Live wallpaper not working on iPhone? Here's how to fix it

1. You're not pressing and holding

iOS live wallpapers only animate when you press and hold the lock screen — they don't loop on their own. Wake the phone, then touch and hold anywhere on the lock screen and the motion plays.

2. The Live toggle is off

When you set the wallpaper, the circular “LIVE” toggle has to be enabled. Go to Settings → Wallpaper → tap your lock screen → and make sure Live is on. If the option is greyed out, the photo isn't a Live Photo (see #5).

3. Low Power Mode is on

Low Power Mode disables live-wallpaper motion to save battery. Settings → Battery → turn Low Power Mode off, then press and hold the lock screen again.

4. You're looking at the home screen

Live wallpapers play on the lock screen, not the home screen — the home screen always shows the still key frame. Lock the phone to test the motion.

5. The photo isn't actually a Live Photo

A still image or a plain video won't animate — iOS needs a Live Photo, which is a short motion clip with a key frame. Look for the “LIVE” badge in the top-left when you pick the photo. If it's missing, convert your video first: 2Live turns any clip into a proper Live Photo wallpaper on-device, in a tap.

6. The clip is too short or too long

Very short or very long clips can fail to set cleanly. Two to five seconds of smooth motion is the sweet spot — re-trim in 2Live and export again.

7. iOS just needs a nudge

If everything's set correctly and it still won't play, lock and wake the phone, or restart it. A restart clears the odd wallpaper-render glitch after a big iOS update.

Seeing “Motion Not Available” instead?

If iOS shows a grey card reading “Motion from this Live Photo is not supported as a wallpaper”, that's a different problem with its own specific fix — change the key photo in the Photos app so the still sits nearer the middle of the clip. We walk through it with screenshots in our “Motion Not Available” fix guide.

Frequently asked questions