How to Customize Your iPhone Lock Screen (iOS 26 Guide)

To customize your iPhone lock screen, wake the phone without unlocking it, long-press the lock screen for about a second until it zooms out, then tap Customize. Tap the clock to change the font and colour, tap the widget areas to add widgets, change the wallpaper, and tap Done to save. You need iOS 16 or later.

What You Can Customize on the iPhone Lock Screen

Since iOS 16, the lock screen is built from layers you edit directly. Here is what each one does:

Wallpaper — a photo, a Live Photo (it moves; needs iOS 17 or later), or one of Apple's built-in wallpapers such as Weather, Astronomy, Emoji, or Color.
Clock — the font and colour of the time.
Widgets — small pieces of live information, like the weather, your next event, or battery level, in the date line and a row under the clock.
Depth effect — on photos that support it, the main subject can sit in front of the clock.
Notification style — how waiting notifications appear: Count, Stack, or List.
Multiple lock screens — save several complete setups, switch between them, and link each one to a Focus.

For inspiration rather than instructions, browse iPhone lock screen ideas for 2026.

How to Enter Lock Screen Edit Mode

Wake your iPhone but stay on the lock screen. If Face ID unlocks it, that is fine, as long as you have not swiped up to the home screen.
Long-press an empty area of the lock screen for about a second. The lock screen zooms out and shows your saved lock screens.
Tap Customize, then choose the lock screen (not the home screen) if iOS asks which one. To start fresh instead, tap the + button.
Tap the part you want to change — the clock, a widget area, or the wallpaper.
Tap Done. iOS then asks how to handle the home screen (see below).

If long-pressing keeps unlocking the phone or does nothing, use the other route: Settings → Wallpaper, then tap Customize under the lock screen preview. Both open the same editor.

The layout is fixed by Apple. The date always sits above the clock, the widget row sits below it, and notifications appear lower down. You cannot drag the clock to a different position.

On iOS 15 or earlier there is no lock screen editor. Go to Settings → Wallpaper → Choose a New Wallpaper instead. Clock styles, widgets, and multiple lock screens are not available below iOS 16.

Now that you're in the editor, the biggest upgrade is the wallpaper itself. Skip hunting for a Live Photo — Lockimate turns any still in your camera roll into one in about 2–3 minutes.

Make my wallpaper move

How to Change the Lock Screen Wallpaper

To change the wallpaper on your current lock screen, open the editor and tap the photo button, or add a new lock screen with + and pick a type. The wallpaper picker offers:

Photos — anything in your library, including Live Photos
People — photos of people iOS has recognised in your library
Photo Shuffle — rotates through a set of photos on a schedule or when you tap the screen
Emoji — a tiled emoji pattern
Weather and Astronomy — Apple's own animated scenes; Weather needs location access
Color — a solid colour or gradient
Spatial Scenes (iOS 26) — a 3D depth effect built from one of your own photos

After you pick a photo, pinch and drag to frame it. Swipe left or right across the photo to try Apple's built-in photo styles, like black and white or a colour tint.

Depth effect. On photos where iOS can separate the subject from the background, the subject can overlap the bottom of the clock. You can turn it on or off from the menu in the corner of the editor. If it is greyed out, that photo or layout does not support it.

Home screen wallpaper. When you tap Done, iOS offers two choices:

Set as Wallpaper Pair — the home screen uses a matching version of the same image.
Customize Home Screen — pick a different photo, a colour, or a blurred version for behind your apps.

You can change the home screen wallpaper later through Settings → Wallpaper without touching the lock screen.

How to Change the Clock Font and Colour

Tap the clock in the editor. A panel opens with two sets of controls.

Font. A row of typefaces, from the default system font to rounded, serif, and heavier display styles. You can also switch the numerals to a different script, such as Arabic, Arabic Indic, or Devanagari.

Colour. A row of preset colours. The last swatch opens a full colour picker, so you can match the clock to a colour in your wallpaper. Some presets also show a slider for making the colour lighter or darker.

Your choice also sets the colour of the widgets and the date, so the lock screen stays consistent. If the clock is hard to read over a bright photo, a darker clock colour usually works better than switching wallpapers.

How to Add and Remove Lock Screen Widgets

The editor has two widget areas:

The date line above the clock holds one compact widget next to the date, such as a second time zone, the temperature, or your next event.
The row below the clock holds up to 4 slots. A small circular widget uses 1 slot and a wide rectangular widget uses 2. That gives you 4 small widgets, 2 wide ones, or 1 wide plus 2 small.

To add a widget, tap either area. The widget picker opens with suggestions at the top and a list of apps below. Tap a widget to add it. To remove one, tap the minus (−) badge on it. Changing the wallpaper or clock does not remove widgets.

Only apps whose developers have built lock screen widgets show up in the picker, so an app with home screen widgets may still be missing. For the full list of widget sizes, popular apps, and fixes for missing widgets, see the iPhone lock screen widgets guide.

How to Change the Notification Style

Notification style is not in the lock screen editor. Go to Settings → Notifications → Display As and pick one of three options:

Style	What it looks like	Best for
Count	One line with the number of notifications	Seeing as much of the wallpaper as possible
Stack	A small pile of cards at the bottom	A quick look at which apps are waiting
List	Every notification shown in full	Reading previews without unlocking

The style you choose applies to every saved lock screen. If a busy wallpaper (a Live Photo especially) keeps getting covered, Count leaves the most of it visible.

Multiple Lock Screens: Create, Switch, Link to Focus, and Delete

Starting with iOS 16 you can keep several lock screens saved at once. Each one remembers its own wallpaper, clock style, and widgets.

Create one. Long-press the lock screen and tap the blue + button, or swipe all the way to the end of your saved lock screens and tap + there.

Switch between them. Long-press the lock screen, swipe left or right, and tap the one you want. It takes effect straight away.

Edit one you are not using. Swipe to it in the gallery and tap Customize. You do not need to switch to it first.

Link a lock screen to a Focus. In the gallery, tap the Focus button at the bottom of a lock screen and choose a Focus, such as Work, Sleep, or Personal. That lock screen then turns on by itself whenever that Focus is active. You can also set this up from the other direction: go to Settings → Focus, choose a Focus, and select a lock screen there.

Delete one. Long-press the lock screen, swipe to the one you want to remove, swipe it up, and tap the trash icon.

Feature	Available since
Lock screen editor (long-press)	iOS 16
Clock font and colour	iOS 16
Lock screen widgets	iOS 16
Multiple lock screens and Focus linking	iOS 16
Count / Stack / List notification styles	iOS 16
Live Photo lock screen wallpapers	iOS 17 (not available in iOS 16)
Liquid Glass design	iOS 26
Spatial Scene wallpapers	iOS 26 (iPhone 12 or later)

How to Set and Edit a Live Photo Lock Screen

A Live Photo wallpaper plays a short burst of motion when you wake the iPhone, then settles on the still frame. To play it again, touch and hold the lock screen. It uses the same Live Photo format your iPhone camera already records: a still image paired with a short clip. It is not a video running in a loop, and no app needs to stay open in the background.

Requirements:

iOS 17 or later. Apple removed Live Photo lock screens in iOS 16 and brought them back in iOS 17.
Any iPhone that runs iOS 17, except iPhone SE.
Low Power Mode turned off. While it is on, the wallpaper shows the still frame only.

Apple does not publish how long the motion plays. In practice it is a short movement that slows down as it reaches the still frame, not the whole clip.

To set one:

Long-press the lock screen and tap + (or Customize → the photo button).
Choose Photos and select a Live Photo. Live Photos show a "LIVE" badge in your library.
Check that motion is switched on. The editor has a Live Photo button that turns playback on and off.
Pinch and drag to frame the shot, then tap Done.

To edit one: open the editor on that lock screen. Tap the Live Photo button to turn the motion off (the lock screen keeps the still frame) or back on. You can reframe it just like a normal photo. The home screen always shows the still frame, even with Set as Wallpaper Pair.

If it won't move: check Low Power Mode, your iOS version, and the Live Photo button first. Some Live Photos simply won't animate as a wallpaper. iOS decides this on the device without explaining why, so if one stays still, try a different one.

Making a Live Photo from a still. Your best lock screen photo is often an ordinary still. Lockimate turns any photo into a native Live Photo. Pick a vibe (Warm, Playful, Cinematic, or Lively) or describe the movement you want in your own words, and the finished Live Photo is saved to your camera roll in about 2–3 minutes. It is a standard Apple Live Photo, so you set it like one you shot yourself. Your first wallpaper is free.

More: how to make a live wallpaper on iPhone, the best moving wallpapers for iPhone, and the animated lock screen guide.

iOS 26 Lock Screen Notes

iOS 26 came out in September 2025. It follows iOS 18; there was never an iOS 25. The way you edit the lock screen has not changed — the same long-press, Customize, and Done steps apply. The main differences are in how it looks and one new wallpaper type:

Liquid Glass. The clock, widgets, and notifications use Apple's new translucent glass style, which takes on colour from the wallpaper behind it.
Spatial Scenes. On iPhone 12 or later, iOS can turn one of your own photos into a 3D scene that shifts as you tilt the phone. It is not a clip that plays, and only some photos qualify. See what Spatial Scenes are.
Live Photo wallpapers work the same as in iOS 17 and 18.

Your existing lock screens, widgets, and Live Photo wallpapers carry over when you update. For the full breakdown, see the iOS 26 lock screen guide.

Liquid Glass looks best over a background that moves. Put your own photo behind it — Lockimate turns any still into a native Live Photo, and the first one is free.

Animate a photo

FAQ

Why can't I customize my lock screen — there is no Customize button?

The lock screen editor needs iOS 16 or later. Check your version under Settings → General → About. On iOS 15 or earlier, change the wallpaper through Settings → Wallpaper instead. If you are on iOS 16 or later and still cannot change the lock screen, the iPhone may be managed by a work or school profile that locks the wallpaper — ask whoever manages the device.

Can I customize my lock screen without long-pressing it?

Yes. Open Settings → Wallpaper and tap Customize under the lock screen preview. It opens the same editor as the long-press gesture, which is useful if Face ID keeps unlocking the phone before you can long-press.

Does changing the lock screen also change the home screen wallpaper?

Only if you choose to. When you tap Done, iOS offers Set as Wallpaper Pair (the home screen uses a matching version of the same image) or Customize Home Screen (pick a separate photo, colour, or blur). A Live Photo only animates on the lock screen; the home screen always shows the still frame.

How do I switch between lock screens?

Long-press the lock screen, swipe left or right through your saved lock screens, and tap the one you want. To switch automatically, link a lock screen to a Focus: tap the Focus button at the bottom of that lock screen in the gallery and pick a Focus.

How do I delete a lock screen?

Long-press the lock screen, swipe to the one you want to remove, swipe up on it, and tap the trash icon.

Can I change the date format on the lock screen?

Not in the lock screen editor. The date line follows your iPhone's language and region settings (Settings → General → Language & Region), which control how the day and month are written.

Why is my Live Photo lock screen not moving?

Live Photo wallpapers need iOS 17 or later and are not available on iPhone SE. Low Power Mode also stops the animation, so turn it off and try again. Make sure the photo really is a Live Photo and that motion is switched on in the lock screen editor. Some Live Photos will not animate as a wallpaper at all; if one stays still, try a different one.

Does editing the lock screen reset my widgets?

No. Changing the wallpaper, clock font, or clock colour leaves your widgets in place. Widgets only disappear when you remove them yourself. Each saved lock screen keeps its own widgets, so switching to a different lock screen shows that one's widgets.