How to set different wallpaper for iPhone home screen and lock screen

iOS 16 adds a number of new options for setting your wallpaper and customizing your lock screen, with the ability to choose dynamic astronomy and weather wallpapers, emoji art, photo album shuffles, adding widgets, and more. But one thing that is not so easy anymore is to set a different wallpaper for your home screen and lock screen. Here’s how to do it…

iOS 16’s new wallpaper system really tries to encourage you to set the same wallpaper for both your lock screen and your home screen. This is the default behavior when setting a new wallpaper, and there’s a reason for it. iOS uses special transitions when going from the lock screen to the home screen when the two match. For example, on the astronomy wallpaper, the earth rotates forward when you swipe to unlock.

However, if you want to have different images for the photo on your lock screen and the photo behind your app icons, it is possible. It may not be entirely obvious.

How to change wallpaper for the first time after upgrading to iOS 16

After the first upgrade to iOS 16, your wallpaper will be in a legacy mode. This method does not support any of the configuration features of iOS 16 and later. So before making any changes, you must first create a brand new wallpaper. In Settings -> Wallpaper you can click Add New Wallpaper. Or on the lock screen, long press the display to bring up the gallery and tap the blue “+” button. Then follow the instructions below.

How to set a different photo for your lock screen and home screen

1. If you haven’t created a new wallpaper yet, go to Settings -> Wallpaper and press Add new wallpaper. You can also do this by long-pressing the lock screen to bring up the lock screen gallery and pressing the blue “Add” button.
2. Tap the Photos button at the top of the gallery. Choose a photo to use for the lock screen. Customize the lock screen further if necessary.
3. Tap Add in the top-right corner of the screen. Then, when the control panel appears, select the Customize Home Screen button.
4. In this view, you can choose how you want your home screen to look different. You can display a gradient, blur the contents of the lock screen, or choose a completely different photo. To do this, tap the Photos button.
5. Choose a new photo. Optionally activate the blur effect. Then tap Done at the top right of the screen.
6. That’s it. You have now set up a different lock screen and home screen photo.

How to change your home screen photo later

If you change your mind and want to choose a new photo later, you can do so in the settings. With an active iOS 16 style lock screen, navigate to Settings -> Wallpaper and press Customize to change the corresponding photo. You’ll see the same home screen configuration interface that lets you choose a color, gradient, or other photo. You can optionally blur the selected photo with the Blur switch. After making your changes, press Done to save.

Remember that you can also set up multiple lock screens and switch between them if you have different looks that you like. You can also use the Photo Shuffle Wallpaper option to cycle through a whole series of photos, not just one.

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