How to Change the Wallpaper on Your iPhone

Personalize your iPhone by changing the lock screen and background images

What to Know

  • Tap Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper. Tap a photo or choose from the iPhone's built-in Dynamic, Stills, or Live options.
  • Tap an image to preview it. (If you chose a photo, adjust its size.) Tap either Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen, or Set Both.
  • More options: Try third-party wallpaper apps. Or, create one with an image-editing program on your computer, then sync it to your phone.

This article explains how to change the wallpaper that you see on your iPhone's Home screen and on its Lock screen. Use the same image for both, or choose two different images.

How to Change the Wallpaper on your iPhone

Start by finding the image you want to use on your iPhone. You can use a wallpaper that came pre-installed on the iPhone, any image in your Photos app, or a picture you took with the camera. Here's what to do:

  1. Tap Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper.

  2. Review the wallpaper options. The top of the screen offers three types of built-in stock images:

    • Dynamic: These animated wallpapers were introduced in iOS 7 and provide subtle motion and visual interest.
    • Stills: These images are just what they sound like — still images.
    • Live: These are Live Photos. Hard-press the wallpaper to play a short animation.

    Below these are the images on your iPhone, sorted based on your Photos albums.

    Wallpaper, Choose a New Wallpaper, Dynamic/Stills/Live in iOS Settings
  3. Tap the image you want to use as a wallpaper to open a preview screen.

  4. If you selected a photo, adjust or scale it using a finger pinch. This changes how the image appears as a wallpaper.

    If you choose one of the built-in wallpapers, you can't zoom in or adjust it.

  5. When the photo is how you want it, tap Set. If you change your mind, tap Cancel.

  6. Tap either Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen, or Set Both. Tap Cancel if you change your mind.

    Set button, and options for Wallpaper in iOS

If you set the image as wallpaper for the Home screen, press the Home button (or swipe up from the bottom of the scree on iPhone X and newer), and you'll see it beneath your apps. If you used it for the Lock screen, lock your phone and press a button to wake it up to see the new wallpaper.

Live and Dynamic Wallpapers add animation to your Home and Lock screens. To learn more about these options, find out how to use live wallpapers on your iPhone.

iPhone Wallpaper Apps

In addition to these options, there are other apps that design wallpapers, lock screen images, and change the appearance of the iPhone in other ways. Many are free. Search the App Store for wallpaper to find them.

The Size of iPhone Wallpaper for Each Model

You can make your own iPhone wallpapers using an image editing or illustration program on your computer. If you do that, sync the image to your phone and select the wallpaper in the same way you sync any wallpaper.

Make sure to create an image that's the right size for your device. These are the correct sizes, in pixels, for wallpapers for all iOS devices:

iPhone iPod touch iPad
iPhone 11 Pro Max & XS Max: 2688 x 1242 7th, 6th & 5th generation iPod touch: 1136 x 640 iPad Pro 12.9: 2732 x 2048
iPhone 11 & XR: 1792 x 828 4th generation iPod touch: 960 x 480 iPad Pro 10.5 (2018): 2224 x 1668
iPhone 11 Pro, XS & X: 2436 x 1125 All other iPod touches: 480 x 320 iPad Pro 10.5, Air 2, Air, iPad 4, iPad 3, mini 2, mini 3: 2048x1536
iPhone 8 Plus, 7 Plus,
6S Plus, 6 Plus
: 1920 x 1080
  Original iPad mini: 1024x768
iPhone 8, 7, 6S, 6: 1334 x 750   Original iPad and iPad 2: 1024 x 768
iPhone 5S, 5C, and 5: 1136 x 640    
iPhone 4 and 4S: 960 x 640    
All other iPhones: 480 x 320    

Want to learn about all the different ways you can customize your iPhone, not just the wallpaper? Check out How to Customize Your iPhone.

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