How to Set a Live Wallpaper on iPhone With a Live Photo

A live wallpaper on iPhone is a Live Photo set as your Lock Screen wallpaper. It plays a short motion effect each time the iPhone wakes. The Home Screen wallpaper stays still, so if you want something moving there, use an animated widget instead.

Set a Live Photo as your Lock Screen wallpaper

1. Press the side button, then touch and hold the Lock Screen.
2. Tap the Add button (+) to create a new Lock Screen. If you don’t see it, touch and hold again and enter your passcode.
3. Tap Photos and choose a Live Photo.
4. Tap the Live Photo button so it plays when the iPhone wakes.
5. Tap Add, then choose Set as Wallpaper Pair or Customize Home Screen.

These steps follow Apple’s iOS 27 Lock Screen guide ↗. Apple says the motion effect works with a Live Photo “that can be translated into slow motion,” so if the button doesn’t appear, try a different photo. Labels may differ slightly on older versions of iOS.

Make a Live Photo for your wallpaper

Take one with the Camera. In Photo mode, Live Photo is on by default, and the camera records a moment before and after you press the shutter. To check, swipe up from Photo mode, tap Live and choose Auto, On or Off. Apple’s Live Photos guide ↗ notes that Live Photos aren’t available while ProRAW or HEIF Max is on.

Turn a video into one. Apple doesn’t describe a built-in way to turn a video into a Live Photo. Apps such as Video to Live Wallpaper ↗ and LivePix ↗ say on their App Store listings that they do it. Save the result to Photos, then pick it in the Lock Screen editor. This is the usual route for clips saved from TikTok or Pinterest.

Short clips with slow movement and a subject that stays in place look best. Keep the top of the frame calm so the clock stays readable.

If the wallpaper doesn’t move

• The photo is a still image: open it in Photos and touch and hold. If nothing plays, it was saved without motion.
• The Live Photo button is off: edit the Lock Screen again with Customize and tap the button.
• Low Power Mode is on: Apple says Low Power Mode ↗ turns off some visual effects. Turn it off and lock and wake the iPhone to check.
• You expect a loop: the effect plays when the iPhone wakes. It doesn’t repeat while you look at the Lock Screen.

Movement on the Home Screen

For the Home Screen, Apple’s wallpaper guide ↗ lists a color, a photo or a blur. None of them moves, so motion there has to come from widgets. Most widgets only animate when their data changes, and Apple’s WidgetKit documentation ↗ caps those animations at two seconds. A few apps are built around a scene that keeps moving.

Aquarium Widgets ↗ is our app. It puts an aquarium with swimming fish on your Home Screen, and it is designed to pause the animation when the Home Screen isn’t being viewed. It is free to download. Placing an aquarium on the Home Screen requires the premium upgrade, sold as a subscription or a one-time purchase.

Our guide to how animated widgets work explains what really moves. For a matching look, see these fish and aquarium wallpaper ideas.