You can use the same settings on all your Windows 10 or 11 computers or keep each one unique.
Do you own more than one Windows 10 or 11 computer? You can maintain separate settings on each device, but both versions of Microsoft’s OS also offer ways to keep your devices in sync if you wish. You can sync your desktop theme, certain passwords, your language preferences, and other settings. This not only ensures that your settings are the same on each Windows computer or tablet but backs them up so you don’t lose them if one device goes bad.
The steps for syncing your settings differ between Windows 10 and Windows 11. Here’s how to do this in both versions of Windows.
First, you’ll need to use the same Microsoft account to log into each Windows 10 and 11 device that you wish to sync. If you don’t already have a Microsoft account, create one at the Microsoft account page. Then log into Windows 10 or 11 using your new account.
In Windows 10, go to Settings > Accounts > Sync your settings. By default, the option to Sync settings is turned on, but you can turn it off completely or turn it off selectively for each setting. Let’s keep all the settings turned on at this point and go through each one so you can determine which ones you want to sync and which ones you don’t.
The first setting is Theme. Your theme consists of a desktop background image, display color, sound, and screen saver. The idea here is that instead of selecting individual backgrounds, colors, sounds, and a screen saver, you pick a single theme that incorporates all those element in one shot. To view and apply a theme, go to Settings > Personalization > Themes > Theme Settings. You can apply an existing theme from the ones built into Windows 10 or download other themes from Microsoft’s Desktop Themes website.
The Passwords setting syncs credentials from certain websites and Windows apps.
The third setting, Language Preferences, applies to the spelling dictionary and other settings for the language or languages you use in Windows.
The fourth setting, Other Windows Settings, sounds vague, but it covers options like installed apps, connected printers, and the size and color of your mouse cursor.
Syncing your settings is trickier in Windows 11 since Microsoft moved the option to a different place and hid the different settings so you can’t easily find them.
In Windows 11, go to Settings > Accounts > Windows Backup. Click the entry for Remember my preferences. To disable all syncing, turn off the switch for Remember my preferences. Otherwise, you can selectively turn off the switches for Passwords, Language preferences, and Other Windows settings.
Notice that there is no option for syncing your theme. For some reason, Microsoft removed that capability in Windows 11, but at least you can still sync the other three types of content.
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Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertising, and IT, Lance Whitney now wears a few different technology hats. By day, he’s a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Web developer. By night, he’s asleep. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other technology sites and publications. He’s written two books for Wiley & Sons: Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time in 2012, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY LinkedIn in 2014. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
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