Iphone se 2022 live wallpaper not working

Having trouble adding some personality to your iPhone when using live wallpapers? Can’t figure out how to add movement to your iPhone’s Lock Screen? Keep reading to learn how to set-up, use, and troubleshoot your Live Wallpapers today!

Contents

• Quick Tips 
• Live Wallpaper Basics
  • There are a couple of common mistakes people make with Live Wallpapers
  • Check That Your Selected Photo is “Live”
  • Live Wallpapers using an iPhone 11, XR, or SE?
• What’s The Difference Between Live Wallpapers and Dynamic Wallpapers?
  • Use a Dynamic Wallpaper on Your iPhone
  • How To Play Dynamic and Live Wallpapers
• Set your iPhone’s Live Wallpapers for your Lock Screen (and/or Home Screen)
• How to fix Live Wallpaper not working on your iPhone
  • Restart Your iPhone
• Low Power Mode Could Be Causing Problems 
  • Turn Off Low Power Mode
• Try Changing to a Different Wallpaper
  • Change to a Default Still Wallpaper
  • Change to a Default Live Wallpaper
• Check the Reduce Motion Settings
• Change your Haptic Touch’s touch duration
  • For iPhones that support 3D touch, turn 3D touch on
• Find the Best Live Wallpapers
• Reader Tips 

Quick Tips 

Follow These Quick Tips to Fix Your Live Wallpapers

• Make sure that the photo you select for your Live Wallpaper is a “Live” Photo
• Restart your iPhone
• Disable Low Power Mode
• Turn off Reduce Motion
• Change your Haptic Touch’s touch duration
• Enable 3D Touch, if available on your device
• Set back to a regular static wallpaper image
• Change to a different live photo for your wallpaper
• Make sure your iPhone is model iPhone 6S or newer (iPhone SE 1st generation does not support live photos)

Related Posts:

• Live Photos on iPhone, A Complete Guide – 2018
• When Using 3D Touch on Your iPhone Makes Sense: 12 Tips

Live Wallpaper Basics

Live Wallpapers have been around since the iPhone 6S and add a magical flair to your phone. However, they don’t always work correctly. So if you’ve got a problem with your Live Wallpaper, this post shows you exactly how to fix it!

There are a couple of common mistakes people make with Live Wallpapers

• First, a Live Wallpaper only works from your Lock Screen—not from your Home Screen—and to activate it you need to press firmly and engage 3D Touch or Haptic Touch
• Second, the image selected needs to be either a Live Photo or one of your iDevice’s default Live Wallpaper
• The iPhone SE 1st generation does not support live wallpaper (due to no 3D Touch or Haptic Touch feature)
• iPhones with 3D or Haptic Touch can use a Live Wallpaper
• iPads and iPods do not support Live Wallpapers. It’s an iPhone only feature

Check That Your Selected Photo is “Live”

Go to Settings > Wallpaper, and tap on the Wallpaper screen, verify that the image is a “Live Photo” and not a Still or Perspective picture.

If you know all that and still can’t get it to work, check out these easy steps below and learn just how to fix it.

Live Wallpapers using an iPhone 11, XR, or SE?

The good news is that the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, ii Pro Max, and XR now support live wallpapers! 

With iOS 13.4+, all iPhone models except iPhone SE (1st & 2nd generation) allow your Lock screen to play the Live Photos. The key is to press and hold on the Lock screen to play the Live Photo!

If you still use an older iOS version, when you select a live photo for your wallpaper, it shows on the lock screen as a still image. There are options for Dynamic Wallpapers, which simulate motion. But unlike Live Photos, you can’t create your own dynamic wallpapers!

So, to get live wallpapers we highly recommend updating your iOS. Remember, to back up your device first using iCloud, Finder, or iTunes!

Problems with iPhone SE second generation (2020 model) and live wallpapers?

A lot of our readers who updated to a new iPhone SE have problems getting live wallpapers to work. We reached out to Apple with mixed results–some say that yes, the iPhone SE second generation works and others say it doesn’t.

What we know is that you should update the iOS to at least iOS 13.4.1–then test if Live Wallpapers work.

It’s clear that the SE includes all the needed hardware to support Live Wallpapers! So we believe that they should be available (if not now, then with an upcoming iOS update)

According to Apple’s own guidance:

“When you set a Live Photo as wallpaper, touch and hold the Lock screen to play the Live Photo—on all iPhone models except iPhone SE (1st generation)”

So that implies that it should work on the new 2020 second-generation iPhone SE. Try updating to iOS 13.4.1 and see if that works for you—or not.

And if it does not work, contact Apple Support and ask them to support live wallpapers for the new model iPhone SE!

What’s The Difference Between Live Wallpapers and Dynamic Wallpapers?

• Live Wallpapers animate when you 3D or Haptic Touch them. Since they need 3D/Haptic Touch, Live Wallpapers are only available on iPhones with those features feature–so it’s not available on the original first-generation iPhone SE. You can create your own live images to use as Live Wallpapers. However, Live Wallpapers only work on the Lock screen. On your Home screen, Live Wallpapers are still images
• Dynamic Wallpapers are animated images that play on a loop and they work on both the Home and Lock screens! And unlike Live Wallpapers, they don’t require 3D Touch. Unlike Live Wallpapers, you can’t create your own Dynamic Wallpapers

Be aware that Dynamic Wallpapers use a lot of power!

Use a Dynamic Wallpaper on Your iPhone

1. Go to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper
   
2. Tap Dynamic
3. Select one of the available dynamic wallpapers
   
4. Choose Set

How To Play Dynamic and Live Wallpapers

1. Dynamic. The animation plays automatically on your Lock or Home screen
2. Live. On the Lock screen, 3D/Haptic Touch and hold until the live image starts animating

Set your iPhone’s Live Wallpapers for your Lock Screen (and/or Home Screen)

How to fix Live Wallpaper not working on your iPhone

Restart Your iPhone

Whatever issue you may have with your iPhone, the easiest fix is to restart it. This is also true for Live Wallpaper problems, so try a quick restart before anything else and see if it helps.

How you restart depends on your model

• For iPhone SE & iPhone 8 and below, iPads, and iPod Touch
  • Press and hold the Top or Side button until the slider appears
  • Swipe the slider to the other side to turn your device completely off
  • To turn it back on, press and hold the Top or Side button again
• For iPhone X and above (models with Face ID)
  • Press and hold the Side button and either volume button until the slider appears
  • Swipe the slider to the other side to turn your device completely off
  • To turn your iPhone back on, press and hold the Side button again
• Using iOS 11 and above
  • Turn off ANY device, regardless of model, by going to Settings > General> Shut Down

Low Power Mode Could Be Causing Problems 

Is the battery icon at the top of your display yellow? You might have Low Power Mode turned on.

This shouldn’t make a difference because Low Power Mode doesn’t deactivate Live Wallpapers, but sound logic doesn’t always help with technical issues. Many users have reported Low Power Mode as the cause of their problems.

Turn Off Low Power Mode

1. Go to Settings > Battery
2. Tap to turn off Low Power Mode
3. Return to your Lock Screen and test the Live Wallpaper

Parallax, Live, and Dynamics motion effects are automatically disabled when Low Power Mode is enabled, so that’s why live wallpapers don’t work!

Try Changing to a Different Wallpaper

There could be a problem with your specific wallpaper. You can test it by switching to one of the defaults on your phone. We recommend changing to a Still Wallpaper and then trying a default Live Wallpaper to see if it works.

Change to a Default Still Wallpaper

1. Go to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper
2. Select Stills and choose any of the default Still Wallpapers
3. Tap Set > Set Lock Screen (or Set Both)
4. Return to your Lock Screen to see if it has changed

Change to a Default Live Wallpaper

1. Go to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper
2. Select Live or scroll down to your Live Photos album and choose any of the default Live Wallpapers
3. Tap Set > Set Lock Screen (only lock screens support live wallpapers)
4. Return to your Lock Screen to see if it has changed

If the default wallpaper works, there must be a problem with your old wallpaper. Is it definitely a Live Photo?

Check the Reduce Motion Settings

This is a big one and is often responsible for live Wallpapers not working on your device.

If it’s ON, tap it and toggle it to OFF, restart your device, and then check if the wallpapers start their Live animation sequence now.

Change your Haptic Touch’s touch duration

Your iPhone may not be recognizing your on-screen touch as a haptic touch, so let’s try changing the touch duration for your haptic touch.

1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Haptic Touch (or 3D and Haptic Touch)
2. Change your touch duration from Fast to Slow or vise-versa
   
3. Tap the image in the touch duration test to see just how long it takes to pop to a larger image
   1. If you don’t like the duration, change it in the settings above

For iPhones that support 3D touch, turn 3D touch on

Depending on what iOS version you use, Live Wallpapers may use 3D Touch to activate. There’s a chance your 3D Touch has been turned off. Follow the steps below to make sure that isn’t the case:

Turn on 3D Touch

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > 3D and Haptic Touch
   1. For older iOS, Settings > General > Accessibility > 3D Touch
2. Toggle 3D touch ON
3. Adjust the 3D Touch Sensitivity to a level you can use
   1. Try turning the sensitivity to light and use your whole thumb on the lock screen to get the live wallpapers to work

Find the Best Live Wallpapers

Now that your Live Wallpaper up and running, it’s time to customize your iPhone with an awesome new background.

Bonus Tip: If you are looking for a wallpaper for your iPhone 11 Pro/X/XS Series phone, check out one with a Dark background. The darker pixels on an OLED screen save battery juice compared to the brighter ones.

Finding a high-quality Live Wallpapers is hard

However, you can check out the Apps below for lots of unique options:

• Wallpapers for Me (Live)
• Live Wallpapers Now
• Wallpapers and Themes (Live)
• Live Wallpapers & Backgrounds

Send us a picture of your favorite Live Wallpapers, and let us know in the comments if you need more help!

Reader Tips 

• When you’re on the Lock screen, press FIRMLY to play and animate the Live Photo
• For iPhone XR folks, call or contact Apple support and ask them to add Live Photos to the iPhone XR’s Lock Screen in a future iOS update
• I wasn’t pushing hard enough, or with enough of my finger to enable 3D Touch, so I tried to push harder, and it started working. I usually use a light touch on my screen, so it felt a little weird to use so much force. But it worked!
• I agree. What worked for me was adjusting the 3D Touch sensitivity to LIGHT. Then make sure you press a little bit harder than normal on your iPhone’s screen while in lock mode or in a preview to see the live wallpapers
• When I applied a more forceful press, the live wallpapers proceeded to animate
• I had the same problem when I first received my iPhone X, but once I enabled 3D Touch, live wallpapers were working. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > 3D Touch. After enabling it your live pictures should work

Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.