How to Make a Video Wallpaper on Your Phone

What you need to know to set up cool video wallpaper on your Android or iPhone

by Renée Lynn Midrack
Renée Midrack is a former writer for Lifewire, where she wrote on emerging technology and smart devices. Midrack has been writing about technology for 15+ years.
Updated November 22, 2019

A video wallpaper, also called a live wallpaper, makes your phone’s background move or show a short video clip. Live wallpapers can spice up a phone beyond the standard, static wallpaper on most devices.

Some smartphones come with live wallpapers pre-installed, like floating feathers, shooting stars, or falling snow. However, you can also make your own custom live wallpaper from any video.

Animated illustration of Android phones with different moving wallpapers
 Lifewire / Daniel Fishel

Instructions in this article apply to iPhone 6S and later, and devices running Android 4.1 and above.

Make a Video Your Wallpaper on Android

There are several apps for Android that let you make a video wallpaper. A few include VideoWall and Video Live Wallpaper. We'll look at the latter below, but the steps are similar for VideoWall.

  1. Install Video Live Wallpaper.

  2. Pick Choose Video, and then tap Allow to give the app permission to access your media files.

    After completing this step, this option is renamed to the file location of the video. If you don't see "Choose Video," just pick the button at the very top of the app.

  3. Select a video from your phone that you want to use as the live wallpaper.

    Video wallpaper on phone

  4. Adjust the start and end times at the bottom of the screen by dragging the slider along the video's timeline. Use the play button to preview the clip.

  5. Tap the picture icon on the top right corner of the app to see what the live wallpaper will look like.

    To make changes to how the video displays, choose the settings gear icon on the top right of the preview screen. From there, you can enable/disable the audio and adjust the "scale fit" setting.

    Video Wallpaper app with scrubber and Settings icon highlighted

  6. Choose Set wallpaper and then choose Home screen or Home screen and lock screen, depending on your preference.

    Live Wallpaper app with Set Wallpaper and options highlighted

How to Set a Video as Your Wallpaper on iPhone

To use a video wallpaper on your iPhone, select any video clip you’ve captured using the Live Photo feature in your iPhone’s camera app.

  1. Go to Settings.

  2.  Tap Wallpaper.

  3. Select Choose a New Wallpaper.

    Settings, Wallpaper, and Choose a New Wallpaper options on an iPhone

  4. Tap Live to use one of the preloaded, animated wallpapers.

  5. Alternatively, scroll down and select your Live Photos folder to use one you've taken.

  6. Pick the live wallpaper you want to use.

    Live wallpaper options on an iPhone

  7. Press the screen to preview the animated effect. You can also tap the Live Photo button at the bottom of the screen to turn the animation off.

  8. Tap Set when you're ready to make the video your iPhone wallpaper.

  9. Choose Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen, or Set Both.

    Setting a live wallpaper on an iPhone