🔥 Windows 11 23H2 Preview Update Breaks Wallpaper Engine 🔥

[Tim]

Read highlighted response below for update!!!

Read highlighted response below for update!!!

Read highlighted response below for update!!!

Microsoft has made some significant changes to Windows in their latest Windows 11 Insider edition preview update. Their changes break all live wallpaper apps for users using an HDR screen, as they have fundamentally changed how wallpapers work on Windows, especially when using an HDR screen.

This means:

If you are using an HDR screen and Windows 11 23H2, Wallpaper Engine will stop working for you as long as HDR is turned on. Microsoft does not consider this a bug but rather a side effect of their latest changes, which is a bit unfortunate. However, Microsoft is working with us and promised to make some changes to Windows to restore compatibility with Wallpaper Engine. The main issue that we are facing now is that Microsoft's proposed backwards compatibility fixes will not be part of the initial release of the 23H2 update.

Upcoming Wallpaper Engine Update

In the meantime, we have figured out a way to get Wallpaper Engine to work again on Windows 23H2 for HDR users. We will release a beta update soon that will fix Wallpaper Engine for HDR users. We are currently doing some more internal tests before we will make this update available publicly.

You can click on the "Subscribe to discussion" button on the right if you want to get an update on this matter which will allow you to test our fix once it's published.

In the future, we will make further changes once Microsoft releases their promised follow-up update to fix backwards compatibility with live wallpaper apps.

Skipping the Windows 11 23H2 Update for now

If you are using an HDR screen in combination with Wallpaper Engine, we recommend skipping the update for now or downgrading back to a stable version of Windows if possible. This issue will be fixed, but it takes a little bit more time. Once Microsoft delivers their promised follow-up update, Wallpaper Engine will be fully compatible with Windows 11 23H2 again, though we do not have an exact time estimate. In a best case-scenario, this would be a few weeks after the initial release of Windows 11 23H2.

[Tim]

Hey, we have released a possible workaround for this issue on the Wallpaper Engine beta until Microsoft offers a proper fix for it. See this post for more infos:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/431960/discussions/2/3805029995437166271/?ctp=5#c3877092028678048866

[Tim]

After a discussion with Microsoft, they have removed the HDR wallpaper feature for now and they will overhaul the underlying system so that compatibility with wallpaper apps like Wallpaper Engine will be kept in the future.

For this reason, we have removed our hacky hotfix solution from the latest beta, since it's not needed anymore on any of the stable versions of Windows, including the stable Windows 23H2 update. Our hacky solution was also a bit problematic from a technical point of view and introduces a lot of unnecessary risks, so removing it and working with Microsoft on a good solution is a much better approach.

If you continue to have issues on the Insider edition of Windows, please switch to a stable version of Windows. We cannot supply regular updates to the rapidly changing beta versions of Windows, especially since we are now aware that Microsoft is actively overhauling the desktop experience of Windows. We'll always try to ensure that Wallpaper Engine will work on stable versions of Windows but it's not reasonable for us to provide updates for Insider editions of Windows, as they can change on a weekly basis.