iPhone guide
How to set a live wallpaper on iPhone
Set a moving Lock Screen wallpaper on iPhone with a Live Photo: what works on iOS 26 and iOS 27, step by step, and what the motion looks like.
An iPhone can only move its wallpaper from a Live Photo. A plain video, GIF or MP4 will not work. The motion plays on the Lock Screen when the phone wakes, then settles on the still photo. The Home Screen always shows the still.
What you need
A Live Photo in your Photos library. Every Wallmill wallpaper has an iPhone Live Photo download: a zip with a photo and a short video that iOS joins into one Live Photo when you save them together.
Steps
- Download the iPhone Live Photo zip from a wallpaper page, then save both files to Photos. The zip to Photos guide shows exactly how.
- In Photos, open the picture and check it says LIVE in the top corner. If it does not, the two files were saved separately; see the zip guide.
- Open Settings, tap Wallpaper, then Add New Wallpaper.
- Tap Photos and pick the Live Photo.
- Make sure the Live Photo button (the circle of rings at the bottom) is on. Pinch to position it, then tap Add.
- Choose Set as Wallpaper Pair to use it on both screens, or customise the Home Screen separately.
- Lock the phone and wake it. The wallpaper plays once and rests on the still.
You can also start from the Lock Screen: press and hold it, tap the plus button, then Photos. The result is the same.
If it does not move
Low Power Mode stops the motion, and Reduce Motion can too. If iOS shows Motion Not Available, see live wallpaper not moving on iPhone.
iOS 27
iOS 27 added Image Playground to the wallpaper picker and new Featured wallpapers, but it still has no setting for a video wallpaper. The Live Photo route above is the way to get your own moving wallpaper on iOS 26 and iOS 27.