How to make a moving wallpaper on iPhone

The short version

• A moving wallpaper is a Live Photo. A regular video can’t be used as a wallpaper as it is.
• It needs iOS 17 or later. Set on the Lock Screen, it plays each time you wake your iPhone.
• There are two ways to get one. Shoot a Live Photo with the Camera, or convert a video you already have.
• You set it in the Settings app. Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Photos → Live Photo.

Option 1: Shoot a Live Photo with the Camera

If you’re about to take the picture, this is the easiest way. Open the Camera app in Photo mode, check that the Live Photo button (the concentric circles at the top of the screen) is on, and shoot. In the Photos app, the picture shows “LIVE” in the top-left corner.

A Live Photo only captures a moment around the shutter press, though. To use a scene from a video you’ve already taken, use the next option.

Option 2: Convert a video you already have

This works with any video in your library — your pet, your kids, a trip. iPhone can’t turn a video into a Live Photo on its own, so you need a converter app. Here are the steps with our own app, LiveConverter.

Pick where the clip starts, and up to 3 seconds from there become a Live Photo.

1. Open LiveConverter and tap Choose from Photos (or Choose from Files for a video in the Files app) to pick a video.
2. Drag the slider to where the scene you want begins. The frame buttons move one frame at a time.
3. Choose the length — 1, 2 or 3 seconds. The play button plays the selected range.
4. Check the result with Preview, then tap Save to Photos. It is saved to your Photos library as a Live Photo.

The conversion happens entirely on your iPhone; your video is never uploaded. The app is free to use (the free version adds a watermark to saved Live Photos and shows an ad before saving; the one-time “LiveConverter Pro” purchase removes both).

Set it as your Lock Screen

Once you have a Live Photo, set it as your wallpaper. iOS doesn’t let apps change the wallpaper, so you do this in the Settings app.

1. Open Settings, then tap Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper.
2. Tap Photos, then choose the picture under Live Photo at the top.
3. On the editing screen, make sure the play button is on. If it’s off, the wallpaper won’t move.
4. Tap Add, then Set as Wallpaper Pair (to use it on the Home Screen too) or Customize Home Screen.

You can also touch and hold the Lock Screen and add a new wallpaper from the gallery. For details, see Apple Support: “Set a Live Photo as your Lock Screen wallpaper on your iPhone”.

If it doesn’t move

• Your iOS version. Live Photo wallpapers need iOS 17 or later. Check it in Settings → General → About.
• The play button on the wallpaper. Make sure it’s on in the wallpaper editing screen.
• Whether the picture is a Live Photo. If it shows “LIVE” in the top-left corner in the Photos app, it is one.
• It moves on the Lock Screen. It plays when you wake your iPhone.

Making a wallpaper from a video

Pick any moment from a video in your library and turn it into a Live Photo. Free to try.