How to Change the Background on an iPhone: Complete Guide

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Easily change your iPhone wallpaper background with and without Settings

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: May 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Adding a New Wallpaper
|
• Changing from the Lock Screen
|
• Adding Widgets and Styles
|
• Deleting Wallpapers
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

Do you want to customize your iPhone home screen? With the new iOS update, you can add widgets and styles to your lock screen and home screen. This can be done within the Settings app or from the lock screen. Here's how to change the background on an iPhone.

Quick Steps

1. Open the Settings app and tap Wallpaper.
2. Tap + Add New Wallpaper.
3. Tap Photos to select a wallpaper, or choose from the presets.
4. Tap the widget box to add widgets, swipe left to add a filter, or pick a font style.
5. Tap Add when finished.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Adding a New Wallpaper

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1. 
   1
   Open the Settings

   

   . This is the cog icon.

   • Make sure to update your iPhone to get all the latest wallpaper customization options.
2. 
   2
   Tap Wallpaper. You can find this underneath Accessibility.
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3. 
   3
   Tap + Add New Wallpaper. This is the blue button.
4. 
   4
   Select a photo for your wallpaper. With the new iOS update, you have quite a few options to choose from. When you select an option, a preview will open.

   • Tap Photos to set a single photo as your wallpaper.
   • Tap Photo Shuffle to set a series of photos as your wallpaper.
   • You can also select a wallpaper from the categories below: Featured, Weather & Astronomy, Kaleidoscope, Emoji, Unity, Pride, Collections, and Color.
5. 
   5
   Customize your wallpaper. You can add widgets, set styles, and use filters.
6. 
   6
   Tap Add. This is in the top-right corner.
7. 
   7
   Tap Set as Wallpaper Pair. If you want your home screen and lock screen to have different backgrounds, tap Customize Home Screen instead and select a new photo.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Changing from the Lock Screen

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1. 
   1
   Unlock your iPhone. Enter your passcode, Face ID, or touch ID. Your iPhone must be unlocked to edit the lock and home screen.

   • Stay on the lock screen; don't swipe up just yet.
2. 
   2
   Long-press on the lock screen. When your iPhone is unlocked, this will open the Edit menu.

   • If you have more than one wallpaper added, swipe left or right to find it.
3. 
   3
   Tap Customize. This is below the wallpaper you want to customize.

   • The Customize view will open with the current lock screen on the left and the home screen on the right.
   • If you want to set a new wallpaper, tap the blue + icon.
4. 
   4
   Customize your wallpaper. You can add widgets, set styles, and use filters.

   • You won't be able to edit the wallpaper for some premade selections. In this case, delete the wallpaper and add a new one. Long-press on your lock screen and swipe up on the background. Tap the trash can icon, then tap Delete This Wallpaper.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Adding Widgets and Styles

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1. 
   1
   Go to your wallpaper's customization screen. You can do this by long-pressing the lock screen (unlocked) and tapping Customize. You can also go to Settings → Wallpaper → Customize.
2. 
   2
   Add widgets. On the lock screen, this can be found below the time. Tapping it will bring up all possible widgets you can add.

   • Tap a widget to add it to the widget box. Keep in mind you can only add what fits in the box. This can be four small-sized widgets, 1 medium-sized and 2 small-sized, or another combination of widgets.
   • You can also add certain widgets to the date line. Tap the date, and then tap a widget.
   • On the home screen, long-press the wallpaper until the icons wiggle. Tap the + in the top-left corner to open the widget menu. Tap a widget to add it to your home screen.
3. 
   3
   Add a filter. Swipe left and right to select between the filters. You can choose Natural, Black & White, Duotone, or Color Wash.

   • If you choose Duotone or Color Wash, tap the color bubble in the bottom-right corner and select a style color.
4. 
   4
   Add a font style. Tap the time at the top of the screen. A pop-up window will open.

   • Select a font style from the preset. You can tap and drag towards the left to see more options.
   • Drag the slider to change your font size.
   • Select a color style at the bottom to change the font color.
5. 
   5
   Tap Done. This will save your changes.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Deleting Wallpapers

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1. 1
   Turn on your device and let it load into your lock screen.
2. 2
   Long-press on the lock screen until the screen has several large tiles, and a Customize button appears at the bottom. By holding your finger down on the wallpaper, you will access the lock screen settings to delete.

   • The deletion of wallpapers is no longer an option from the Settings app. However, you can remove them via this method.
3. 3
   Find the wallpaper you'd like to remove. Slide left and right between wallpapers to see how they display.
4. 4
   Grab from the bottom of the wallpaper display and swipe it upwards until a red trash can button displays.
5. 5
   Tap the red trash can button.
6. 6
   Confirm your choice. This original dialog box asks whether you're okay with your choice for deleting it from both your Lock and Home screens. Tap "Delete This Wallpaper to confirm.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  How do I change my iPhone to greyscale?

  

  Community Answer

  Go into your Settings and tap on General followed by Accessibility. Then, scroll to the bottom and find Accessibility Shortcuts. Tap "Color Filters" so that a check mark appears beside the option. Now when you triple tap your Home button, your iPhone screen will display in black and white.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 3 Helpful 3
• Question

  How do I change my background color?

  

  John Hu

  Community Answer

  Settings -> Wallpaper -> Add New Wallpaper -> select what you want to do from there, such as import photo or use a preset from Apple.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 2 Helpful 0
• Question

  How do I delete a wallpaper setting?

  

  Community Answer

  Go into the settings app and click Wallpaper. Find your original Wallpaper and delete it.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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  Not Helpful 0 Helpful 3

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Tips

• You can also change an iPhone's background by going into the Photos app, selecting a photo, tapping the Share button, and then selecting the Use as Wallpaper option.
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