How to Change User Picture When You Get 0x80070520 Error

After installing recent cumulative updates you may encounter the 0x80070520 when changing the user picture in Windows 11 with the Settings app, also known as the user avatar. The bug appears after installing KB5036894, KB5036980 and KB5037770, that are parts of appropriate Patch Tuesday releases.

The error message says "0x80070520 account picture error. this picture cannot be saved".  The issue is already known to Microsoft, and the reason for it is a minor bug in the mentioned update packages. There are several reports on this bug on Microsoft's official forums and in the feedback hub app.

Microsoft is about to release a fix for the bug, but as of now, the fix is not yet available. The Redmond firm is focused on various events related to AI and its Surface devices, as well as on releasing the newest version of Windows 11, version 24H2. So such a minor bug has a low priority for the engineers.

✅ Thankfully, it is easy to combat the error. After receiving the error message, simply restart your computer and the new user picture should be set. This is the easiest way to fix the 0x80070520 account picture error.⚠️ Note: You need to restart the device, not shut down and start it again - the latter won't work.

If the above trick doesn't solve the issue for you, you can place the new user picture manually. Here's how.

How to fix 0x80070520 account picture error in Windows 11

To fix the 0x80070520 error when changing the account profile image, do the following.

1. Open the File Explorer (Win + E), and click anywhere in its address bar .
2. Paste %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\AccountPictures in the address bar, and hit Enter.
3. Now, copy the new BMP or PNG image that you will use as a new avatar, and paste it to the open AccountPictures folder.
4. Rename the new image to the name as your current one is using.
5. Finally, restart your device and the new profile photo will be visible everywhere.
6. Lastly, if you are using a Microsoft account, navigate to https://account.microsoft.com/ and set the same image there.

This is how you can solve the avatar changing bug while waiting for the official solution.

That's it.