---
title: "Live Photo lock screen wallpaper"
description: "Set a Live Photo as your iPhone Lock Screen wallpaper, play it when the screen wakes, and learn how a video made into a Live Photo with PicWay fits in."
url: "https://picway.app/guides/live-photo-lock-screen-wallpaper-iphone/"
lang: "en"
type: "guides"
updated: "2026-11-01"
published: "2026-11-01"
keywords: "Live Photo lock screen wallpaper"
---

# Live Photo lock screen wallpaper

URL: https://picway.app/guides/live-photo-lock-screen-wallpaper-iphone/
Markdown: https://picway.app/guides/live-photo-lock-screen-wallpaper-iphone/index.md
Last updated: 2026-11-01

To use a Live Photo as lock screen wallpaper, touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap the add button, choose Photos, and pick a Live Photo. Apple says that if it can be translated into slow motion, you tap a button to play it when the device wakes up. You can also make one from a video with PicWay.

## How to do it {#steps}

1. **Find a Live Photo to use**: In the Photos app, tap Collections, scroll to Media Types, tap Live Photos, open one, and press and hold the screen to see it play.
2. **Start a new Lock Screen**: Touch and hold the Lock Screen, then tap the add button to create a new Lock Screen. If you don’t see it, touch and hold again and enter your passcode. You can also open Settings, tap Wallpaper, then tap Add New Wallpaper.
3. **Choose Photos and pick your Live Photo**: Tap Photos at the top of the wallpaper gallery and choose the Live Photo you want.
4. **Turn on the Live Photo motion effect**: If the Live Photo can be translated into slow motion, tap the Live Photo button to play it when the device wakes up. Then tap Add and set it as the wallpaper.

## Set a Live Photo as your Lock Screen wallpaper {#set-wallpaper}

Apple’s [custom Lock Screen guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/create-a-custom-lock-screen-iph4d0e6c351/ios) says to touch and hold the Lock Screen, then tap the add button to create a new Lock Screen. If you don’t see it, touch and hold your Lock Screen again, then enter your passcode. Then tap one of the wallpaper options.

You can also go through Settings. [Apple’s wallpaper guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-the-wallpaper-iph3d267104/ios) says to open Settings, tap Wallpaper, tap Add New Wallpaper, and use a button at the top of the gallery such as Photos to design your wallpaper. Tap Add, then choose whether to use it for both the Lock Screen and Home Screen with Set as Wallpaper Pair.

## Make it move {#make-it-move}

Apple’s custom Lock Screen guide describes one option for this: if you select a Live Photo that can be translated into slow motion, tap the Live Photo button to play the Live Photo when the device wakes up.

| Choice | What Apple says |
|---|---|
| Live Photo that can be translated into slow motion | Tap the Live Photo button to play it when the device wakes up |
| Other photos | Apple’s page doesn’t describe this motion option for them |

Apple doesn’t say how long the motion plays on the Lock Screen. [Apple’s Live Photos guide](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104966) says a Live Photo records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take the picture. According to [videolivephoto.com](https://videolivephoto.com/blog/best-live-photo-converters), saving a clip as a Live Photo does not guarantee the wallpaper result, and Apple’s instructions do not guarantee the Lock Screen playback length of every converted clip. That site is a vendor, so treat it as a caution rather than a rule.

## Use a video as a Live Photo with PicWay {#picway-video-to-live}

The Apple wallpaper pages we checked describe photos, not videos. If you start with a video, PicWay can turn it into a Live Photo first, and then you set that Live Photo as above.

In PicWay, pick a video and tap Export. The clip is up to 3.9 seconds by default, or you can tap No Time Limit to use the whole video. The new Live Photo is saved to the PicWay Conversions album in Photos. The full steps are in [how to turn a video into a Live Photo](https://picway.app/guides/video-to-live-photo/).

How the Live Photo plays on your Lock Screen depends on iOS, and Apple only describes the slow-motion option above. After you set it, wake the screen and see for yourself.

## Quick answers {#faq}

### Does every Live Photo play on the Lock Screen? {#faq-every}
Apple’s page says the play option applies to a Live Photo that can be translated into slow motion. Try yours and see.

### Can I use a video directly as wallpaper? {#faq-video}
The Apple pages we checked don’t describe that. Turn the video into a Live Photo first, for example in PicWay.

### Where does the Live Photo from PicWay go? {#faq-album}
The new Live Photo is saved as a new item in the PicWay Conversions album in Photos.