How to make home screen live wallpaper

Table of Contents Show

How to make live wallpaper from a video
How to make live wallpaper from a photo
How to use Live wallpapers on iPhone
About the Author
Michael Potuck
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How do I make a live wallpaper my home screen?
How do you put live wallpaper on iPhone home screen?

by on June 25, 2021
in Tips & How-Tos, Phones and Mobile, Mobile Apps, Android Apps :: 0 comments

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Android phones come pre-loaded with a small selection of live wallpaper choices, but you can also make your own live wallpaper using a video you've shot or create animations with a photo.

Here are the steps to creating your own live wallpaper.

How to make live wallpaper from a video

To make your live wallpaper, choose the video you want to use. Once you have your video, using it for your wallpaper depends on your Android phone manufacturer.

For Samsung phone owners, creating a live wallpaper from a video is easy.

Press and hold on your phone's home screen, and you'll see the option for "Wallpapers" show up in the lower left corner.
Select "Wallpapers" and the "Gallery."
Choose the video you want to use as your live wallpaper and tap on "Done."
If your video is longer than 15 seconds, you will be prompted to trim it. You'll have to tap on the scissors button to trim it.
Confirm your selection by tapping on the "Set on lock screen" button, and you're done.

If your phone doesn't give you the option to use a video as wallpaper in settings, you'll need to download an app that will install your video as wallpaper. My favorite app is Wallpaper Maker.

Once you install the app, select the "Video" option on the home screen.
After you tap "Video," make sure the "mute" and "loop" options are checked off below "#2 Video."
Then tap "Select Video."
Choose the video you want to use as your live wallpaper and select "Apply." You'll see a preview of your live wallpaper.
At the bottom, select "Set wallpaper." You will have the option of "Home screen" or "Home screen and lock screen." Select one of the options, and you're done.

How to make live wallpaper from a photo

My favorite app for bringing photos to life is PixaMotion Loop Photo Animator & Photo Video Maker. With the free version of the app, you can choose from a limited number of animated elements and stickers, as well as overlays and camera effects. You can also add motion to your photo with animation tools that enable you to select the area you want to move or stay still. (Tip: When you start creating your photo animation, you'll be given the option to crop your photo. For the best quality, crop your photo to Insta Story.)

When you're satisfied with your animation, you can save it as a video or GIF. For the option to save high-resolution video, as well as access to all of the tools and content, you'll need to upgrade to PixaMotion Plus for $1.99 per month or $6.99 per year after a 7-day free trial, or $9.99 for lifetime access.

Have an iPhone or iPad? Check out my steps to creating live wallpaper for iPhone.

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For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Looking to spice up your iPhone wallpapers? Follow along for how to make use of animated Live wallpapers on iPhone.

Live wallpapers offer an animation effect for iPhone 6s and later (excluding iPhone SE). Keep in mind that even if you set a Live wallpaper to both your Home screen and Lock screen, the animation will only be available on the Lock screen with a firm press.

Beyond the stock Live options that you’ll see in settings, keep in mind you can use Live Photos that you’ve taken as well for a more personal touch.

How to use Live wallpapers on iPhone

Open Settings
Swipe down and tap Wallpaper, then Choose a New Wallpaper
Choose Live and make your pick
Tap Set to apply that wallpaper to your Lock screen, Home screen or both

Here’s how the process looks:

Choose Live on the right hand side as shown in the first image below, or choose from your own Live Photos. Make sure Live Photos is highlighted once you’ve picked a wallpaper as shown in the far right image below.

You can tap and hold your screen to see the Live wallpaper in action.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:

How to request your personal data from Apple
How to customize low heart rate notifications on Apple Watch
How to check iPhone storage
iPhone time limit: How to set a time limit for a specific app on iOS 12
How to convert a video into a Live Photo on iPhone & iPad
How to use iPhone with multiple Apple Watches
How to use Wi-Fi with Airplane Mode on iPhone
How to turn off government alerts on iPhone
How to check Apple Watch battery life

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

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About the Author

Michael Potuck

@michaelpotuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.