How to Easily Fix: iPhone 12/11/X/8/7 Live Wallpaper Not Working

Q: Hi, I own an iPhone 7, and recently I’ve wanted to set a Live Photo as my wallpaper. I can set it as my wallpaper, and it the previews it is a Live Photo, however, once it is my wallpaper and I hard press to try and see it, it just goes black. Is there any way I can fix this?

Setting a vivid live wallpaper for the lock screen on iPhone/iPad could be an ideal choice to customize our device. But recently, a large number of iPhone users reported that live wallpaper not working on their iPhone, just like the user above.

If you are also being bothered by this iPhone live wallpaper error, then read on this guide to get solutions. We will offer you 5 simple and also reliable solutions to help you fix the iPhone live wallpaper not working issue with great ease.

Also Read: How to Fix iOS 14 Update Not Showing Up >

How to Fix: iPhone 12/11/Xs/X/8/7 Live Wallpaper Not Working

Solution 1. Restart Your iPhone

Restart iPhone will close all the programs and processes running on the system. So, no matter what unexpected error you meet on your iPhone, the first method you can have a try is to restart your device.

For iPhone 8 and older (models with Touch ID):

• Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the slider appears.
• Drag the slider to turn off your iPhone.
• Press and hold the sleep/wake button again until the Apple logo appears on your phone screen.

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 turn off.
• Press and hold the Side button again until the Apple logo appears to turn iPhone back on.

Solution 2. Check Low Power Mode

If you have enabled Low Power Mode on your iPhone, when the battery gets low, this mode will temporarily disable some of your features to last longer. Perhaps this is the reason why your iPhone live wallpaper not working. To get your live wallpaper in motion again, now you need to disable low power mode on your iPhone: Settings > Battery > Turn off Low Power Mode.

Solution 3. Set the Regular Wallpaper First

This simple tip works perfectly for some users to fix the live photo wallpaper not working error. Give it a try now:

Step 1. Go to Settings > Wallpaper > Tap Choose a New Wallpaper > Tap Stills > Choose one wallpaper you prefer and tap Set.

Step 2. Go to Settings again > Wallpaper > Tap Choose a New Wallpaper > Tap Live this time > Select one of the live wallpapers you like > Tap Set. Your live wallpaper should work now.

Solution 4. Fix Live Wallpaper not Working when Updating to New iOS Version

When you updating to a new iOS version, you may meet some iPhone problems like stuck on a loading screen, keep restarting, touch screen not working, also live wallpaper not working, etc. Here we recommend you a powerful iOS system recovery software, which is AnyFix – iOS System Recovery. It’s a professional tool that can fix 130+ iOS/iPadOS/tvOS problems, except hardware problems. Also, if you got some problems when connecting/syncing/restoring with iTunes, it can help you easily. What’s more, with AnyFix, you can upgrade/downgrade iOS or reset your iOS devices with a few clicks.

Next, you can try the steps below to fix iPhone live wallpapers not working:

Step 1. Get AnyFix on your Computer

Download and install AnyFix on your computer, then launch it and you will see the interface below. Just choose System Repair panel. Remember to connect iPhone with computer.

Step 2. Download Firmware and Enter Recovery Mode to Prepare

1. Tap on 50+ iPhone Problems and click Start Now button.

2. Choose one repair mode based on your situation. Normally, Standard Repair can fix the most common system issues and no data will be erased.

3. Then, you need to put iPhone into recovery mode. AnyFix will detect iPhone and tap Download button to get a matching firmware.

Step 3. Start to Repair

Once firmware downloaded, click Fix Now. AnyFix will repair your iOS device to normal automatically (do not disconnect your device until it restarts). And when the recovery process is completed, you will see the completed page.

Solution 5.  Set a Dynamic Wallpaper

Since 3D Touch is required when you set a live wallpaper, it’s only available on iPhones with the feature. So you can only set live wallpapers on iPhone 6S and later, except iPhone SE – 1st generation and iPhone XR. Besides, you can only create live wallpapers on the lock screen, not on the home screen.

However, dynamic wallpapers can be set both on the home and lock screen. And dynamic wallpapers don’t require 3D Touch. So, if your live wallpaper not working, you can try to set a dynamic wallpaper to enjoy the animated images on your screens. Give it a try now:

Step 1: Go to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper > Tap Dynamic.

Step 2: Choose one of the available dynamic wallpapers > Choose Set.

Bonus Tip: How to Fix iPhone/iPad Locked/Froze During iOS Update

To enjoy the wonderful features of the latest iOS version, most iOS users choose to update their iPhone/iPad to iOS 14. However, many users complained that their iPhone/iPad get locked or froze during the update. So, here we will share a professional iOS repair tool – PhoneRescue for iOS to help these users out in a quick process.

With the iOS Repair Tools mode of PhoneRescue for iOS, you will no need to erase all your data while repairing the locked/frozen device via reset or waste money on a repair store. It can help you easily repair your iPhone/iPad breakdowns, like stuck on Apple logo, restarting loop, white screen, or black screen in just 1 click. Now, let’s have a look at its repairing steps.

Step 1. Download PhoneRescue for iOS and connect your locked/frozen iPhone/iPad to the computer > Choose iOS Repair Tools mode and click right arrow.

Step 2. Click Advanced Mode to repair > Follow the steps as the screenshot shows to you to turn your device to Recovery Mode > Click “Download” button to download the firmware > Once the download completes, PhoneRescue for iOS will repair your iPhone/iPad to normal automatically.

The Bottom Line

If you meet some other errors on your iPhone (iPhone 12 and iOS 14 supported), just leave them in the comment section. We will go through your trouble and help you out soon.