Want to personalize your iPhone and make it truly yours? One of the easiest and most impactful ways is by changing your background photo, also known as your wallpaper. Whether you want to showcase a cherished memory, a stunning landscape, or simply refresh your phone’s look, your iPhone offers a variety of options to change both your Lock Screen and Home Screen backgrounds.
Setting a New Background Photo on Your iPhone
Changing your background photo on your iPhone is straightforward. Follow these simple steps to give your device a fresh visual appeal:
- Open Settings: Locate and tap the “Settings” app icon on your Home Screen.
- Navigate to Wallpaper: Scroll down and tap on “Wallpaper”.
- Add New Wallpaper: Tap the “Add New Wallpaper” option. This will take you to the wallpaper selection screen.
- Choose Your Photo Source: You can select a photo from various sources:
- Photos: Access your photo library to choose any image from your albums.
- People: Quickly select photos featuring people from your library.
- Photo Shuffle: Set up a rotating selection of photos that change throughout the day.
- Live Photo: Use a Live Photo for a dynamic background.
- Categories: Explore pre-designed wallpapers from categories like “Weather & Astronomy”, “Emoji”, or “Color”.
- Customize (Optional): After selecting a photo, you can further customize its appearance by adjusting filters, cropping, or enabling perspective zoom.
- Tap “Add”: Once you’re satisfied with your chosen photo and customizations, tap “Add” in the top right corner.
- Set Wallpaper Option: You’ll be presented with two options:
- Set as Wallpaper Pair: Apply the chosen photo to both your Lock Screen and Home Screen.
- Customize Home Screen: Customize your Home Screen background separately, allowing you to use a different photo or style for each screen.
Customize Lock Screen wallpaper options with Focus setting highlighted
Quickly Change Your Background from the Lock Screen
For even faster background changes, you can do it directly from your Lock Screen:
- Access Wallpaper Gallery: On your Lock Screen, firmly touch and hold the screen in an empty area. This will bring up your wallpaper gallery.
- Browse or Add: Swipe left or right to scroll through your existing saved wallpapers. To set a new background photo, tap the “Add” button (plus sign).
- Select and Customize: Choose a new photo source as described in the previous section and customize it to your liking.
- Set as Background: Tap “Add” and choose whether to set it as a wallpaper pair or customize your Home Screen separately.
From the Lock Screen wallpaper gallery, you also have quick access to Focus modes, wallpaper customization, and deletion options by swiping up on a wallpaper and tapping the trash icon.
Personalizing Your iPhone Background with Customizations
Your iPhone offers extensive customization options to make your background photo even more personal:
- Go to Wallpaper Settings: Open “Settings” and tap “Wallpaper”.
- Customize Lock Screen Preview: Tap “Customize” below the preview of your current Lock Screen.
- Add Widgets: Tap the boxes above and below the time to add widgets like Calendar, Weather, Fitness, or Reminders for at-a-glance information.
- Change Font and Color: Tap on the time to customize the font style and color.
- Explore Photo Styles: Swipe left or right on the photo to apply different styles like “Black & White” or “Depth Effect”. Tap the “More” button (three dots) for additional options.
- Crop and Position: Pinch and drag your photo to perfectly frame it within the background.
- Customize Lock Screen Controls (iOS 18): In iOS 18, tap the minus button on your current controls and then the plus button to select different controls like Flashlight, Camera, or Quick Note for quick access from your Lock Screen.
- Depth Effect and Dark Mode: Tap the “Depth Effect” button to enable layering with the subject of your photo (if available). Use the “Dark Mode” button to automatically switch your wallpaper appearance between Light and Dark modes based on your system settings.
Rotating Multiple Background Photos with Photo Shuffle
For a dynamic background experience, use Photo Shuffle to rotate through a selection of your favorite photos:
- Navigate to Wallpaper Settings: In “Settings”, tap “Wallpaper”.
- Add New Wallpaper: Tap “Add New Wallpaper”.
- Select Photo Shuffle: Choose “Photo Shuffle” from the top row of options.
- Set Frequency: Choose how often you want your background photos to shuffle: “On Tap”, “On Lock”, “Hourly”, or “Daily”.
- Choose Photos: Select the photos you want to include in the shuffle. You can choose from your entire library, specific albums, or let your iPhone intelligently suggest photos.
- Tap Done: Tap “Done” to activate Photo Shuffle.
Changing your iPhone background photo is a simple yet effective way to personalize your device and reflect your style. With numerous customization options and easy access, you can always keep your iPhone looking fresh and inspiring.
