Windows 11 Virtual Desktop Issues

Microsoft Windows 11 brings a lot of new features and improvements over Windows 10. That includes the latest virtual desktop experiences that allow me to organize work, study, and personal tasks more efficiently.

However, it lags and sometimes gets stuck for a few seconds when switching between virtual desktops on some hardware, like my Surface Laptop 3. It isn’t enjoyable since I constantly switch between virtual desktops when working.

Here is what I’ve tried to fix the issues but have had no luck with:

Fortunately, I finally found the root cause of the lagging issue for my Surface Laptop 3: the desktop background or wallpaper. Unlike Windows 10, Windows 11 allows you to change the background of each virtual desktop. So, I tried to change all virtual desktop wallpapers to a solid color, and voila! There are no more lagging and stuck issues when switching between virtual desktops.

For detailed directions on setting a solid color as the wallpaper, I’d like you to please take a look at the following step-by-step guides.

Changing all virtual desktop backgrounds to a solid color

Follow the steps below to change each desktop to a solid color background:

Note When applying a picture as a background, only the current desktop you’re on will have the picture you selected as a background. However, all desktops will have the same background when using a solid color or a slideshow.

Press the Win + Tab on the keyboard to show the Task view with all multiple desktop views. They right-click on any desktop and select the “Choose background” menu.

Open Task view and choose background.

Select the dropdown and the Solid color option from the Personalize your background section.

Change from Picture to a Solid color

All desktops will have a default solid black color as a background. You are free to choose whatever color you like as a background from the available preset or any custom colors as follows:

Choose a background color

That is how I fixed the lagging issues when switching between desktops on my Surface Laptop 3 with Windows 11 installed. I know it’s not a perfect solution since you can no longer have a beautiful background on your PC.

Please let me know if the steps above can fix your issues, and please also share if you found other workarounds.