The Verge, PCWorld and others.
What community testing shows (what the hidden feature looks like today)
- When enabled (hidden behind a feature flag), the Settings > Personalization > Background picker can accept video files in the same flow used for static images.
- In early public traces and hands‑on reporting, supported container types observed included MP4, M4V, MOV, WMV, AVI, MKV and WebM. (Note: container support does not guarantee every codec inside those containers will play — that depends on installed decoders/codecs.)
- The file loops while the desktop is visible, giving an animated background experience similar in spirit to Vista’s DreamScene.
- The feature is behind a developer/beta channel flag in early builds. It’s not a broadly available, supported user feature yet.
- The hidden feature has been exposed by community tools (e.g., ViVeTool) that flip the internal feature flag (reports referenced feature ID 57645315 in community writeups). Enabling experimental flags and using community tooling is an advanced operation and is not officially supported by Microsoft — proceed only on machines you can afford to break.
- After flipping the flag, testers reported needing to restart explorer.exe (or reboot) before the option surfaced in Settings or the context menu (“Set as wallpaper”) for supported video files.
- Experimental status: As of the last public reporting, Microsoft has not officially announced video wallpaper as a general‑availability feature; it remains experimental and gated. Features seen in Insider builds can (and often do) change or be pulled before public release.
- Performance & battery: Running a looping video on the desktop can use GPU and/or CPU resources; preliminary hands‑on tests reported surprisingly smooth playback (likely leveraging GPU‑accelerated decode paths), but battery impact on laptops and power draw for long‑running loops are legitimate concerns. For now assume increased power use on portable devices.
- Codec vs. container: While a container like MP4 or MKV is supported in traces, playback depends on the codec (e.g., H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP9, AV1). Systems may lack decoders for some codecs. What plays smoothly on one machine may fail on another if the required decoder isn’t present.
- Lock screen/other surfaces: Early traces show the capability applied to the desktop only; lock screen behavior and integration with other components (themes, spotlight, enterprise imagery) is currently unclear.
- Reduce third‑party dependency: Many users have relied on third‑party apps to set video or live wallpapers. A native option simplifies the experience and reduces the chance of compatibility or security issues from third‑party apps.
- Hardware maturity: Modern GPUs and video codecs allow efficient hardware‑accelerated playback that was impractical during Vista/7 era. This reduces the resource penalty for native video playback.
- Customer demand: Animated backgrounds remain a popular customization request; bringing it into the OS gives Microsoft a chance to control the UX and mitigate performance pitfalls.
- If you want animated wallpapers now and don’t want to run experimental Insider builds or flip internal flags, third‑party apps like Wallpaper Engine and Lively Wallpaper remain mature, feature‑rich options with established settings for performance, multi‑monitor handling, and interaction with game fullscreen modes.
- If you are an Insider and comfortable with risk, you can test experimental builds on non‑critical hardware. Keep backups and be ready to roll back to a production build if you rely on the device.
- If you are battery‑sensitive (frequent laptop user), wait for official documentation that covers battery/performance tradeoffs or stick with static wallpapers.
- For system administrators who deploy corporate wallpapers, WebP support simplifies packaging in some cases (smaller images to distribute). However, enterprise policies may still require a vetted set of wallpaper files and controlled rollout; IT teams should test how WebP behaves with their provisioning and Group Policy workflows.
- Video wallpapers (if they ship) introduce new considerations: file size, codec licensing (HEVC/AV1), autoplay policies, and potential power draw. Enterprises are unlikely to deploy animated backgrounds widely, but BYOD/consumer devices might embrace them.
Q: Which Windows build adds WebP wallpaper support?
A: Microsoft called out WebP support in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653 (Beta Channel), announced January 16, 2026. Availability is controlled by Microsoft’s rollout toggles.
Q: Does the WebP change also affect the lock screen?
A: The official note references desktop backgrounds (Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background). Lock screen behavior is a different pipeline and was not part of the announced change.
Q: Are video wallpapers officially supported?
A: As of January 28, 2026 video wallpaper functionality has been observed in Insider builds (reported publicly in September 2025), but Microsoft has not formally announced video wallpapers as a broadly available, supported feature. It remains experimental and gated behind feature flags in preview builds.
Q: Which video formats might work as wallpapers?
A: Community reports list common containers observed in preview traces: MP4, M4V, MOV, WMV, AVI, MKV and WebM. Actual playback depends on the codecs available on the device.
Q: Will using a video wallpaper drastically shorten battery life?
A: It may. Early tests suggested efficient playback through GPU acceleration, but long‑term battery impact depends on video resolution, codec efficiency and device hardware. Expect higher power use than a static image, especially on laptops.
Bottom line (our take)
The WebP change is a low‑risk, user‑focused modernization that removes an annoying friction point for people who save images off the web and want them used as desktop wallpapers without conversion. It’s a straightforward quality‑of‑life improvement and is already documented by Microsoft in Insider release notes.
The return of video wallpapers is more interesting culturally — it’s a nostalgia‑tinged revival of DreamScene — but it remains experimental. Community discoveries indicate Microsoft is actively exploring the feature (and the implementation looks fairly polished in early hands‑on footage), but there are outstanding questions about performance, codec coverage, lock screen integration and admin control. Expect further refinement in Insider builds before any broad public rollout, and consider waiting for an official release and documentation if you depend on predictable battery life or enterprise manageability.
If you want to test today
- For WebP: join the Insider Beta Channel and update to Build 26220.7653 or later (use a test machine). Then Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background > Picture > Browse and pick a .webp.
- For video wallpapers: proceed only if you are comfortable with advanced, unsupported steps. Community tooling and feature flags have been used to expose the capability in preview builds; keep backups and test only on non‑critical systems.
This article was built from Microsoft’s Windows Insider release notes for Build 26220.7653 (official blog post, Jan 16, 2026) and multiple independent hands‑on and news reports that documented the experimental video wallpaper traces and community testing in September 2025 and afterward. We cross‑checked the official blog (Insider announcement) and coverage from leading Windows / tech publications and community reporting to separate Microsoft’s confirmed changes (WebP) from experimental discoveries (video wallpapers).
— WindowsForum Editorial
If you’d like, I can:
- Draft a short “how‑to” with screenshots showing the exact menu taps for setting a WebP image as your wallpaper (I can create annotated images), or
- Walk through a safe step‑by‑step for testing the experimental video wallpaper on an Insider test machine (including how to revert changes if needed). Which would you prefer?
Source: Neowin https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-11-will-soon-support-more-desktop-background-formats/
