customize lock screen iphone: Your 2026 Guide

To customize your iPhone Lock Screen, wake your phone, unlock it without swiping to the Home Screen, and touch and hold the wallpaper. Tap Customize and choose Lock Screen if prompted, then change the picture, clock or widgets. Tap Done to save. Use the plus button to create a new layout.

Updated October 2026

• Saving a wallpaper pair can change both screens; the Home Screen has its own customization option.
• A downloaded widget design still needs to be added through Apple’s widget picker.
• Depth Effect, Live Photos and spatial scenes produce different results.
• You can make the basic changes without buying a customization app.

Open the Lock Screen editor and check your iOS version

The editor can be opened by touching and holding the Lock Screen after authentication. Stay on the screen showing the time; swiping up takes you elsewhere. If the gallery doesn’t open, hold again and enter your passcode (see Apple’s iPhone User Guide).

Swipe across the saved screens to find the one you want. Customize edits that selection. The plus button creates a new layout, which is useful when you want to store a favorite configuration.

To see which software you have, go to Settings → General → About. The modern customizable Lock Screen arrived with iOS 16. If you use the Lock Screen on iOS 16, its clock controls will differ from those in newer releases. An iPhone model isn’t an iOS version: an iPhone 16 can run software newer than iOS 16.

Another method is to open the Settings app and choose Wallpaper. The previews help you identify which side of the pair you’re changing before you edit.

Change the wallpaper without changing your Home Screen

How do I change the wallpaper on my Lock Screen?

Open Settings, tap Wallpaper, then tap Add New Wallpaper. Choose any photo or built-in design and adjust the crop. Tap Add. If you prefer a different image behind your apps, select Customize Home Screen, or select Set as Wallpaper Pair to use the wallpaper on both your screens.

Choose a photo, Emoji or Astronomy to get different controls. For photos, pinch to zoom. Drag the image to where you want it. Keep the main object away from the time if the overlap makes it difficult to read the digits. For a filter, swipe left or right where the wallpaper supports one.

Save-choice map

For a family portrait on the Lock Screen and a plain color behind your apps, use the two save choices in Apple Support’s wallpaper instructions. The portrait is visible when the phone is woken. App labels have a quieter background.

Photo Shuffle can switch pictures on tap, lock, hourly or daily. Choose the trigger you want instead of expecting a normal single-photo wallpaper to rotate. To have more background options, check our iPhone wallpapers.

Customize the clock so you can still read the time

To change the clock’s font and color in the editor, just tap the time. A solid, contrasting clock color is a good starting point for a busy picture. Numbers over a bright sky can disappear at a glance.

How do I change the size of the clock on my iPhone Lock Screen?

In supported newer layouts, you can enlarge the clock frame by dragging the lower right corner down, and reduce its height by moving it up. This will only work if the wallpaper allows it. If the photo leaves little room above its subject, you may need to choose a different crop or picture.

Expanding the time with the resize handle on iOS 26 can bring the widget row down. This is a layout change, not a missing widget (MacRumors guide to iOS 26 customization).

iOS 27 has a smaller option. In the Font & Color panel, the two-horizontal-bars icon can switch the display to a compact clock next to the date. It can be switched back by tapping it again. In compact mode, font, weight and color remain adjustable, while the Liquid Glass slider is unavailable, according to MacRumors compact-clock walkthrough.

Prioritize reading the time? Then, use the larger of the two available layouts. If the smaller digits are readable and the photo needs more space, you can use compact mode and apply a different preference to each saved screen.

Add widgets, including custom text and iScreen designs

To add a compatible app’s widgets, tap Add Widgets in the editor, then select the app and widget size of your choice. The date line has a separate selection of inline widgets. A design made for your Home Screen won’t appear in either Lock Screen area: the app must offer a matching widget.

Pick an app you check often, like Weather or Calendar. Tap or drag a widget into the free space. If it doesn’t fit, remove an existing item with the minus button first (see Apple’s widget instructions).

In iScreen, save your design before going back to Apple’s editor, and then tap the widget to choose the design you saved (see Lock Screen widget instructions).

1. Choose a compatible design. Open iScreen’s Discover section and find Lockscreen Widgets.
2. Customize and save it. Set the available text or design options, then tap Save to My Widgets. Some designs use an ad unlock or premium access.
3. Open Apple’s editor. Touch and hold the Lock Screen, choose Customize, and tap the widget area.
4. Add iScreen. Find the app in the picker and choose the appropriate inline, circular or rectangular widget.
5. Select your saved design. Tap the added widget, choose the saved item, then close the picker and tap Done.

You can add a custom name or short message in a design with that function. You can’t do this in the clock’s font selector. If the preview is correct in iScreen, but the wrong design appears outside of it, check the placed widget’s selection before rebuilding everything.

On the Lock Screen in iOS 26, the widgets row can be moved to the bottom. Keep the row above the controls if that makes it easier to access, or leave more space around the photo. The inline area is a separate choice. For more info on what to place in the widgets area, check out our Lock Screen widgets guide.

Choose between Depth Effect, Live Photos and spatial scenes

Spatial scenes need an iPhone 12 or later and a supported photo on iOS 26 or later. These add 3D movements. Depth Effect, on the other hand, layers a subject over the time display, and a compatible Live Photo plays when the phone wakes.

For a spatial effect, use a well-lit scene with the subject isolated from the background. A landscape also works. Even on supported phones, only certain photos work with the spatial effect, according to Apple.

For movement captured in the Photos app, try using a compatible Live Photo. For a still image with depth, look for a spatial scene. None of these techniques turn every photo into a continuously looping video.

Even if you save the image as a wallpaper pair, the spatial effect appears only on the Lock Screen. For motion as your main goal, check our live wallpaper guide.

Change the bottom controls and link a Focus

To replace a bottom control, enter Customize, tap the minus button on the existing control, then tap the plus button and select a replacement. These controls reside in a different region from widgets. Adding a shortcut here isn’t done via the widget picker.

To replace a flashlight button you often press accidentally, use the remove-then-add sequence in Apple’s current Lock Screen guide to replace it with another control, or leave that position empty. Removing a camera button doesn’t mean all routes to the camera have been disabled.

To link a Focus, return to the wallpaper gallery and tap Focus near the bottom of the screen. You can select a configured Focus such as Work or Sleep. Using that screen activates its linked Focus; turning on the linked Focus also brings up that screen.

Notification Previews have their own setting. Go to Settings → Notifications → Show Previews and select When Unlocked or Never to hide message text. Apple’s notification guide explains the app-specific overrides.

What can you customize for free?

You can change the wallpaper, adjust the system clock and add available built-in widgets, without using a third-party customization app. iScreen is optional when you want its designs. A free download doesn’t mean all designs are free; some use ad unlocks or premium access.

A photo, solid clock color and calendar widget make a good starting point without a theme subscription. iScreen offers in-app purchases (iScreen App Store listing), so you can choose a design you can already access before building a whole look around it.

Fix missing options and finish with a readable layout

Missing options could belong to a different screen or vary with the versions and selected wallpaper. Check your editor, version and image before reinstalling an app (Apple’s customization instructions).

A practical tip: lock the phone, then wake it normally. Check the time, check your next appointment, and see where the photo is cropped. Keep the calendar easy to spot in a schedule-first layout. For a photo-first layout, remove the widget blocking what you want to show.

What changes with newer iOS versions?

New versions can add clock styles, layout choices and photo effects, so an old tutorial can show different buttons. As checked on October 21, 2026, Apple’s security-releases page listed iOS 27.0.1 as the latest iOS release. Use Settings → General → Software Update to see the version offered to your device.

The latest iOS for one model may not be available for an older phone. Follow the instructions for the version shown in About, then check the feature’s hardware and photo conditions.

Frequently asked questions

For the older device cutoff, check Apple’s iOS 16 release announcement.