How to change the wallpaper on your phone

You can change the background images on your phone's Home screens and lock screens. You can choose from your own photos or use images that come on your phone, including images that change automatically.

Important:

  • Some of these steps work only on Android 10 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.
  • Some of these steps require you to tap the screen.
  • Call captioning only works on Pixel phones.

How to change the wallpaper on your phone

Change wallpapers

  1. On your phone's Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Wallpaper & style. If you don't see "Wallpaper & style," tap Wallpapers.
  3. Tap Change wallpaper.
  4. At the bottom, tap Set wallpaper or Done
    How to change the wallpaper on your phone
    .
  5. If available, pick which screen(s) show the wallpaper.

Change Home screen styles (Pixel 2 & later)

To pick your Home screen's fonts, icons shapes, and colors:

  1. On your phone’s Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Wallpaper & style.
  3. Tap Wallpaper colors or Basic colors.
  4. Choose a style.
  5. Tap Apply or Done
    How to change the wallpaper on your phone
    .

Change Home screen grid (Pixel 3 & later)

To pick the grid size on your Home screen:

  1. On your phone’s Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Wallpaper & style.
  3. At the bottom, tap App grid.
  4. Choose a grid size.
  5. Tap Done
    How to change the wallpaper on your phone
    .

Use a daily wallpaper (Pixel 4 & earlier)

  1. On your phone's Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Wallpaper & style.
  3. Tap Change wallpaper.
    • Daily wallpaper doesn't work with your personal photos or live wallpapers.
  4. Choose a wallpaper category.
  5. At the top right, tap Daily wallpaper .
  6. Tap Ok.

Use themed icons

To change supported app icons to match your phone’s color scheme:

  1. On your phone’s Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
  2. Tap Wallpaper & style.
  3. At the bottom, tap Themed icons to turn it on or off.
  • Manage screen and display settings
  • Set up a screensaver

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Looking to add a personal touch to your Android device? The first place to start is your wallpaper.

If you've already changed your lock screen background, you may be wondering how to customize your home screen wallpaper as well. Here, we'll outline all the different ways you can change your home screen wallpaper, no matter what type of Android phone you have.

How to Change Your Home Screen Wallpaper on a Samsung Device

You can change your home screen wallpaper on a Samsung device in a few simple steps. To get started, follow these directions:

  1. Unlock your phone.
  2. Long-press an empty space on the home screen.
  3. Hit the Wallpaper icon.

From here, you can decide whether you want to use a downloaded wallpaper or if you want to use a picture from your gallery. To use one of your own photos as a wallpaper for your phone, hit Gallery.

Otherwise, you can select My wallpapers to use a default wallpaper. You'll see stock Samsung wallpapers under the Featured tab. The Downloaded tab displays wallpapers that you've downloaded from third-party wallpaper apps, as well as the Galaxy Themes store.

When you decide on a wallpaper, tap on it and a menu labeled Set as wallpaper will appear on your screen. Select Home screen to use the image as your home screen wallpaper only (you can choose one of the other options if you also want it on your lock screen).

How to Change Your Home Screen Wallpaper in Samsung Settings

Alternatively, you can also personalize your home screen from your Samsung device's Settings app. You can easily do this by following these steps:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Select Wallpaper.

You'll then get redirected to the same wallpaper selection menu that appears when using the above method. From here, just follow the same steps as outlined above.

How to Change Your Home Screen Wallpaper on a Device With Stock Android

If you own a device that runs stock Android, it's just as easy to change your home screen wallpaper. Simply do the following:

  1. Unlock your device.
  2. Long-press on your home screen in an empty area.
  3. Select Wallpapers or Styles & wallpapers from the popup menu.

Your device will then present you with several different wallpaper options. In the My Photos folder, you can use one of your own pictures as wallpaper.

The Living Universe and Come Alive categories contain beautiful preloaded live wallpapers. You'll also see a series of other folders such as Landscape, Textures, and Art---these contain curated images worth checking out too.

When you've chosen a wallpaper, tap on it, and you'll get to preview the wallpaper. If you like what you see, hit Set wallpaper > Home screen. You'll now get to enjoy your new background image!

How to Change Your Home Screen Wallpaper in Stock Android Settings

You can also change your home screen wallpaper from the Settings app of a device running stock Android. Fortunately, it's just as simple as the process on a Samsung phone:

  1. Head to your Settings app.
  2. Select Display > Wallpaper.

After that, your device will present you with three options: Live Wallpapers, Photos, and Styles & wallpapers. The Styles & wallpapers option will bring you to the same personalization menu covered earlier.

Meanwhile, the Live Wallpapers and Photos tabs let you pick wallpapers directly from your phone's premade wallpapers, as well as your gallery. As for setting your wallpaper, you can follow the same steps as the other method.

Transform Your Android Phone's Home Screen

No one wants a boring home screen, so hopefully, changing your wallpaper lets you spruce yours up a bit. Whether you opt for a premade wallpaper, use a photo from your gallery, or even make your own wallpaper, your home screen will now have the personal touch it needs.

How do I change the wallpaper on my home screen?

Change your wallpaper.
Step 1 of 6. On the Home screen, touch and hold an empty space..
Step 2 of 6. Tap Wallpapers..
Step 3 of 6. Select a category to find wallpaper options. ... .
Step 4 of 6. Select an image..
Step 5 of 6. Tap Set Wallpaper..
Step 6 of 6. Choose where you want to see this wallpaper..

How do I customize my phone wallpaper?

Androiders can assign home screen wallpaper a couple different ways, but we'll go through one basic method: Head to Settings and Wallpaper, then find the options for home screen, lock screen, or both in the top-left corner. Choose where you want your image to live, and presto!

Can I change my wallpaper?

Change your wallpaper from the Settings app. You can also change your wallpaper by opening Android Settings. One way to do it is by opening the All apps screen and then tapping on Settings. On Samsung Galaxy devices running Android 11, tap on Wallpaper in the settings menu.

How do I make a picture my wallpaper?

Right-click your desktop and select “Personalize”. For simplified, on-the-fly wallpaper changes, simply right-click a photo on your computer and select “Set as desktop background” from the context menu. This lacks some of the customization options of the Personalization menu.