iPhone (iOS) · Personalization
Change the Wallpaper on iPhone
Wallpaper settings let you personalize your Lock Screen and Home Screen with photos, curated presets, or Photo Shuffle rotations, plus Lock Screen extras like widgets, filters, and a customizable time display.
How to open Wallpaper
- Touch and hold an empty area of the Lock Screen until the wallpaper gallery appears.
- Tap the '+' button to create a new wallpaper from Photos, a preset, or Photo Shuffle.
- Customize widgets, filters, and time style, then tap 'Add' to save it.
- Swipe between saved wallpapers and tap one to set it as active.
What you should know
- New wallpapers can be created from your own photos or chosen from preset categories like Weather & Astronomy, Emoji, or Color.
- Photo Shuffle rotates through a set of images automatically on a schedule like On Tap, On Lock, Hourly, or Daily.
- Lock Screen customization supports adding widgets, applying a photo filter, and changing the font and color of the time.
- iPhone 12 and later can generate 3D spatial wallpapers from certain photos for a subtle depth effect.
Deleting a wallpaper you're actively using removes it from both the Lock Screen and Home Screen immediately, so switch to a different one first if you want to keep the current look.
Why it matters
Wallpaper is one of the most visible personalization choices on an iPhone, since it's the first thing you see dozens of times a day, and it also does real functional work through Lock Screen widgets that surface information like weather, battery, or calendar events at a glance. Photo Shuffle turns a static wallpaper into a small rotating slideshow of meaningful photos without any manual effort. Because Lock Screen and Home Screen wallpapers are linked as a pair, understanding how to set them independently (or intentionally match them) gives more control over the overall look than most people realize is available.
Best practices
- Use Photo Shuffle with a curated album of favorite photos if you want variety without manually changing the wallpaper yourself.
- Add a widget (like Weather or Calendar) to the Lock Screen wallpaper so useful information is visible without unlocking the phone.
- Choose a Lock Screen font and color that stays readable against your chosen photo, especially with busy or high-contrast images.
- Keep a small library of saved wallpapers rather than only one, so switching your look takes a single tap from the gallery instead of starting from scratch.
Common problems and fixes
- Changing the Home Screen wallpaper unexpectedly changes the Lock Screen too, or vice versa
- Wallpapers are saved as a linked pair by default; when creating a new one, choose to set the Home Screen and Lock Screen independently if you don't want them to match.
- A wallpaper widget stops updating with current information
- Confirm the underlying app (like Weather or Calendar) has background refresh and location access enabled, since the widget relies on that app's own data permissions.
- Spatial wallpaper option isn't available for a particular photo
- Spatial wallpapers require a compatible photo and an iPhone 12 or later; not every image qualifies for the depth effect to generate correctly.
- Deleted a wallpaper by accident and want it back
- If it was created from a personal photo, that photo still exists in your library — simply create a new wallpaper from it again with the same customization choices.
Tips and tricks
- Use a Live Photo as your Lock Screen wallpaper and press firmly (or touch and hold on newer models) to play its motion and sound right from the Lock Screen.
- Tap the color dots below a photo wallpaper's preview to quickly try different tinted filter options before committing to one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set different wallpapers for the Lock Screen and Home Screen?
Yes, when creating or editing a wallpaper you can unlink the pair and choose separate images or styles for each screen instead of having them match.
Does Photo Shuffle use my whole photo library or just certain albums?
You choose the source — it can pull from a specific album, a smart category like Nature or Pets, or your full library, depending on what you select when setting it up.
Do wallpaper widgets drain extra battery?
Lock Screen widgets have a minimal impact since they update using the same efficient background refresh mechanisms as Home Screen widgets, not constant live tracking.
Related settings
- Display & BrightnessDisplay & Brightness settings control screen brightness, True Tone, Dark Mode, text size, and Night Shift for warmer colors in the evening.
- Home Screen & App LibraryHome Screen settings control how new apps are added and how your app pages are arranged, while App Library automatically sorts every installed app into categorized folders you can browse or search without needing a tidy Home Screen at all.
- Control CenterControl Center gives you one-swipe access to frequently used toggles and shortcuts — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, Flashlight, and more — and can be fully customized with the specific controls you personally rely on.
More Personalization guides for iPhone (iOS)
- Lock Screen & StandByStandBy turns your iPhone into a glanceable bedside display of clocks, widgets, and Live Activities whenever it's charging and turned sideways, while Lock Screen settings control what you see without unlocking the device at all.
- Home Screen WidgetsWidgets show live, glanceable information from an app directly on the Home Screen or Today View, in small, medium, large, or Smart Stack sizes.
- Display ZoomDisplay Zoom scales the entire interface larger (Zoomed) or shows more content at once (Standard), changing the effective size of icons, text, and controls together.
- Action ButtonOn iPhone 15 Pro and later, the Action Button replaces the mute switch and can be assigned to trigger Silent Mode, Camera, Flashlight, a Shortcut, Accessibility features, and more with a press-and-hold.
- Back Tap GesturesBack Tap lets a double or triple tap on the back of the iPhone launch an action or Shortcut, without touching the screen or any physical button.
- Tap to Wake & Raise to WakeRaise to Wake turns the screen on when the iPhone is lifted, while Tap to Wake turns it on with a single tap anywhere on the display while it's lying flat.