How to Make a Live Wallpaper on iPhone (Free Methods, iOS 17+)

To make a live wallpaper on iPhone, you need a Live Photo. Open Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper > Photos, choose a Live Photo, make sure the Live button is on, then tap Add > Set as Wallpaper Pair. It is free, needs iOS 17 or later, and animates on the lock screen only.

That is the whole setup. The harder part is having the right file. A live wallpaper on iPhone is a Live Photo: a still image paired with a short video clip, which iOS plays when you wake the phone. Moving wallpaper, animated wallpaper and live wallpaper all describe this same format (see live wallpaper vs Live Photo for the difference in terms). This guide covers where to get a Live Photo for free, how to set it, and what to do when it does not move.

What You Need

• iOS 17 or later. Apple removed Live Photo wallpapers in iOS 16 and restored them in iOS 17.
• Any iPhone except iPhone SE. Apple supports the feature on every iPhone model that runs iOS 17, apart from the iPhone SE line. iPad does not support it.
• A real Live Photo in your Photos library. A regular photo, a screenshot, a GIF or an MP4 video will not animate, even if it looks like it should.

Check your iOS version in Settings > General > About. If you are on iOS 16, update in Settings > General > Software Update; iOS 16 cannot animate a Live Photo wallpaper at all.

How to Set a Live Photo as Your Wallpaper

These steps work for any Live Photo, whether you shot it, converted it from a video, or made it with an app.

1. Open Settings > Wallpaper.
2. Tap Add New Wallpaper.
3. Tap Photos in the row of wallpaper types at the top. To see only Live Photos, switch the picker to the Live Photos filter.
4. Pick your Live Photo.
5. In the preview, find the Live button (the concentric circles, or a play-style Live icon, in the bottom-left). Make sure it is switched on. If it is off, the wallpaper is set as a still.
6. Adjust the crop with a pinch if you need to, so the subject is not hidden behind the clock.
7. Tap Add.
8. Tap Set as Wallpaper Pair to use it on the lock screen with a matching home screen, or Customize Home Screen to choose something different for the home screen.

Lock your phone and wake it again. You should see a short burst of motion that settles on the still frame.

Shortcut: from the lock screen

You can also start from the lock screen itself. Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID but stay on the lock screen, then touch and hold it. Tap the + button, choose Photos, pick your Live Photo, confirm the Live button is on, tap Add, and choose Set as Wallpaper Pair.

Shortcut: from the Photos app

Open the Live Photo in Photos, tap Share, scroll down and tap Use as Wallpaper. You land in the same preview screen, where you check the Live button and tap Add.

Pick the right key frame first

The animation ends on the Live Photo's key frame, which is also the still you see the rest of the time. If the still is a blink or a blurry frame, change it before setting the wallpaper: in Photos, tap Edit, tap the Live Photo button, move the frame selector and tap Make Key Photo. The full walkthrough is in how to edit a Live Photo on iPhone.

4 Ways to Get a Live Photo for Your Wallpaper

There are four practical routes. Two cost nothing at all; two use an app to create the Live Photo for you.

Method	Starts from	Your own content	Cost
Shoot a Live Photo with the Camera app	A new photo you take	Yes	Free
Apple's built-in animated wallpapers	Apple's gallery	No	Free
Convert a video to a Live Photo (intoLive)	A video you already have	Yes	Paid app (free version watermarked; approximately $2.99 to upgrade)
Animate a still photo with AI (Lockimate)	Any existing photo	Yes	First one free

Method 1: Shoot your own Live Photo (free)

This is the simplest free live wallpaper. Open Camera, switch to Photo mode, and check the Live Photo icon (concentric circles) at the top of the screen. When it is highlighted, Live is on; when it has a line through it, Live is off. Take the picture and it saves as a Live Photo.

The camera records about 1.5 seconds before and 1.5 seconds after you press the shutter. That is only a capture spec; the wallpaper does not play all of it (see how the animation plays below).

Tips for a Live Photo that works well as a wallpaper:

• Hold the phone still and let the subject move: water, hair in the wind, a pet turning its head, candle flames, leaves.
• Keep holding still for a moment after you press the shutter. The end of the clip is the part the lock screen shows.
• Leave space at the top of the frame for the clock.

If the Live icon keeps switching itself off, iOS may be resetting it on every launch. The fix, and where the setting lives, is in how to turn Live Photo on and off.

Limitation: you can only animate scenes you are photographing now. A photo you took last year without Live, or one someone sent you, has no motion to play.

Method 2: Apple's built-in animated wallpapers (free)

The wallpaper gallery that opens from Add New Wallpaper includes Apple's own options, such as Weather and Astronomy, which animate without any setup. Pick one, tap Add, and you are done. There is no Live button to check because these are Apple's own animated wallpapers, not Live Photos from your library.

They are free and always work, but you are limited to Apple's selection. None of Apple's built-in tools can turn your own still photo into a moving one.

Method 3: Convert a video into a Live Photo

If you already have a short video you love, a converter app can turn it into a Live Photo. intoLive is the best-known option: you pick a video, trim the section you want, and save it back to Photos as a Live Photo. It does not create motion; you supply it. The free version adds a watermark, and a paid upgrade (approximately $2.99) removes it.

After saving, set it using the steps above. For other converters, the right trim length and the settings that matter, see how to turn a video into a Live Photo. The same approach works for animated GIFs: see how to turn a GIF into a Live Photo.

Trim so the motion you care about finishes at the end of the clip, since that is the part the lock screen shows, and always export as a Live Photo, not a video.

Method 4: Animate a still photo with AI

This is the route for any photo that was never a Live Photo: an old holiday picture, a portrait someone sent you, a pet photo shot with Live off. Lockimate takes the still, generates a short motion clip for it, and saves the result to Photos as a native Live Photo, the same format the Camera app produces.

1. Install Lockimate from the App Store and open it.
2. Choose a photo from your library, or take a new one in the app.
3. Pick how you want it to move. The app suggests motions that suit the photo's subject.
4. Start the generation. It takes about 2–3 minutes.
5. Save the result to Photos. It saves as a Live Photo.
6. Set it as your wallpaper with the steps above.

Your first wallpaper is free. After that, generations come with a subscription that includes a monthly allowance. Photos with a clear subject and some depth, such as portraits, pets, landscapes and water, give the best results; flat images like screenshots of text give the AI little to work with.

What about wallpaper apps with pre-made live wallpapers?

Some wallpaper apps offer libraries of ready-made live wallpapers, some of them free with ads. Quality varies, and many items labelled "live" are video loops rather than Live Photos, which iOS will not animate on the lock screen. After downloading, check the file (see below) before trying to set it. For a shortlist, see the best live wallpaper apps for iPhone in 2026, and for ideas by style (ocean, galaxy, nature and more), see best moving wallpapers for iPhone.

How a Live Wallpaper Actually Plays

A Live Photo wallpaper behaves differently from the same Live Photo in the Photos app, which surprises a lot of people.

• It plays on wake, once. When you raise the phone or press the side button, the wallpaper plays a short burst of motion and stops on the key frame. It does not loop.
• It plays only part of the clip. Apple does not publish a playback duration. In our device testing, iOS plays roughly the final 2 seconds leading into the key frame, slowed down. That is why the end of the clip matters most.
• Lock screen only. The home screen shows the same image as a still.
• Low Power Mode stops it. While Low Power Mode is on, the wallpaper stays still.

Troubleshooting: Live Toggle Missing or Wallpaper Not Moving

The Live button is missing or greyed out

This almost always means the file is not a real Live Photo. It may look like a normal photo in your library, but the video half is gone or was never there. Common causes:

• It was sent to you. AirDrop, messaging apps, email and social apps can send only the still image, dropping the video. The copy you received is then just a photo. Ask for the original, or use the copy on the phone that took it.
• It was shot with Live off. The Camera app's Live icon had a line through it, so no motion was recorded.
• An app exported a video. Some apps save an MP4 instead of a Live Photo. Videos appear in Photos as videos and cannot be set as an animated wallpaper. Go back to the app and look for a Live Photo export option.
• It is a GIF, Boomerang-style loop or screenshot. None of these are Live Photos. Convert them first (Method 3) or animate the still (Method 4).

The wallpaper was set but does not move

1. Turn off Low Power Mode in Settings > Battery. This is the most common cause when it used to work.
2. Check you are on the lock screen. The home screen never animates.
3. Check the Live button. Touch and hold the lock screen, tap Customize, choose the lock screen and confirm the Live button is on. If it is off, the wallpaper was saved as a still.
4. Check your iOS version. You need iOS 17 or later, on an iPhone other than iPhone SE.
5. Look closely at the end of the clip. If the Live Photo has very little movement in its final moments, the wallpaper can look almost still even when it is working. Try a different Live Photo, or pick a different key frame.

How to Check a File Is a Real Live Photo

Before you spend time on the wallpaper picker, confirm what you have.

• Look for the LIVE badge. Open the photo in Photos. A Live Photo shows a LIVE label in the top-left corner.
• Touch and hold it. A real Live Photo plays its motion. If nothing moves, there is no video half.
• Use the Live Photos album. In Photos, go to Media Types > Live Photos. If your image is not listed there, iOS does not see it as a Live Photo.
• Run it through our checker. The free Live Photo check runs in your browser and shows which of the requirements iOS checks your file fails, so you know whether to re-save it, convert it, or start from a different file.

FAQ

Is it free to make a live wallpaper on iPhone?

Yes. Setting a Live Photo as your lock screen is built into iOS and costs nothing, and any Live Photo you shoot with your own camera works. Apple's built-in animated wallpapers are free too. You only pay if you use a third-party app to convert a video or animate a still photo, and Lockimate's first wallpaper is free.

Which iPhones support live wallpapers?

Live Photo lock screen wallpapers need iOS 17 or later. Apple supports them on every iPhone model that runs iOS 17 except iPhone SE. iOS 16 removed the feature and iOS 17 restored it, so an iPhone stuck on iOS 16 cannot animate a Live Photo wallpaper. iPad does not support them.

Why is the Live button missing when I pick my photo?

The file is not a real Live Photo. The most common causes are that it was shot with Live turned off, it was sent through a messaging app or other transfer that dropped the video part, or an app exported it as an MP4 video instead of a Live Photo. Check the file with a Live Photo checker, then use the original or re-save it from the source app.

Does a live wallpaper move on the home screen?

No. iOS only animates a Live Photo wallpaper on the lock screen. On the home screen the same image shows as a still.

How long does a live wallpaper play?

Apple does not publish a playback duration. In our device testing, iOS plays roughly the final 2 seconds of the clip leading into the key frame, slowed down, once per wake. It does not loop. The 1.5 seconds either side of the shutter is how long the camera records, not how long the wallpaper plays.

Why did my live wallpaper stop moving?

Low Power Mode stops Live Photo wallpaper animation. Turn it off in Settings > Battery. Also confirm you are looking at the lock screen, not the home screen, and that the Live button was switched on when you set the wallpaper.

Can I use a video or GIF as a live wallpaper?

Not directly. iOS only animates Live Photos on the lock screen. You first convert the video or GIF into a Live Photo with a converter app such as intoLive, save it to Photos, and then set it as your wallpaper like any other Live Photo.

Can I make a live wallpaper from a photo that is not a Live Photo?

Yes, with an AI app. Lockimate takes a still photo, generates the motion, and saves the result to Photos as a native Live Photo. Each generation takes about 2–3 minutes and your first wallpaper is free.