Microsoft Entra | Update to default sign-in background for Work or School accounts

We’re updating the default background image on Microsoft Entra sign-in screens for Work or School accounts. This visual refresh is designed to reduce distractions, improve focus during sign-in, and align with Microsoft’s modern Fluent design language, creating a more consistent and trusted authentication experience across Microsoft services.

When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCCH, and DoD): We will begin rolling out late September 2025 and expect to complete by early October 2025.

How this will affect your organization:

This is a visual-only interface update and does not impact sign-in functionality. The new background will appear only on screens where company branding is not configured or where users are directed to a default sign-in experience. 

Tenants without a custom background configured:

• The new background will appear on all authentication screens.

Tenants with a custom background configured:

• No change will be seen where a tenant ID or domain hint is present in the URL.
• The new background may appear when users access login.microsoftonline.com without a domain hint or custom URL.

Entra External ID tenants: 

• No changes will be applied.

Current default background image

New default background image

No action is required. The update will be applied automatically.

We recommend updating internal documentation and notifying your help desk to reduce potential confusion.

To change the default background, consider configuring a custom background image via company branding. If you have configured a custom background image in company branding for your tenant, there will be no change for your users.

Admin controls screenshot for uploading a custom background in company branding settings:

Learn more: 

• General Availability – Update to Microsoft Entra Work or School Default Background Image | Microsoft Learn

• Default background image | Microsoft Learn