How to Have a Live Wallpaper on iPhone

To have a live wallpaper on your iPhone: open Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photos, select a Live Photo from your library, tap the Live button so it turns yellow, then tap Add → Set as Lock Screen. It animates every time you raise your iPhone. Requires iPhone XS or later, iOS 16+.

3-Step Setup

Step 1 — Get a Live Photo into your library

You need an actual Live Photo (paired HEIC + MOV files) in your Photos app. If you don't have one yet, see how to get a live wallpaper on iPhone for all four ways. There are 3 sources:

Your iPhone camera — open Camera, confirm Live Photo is enabled (concentric circles icon, top-right, not struck through), and take a photo. It saves as a Live Photo automatically.
Lockimate — convert any still photo into a Live Photo with AI. First one is free, takes 60–90 seconds, works on any existing photo.
Downloaded Live Photo — some wallpaper apps and websites distribute Live Photos. Verify the file has a .MOV component before trusting it.

If you try to use a regular JPEG or HEIC with no MOV pairing, the Live button will not appear in the wallpaper picker. The file must be a genuine Live Photo.

Step 2 — Open the iOS wallpaper picker

Go to Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper. Tap Photos from the row of wallpaper types at the top. Your photo library opens. To filter for Live Photos only, tap the category icon (top right of the picker) and select Live Photos.

Step 3 — Enable Live and set as lock screen

Select your Live Photo. In the preview screen, find the Live button (three concentric circles) at the bottom-left. Tap it — it turns yellow when active. Tap the blue Add button in the top right, then choose Set as Lock Screen. Your lock screen now plays the 1.5-second motion clip each time you raise or wake your phone. For more detail on this step, see how to set a Live Photo as your lock screen.

Notice Step 1 assumes you already have a Live Photo? If you don't, that's where most people get stuck. Lockimate turns any still into one in 60–90 seconds — no Live mode, no camera reshoot.

Make a Live Photo

What Counts as a Live Wallpaper

The term "live wallpaper" on iPhone specifically means a Live Photo used as a lock screen background. It is distinct from other wallpaper types:

Wallpaper type	Animates automatically	Requires iPhone XS+	Native iOS
Live Photo (live wallpaper)	Yes — raise-to-wake	Yes	Yes
Depth Effect	Parallax tilt only	No (iPhone 7 Plus+)	Yes
Still photo	No	No	Yes
Video loop (third-party)	No — tap to play	No	No
GIF wallpaper (third-party)	No — tap to play	No	No

Only Live Photo produces automatic motion on raise-to-wake through the native iOS wallpaper system. Third-party video and GIF wallpapers require an app running in the background and do not animate automatically.

Ways to Get Live Photos for Your Wallpaper

Take them with your iPhone camera

The iPhone camera shoots Live Photos by default when enabled. The Live Photo icon (three concentric circles) appears at the top of the Camera app. When it is yellow/highlighted, Live mode is on. When struck through, it is off. Live Photos taken this way are immediately available in Photos as wallpaper candidates.

Limitation: you can only animate scenes you can photograph. You cannot shoot a Live Photo of a downloaded image.

Use Lockimate to convert any still photo

Lockimate's AI converts a still photo into a Live Photo by generating a 1.5-second synthetic motion clip. The output is a properly formatted HEIC + MOV pair saved directly to Photos with the PHAssetMediaSubtypePhotoLive metadata flag that iOS requires to show the Live toggle in the wallpaper picker.

This is the only way to get a Live Photo wallpaper from a photo you did not take in Live Photo mode — including vacation photos taken before you had Live mode on, photos sent to you by others, or images downloaded from the web. For the complete creation flow, see how to make a live wallpaper for iPhone.

Vibes available: Warm, Playful, Cinematic, Lively. Art styles (Pro): Realistic, Anime, 3D Cartoon, Painterly. First wallpaper free.

Download Live Photos from wallpaper apps

A small number of wallpaper apps on the App Store distribute genuine Live Photos. Verify that the file saves to Photos with the Live badge (concentric circles icon in the top-left corner of the thumbnail) before using it. Files that save as still images despite being labelled "live" have lost their MOV component and will not animate.

Device and iOS Requirements

Device	Minimum iOS	Live wallpaper works
iPhone SE (1st gen), 6S, 7, 8, X	Any	No
iPhone XS / XS Max / XR	iOS 16	Yes
iPhone 11 / 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max	iOS 16	Yes
iPhone 12 series	iOS 16	Yes
iPhone 13 series	iOS 16	Yes
iPhone 14 series	iOS 16	Yes
iPhone 15 series	iOS 17	Yes
iPhone 16 series	iOS 18	Yes

The iOS 16 lock screen customization (Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper) is required. The older Settings → Wallpaper → Choose a New Wallpaper path in iOS 15 and earlier does not support the Live toggle in the same way.

Common Problems and Fixes

Live button is missing: The selected photo is not a genuine Live Photo. Check that it shows the concentric circles badge in Photos. If not, use Lockimate to convert it or re-export from the source app with Live Photo enabled.

Live button is greyed out: The photo metadata is present but iOS cannot read the MOV. Re-save the photo from Lockimate using the in-app Re-save to Photos button. Avoid transferring Live Photos via email or AirDrop before setting as wallpaper — both can strip the MOV.

Wallpaper is not animating after setup: Confirm Low Power Mode is off (Settings → Battery). Low Power Mode disables Live wallpaper animations system-wide. Also confirm the Live button was turned yellow (not just tapped and left off) during wallpaper setup.

Live toggle disappears after tapping: You may be tapping on a still photo accidentally filtered into the Live Photos category. Open Photos, find the thumbnail, and look for the concentric circles badge in the top-left corner. If it is absent, the file is a still.

FAQ

Why can't I see the Live button when setting my wallpaper?

The Live button only appears in the wallpaper picker when the selected image is a genuine Live Photo — a paired HEIC and MOV file with Apple's Live Photo metadata. Regular JPEGs, HEICs, screenshots, and downloaded images do not qualify. Open Photos and look for the concentric circles icon in the top-left corner of the thumbnail while it is in the grid view. If the icon is absent, the file is not a Live Photo. Use Lockimate to convert it (first conversion free, takes 60–90 seconds) or retake the photo in Live Photo mode.

Does the live wallpaper play on the home screen too?

No. iOS limits Live Photo animation to the lock screen only. On the home screen, the same Live Photo shows as a still image. This is an Apple system restriction. The 1.5-second clip plays each time you raise your iPhone (raise-to-wake) or press the side button — but only on the lock screen. If you want the home screen to have movement, the Depth Effect (available with Portrait mode shots) adds a parallax tilt effect, but that is not a video clip.

I'm on iPhone XS running iOS 15 — why doesn't the Live option appear?

iOS 16 introduced the redesigned lock screen with the Add New Wallpaper flow that reliably surfaces the Live toggle. On iOS 15, the path is Settings → Wallpaper → Choose a New Wallpaper → Live Photos, but the behavior is less consistent and some Live Photos do not show the option. Update to iOS 16 or later (Settings → General → Software Update) to get the full Live wallpaper experience. iPhone XS supports iOS up to iOS 17.

Can I have a different live wallpaper for lock screen and home screen?

Yes. In iOS 16+, lock screen and home screen wallpapers are set independently. Set your Live Photo as the lock screen. For the home screen, choose a separate still image, gradient, or color. The 2 wallpapers are linked into a "wallpaper pair" that you can switch between using long-press on the lock screen, but each can be a completely different image and type.