Alex Ruben
How To Set Live Wallpaper on iPhone Using iOS 26 Beta (2025)
Trying to make your iPhone look a bit more lively? Live wallpapers are a fun way to spice up your home screen, but sometimes the setup can be a little confusing, especially on a beta OS that’s still got quirks. This guide will walk through the steps to get a live wallpaper working on iOS 26 Beta — including some tips and gotchas that aren’t immediately obvious. After following these, you’ll hopefully have a snazzy animated backdrop, and maybe even find some extra app options for different styles. Just a heads up, setting these can sometimes be inconsistent; not all live wallpapers are super reliable on beta builds, and pressing and holding to animate might not always do the trick right away.
How to Enable Live Wallpapers on iOS 26 Beta
Access your Settings and Dive into Wallpaper
First things first, open the Settings app. From there, scroll down to find and tap Wallpaper. You’ll see the options to change or add a new wallpaper here. On some setups, the UI can be a bit different, or the options might be limited due to beta quirks — so don’t panic if it’s not all perfect yet.
Choose or Add a New Live Wallpaper
Within Wallpaper, tap on Add New Wallpaper — or if you’re stuck, look for the “Choose a New Wallpaper” button. You’ll be presented with your existing photo library, and some built-in options. To get a live wallpaper, tap on the category labeled Live. On iOS 26 Beta, sometimes the live options are a little sparse or glitchy, but generally, you can pick the ones with the little “Live” badge.
Select a Live Wallpaper and Set It
Tap on any live wallpaper to see a preview. The key here is to make sure you’re in the right mode. After selecting, press Set. When asked, choose Set Lock Screen or Set Both — live wallpapers only animate on the lock screen when you press and hold, so don’t forget that. Also, if you want it to animate on the home screen, you’ll need a workaround — like using special wallpaper apps or tweaking settings, because out of the box, live wallpapers only animate on lock screen by default.
Make Sure Live Wallpaper is Enabled and Ready to Animate
Once set, go to your lock screen and press and hold to check if it actually animates. On some beta builds, it might take a reboot or a toggle of a setting to make it work properly. Also, check in Settings > Accessibility > Touch that Haptic Touch is enabled with a fast or slow press — sometimes this affects the responsiveness of live wallpapers. If it’s still not working, a restart can help or toggling the wallpaper off and on again.
Explore More Options with Wallpaper Apps
Because of course, on beta OSes, native options can be limited or wonky. If you want more variety, open the App Store and search for “live wallpaper” — there are plenty of third-party apps that let you apply animated backgrounds with more control. Download one that’s well-rated (sometimes beta apps cause crashes, so be cautious), and follow its instructions. Many of these let you pick videos or animated GIFs that can be used as wallpapers — kind of fun if the default selection feels lame.
Extra Tips & Common Issues to Keep in Mind
- Make sure your iOS 26 Beta is fully updated — beta releases often have bugs that get fixed later.
- Battery drain can be noticeable — live wallpapers tend to eat more juice, especially if they animate often.
- If pressing and holding doesn’t animate your wallpaper, double-check you’re on the lock screen (not the home screen), and that “Live Photo” toggle is active if available.
- Sometimes a quick reboot after setting the wallpaper helps things stick.
- Beta OSes can be flaky — don’t be surprised if it works on one reboot, then not on another.
Wrap-up
Getting live wallpapers to work on iOS 26 Beta isn’t exactly straightforward — beta versions love to throw curveballs. But with a little patience and some tinkering, it’s doable. Just keep in mind that some features might still be unstable, and a lot depends on whether Apple has ironed out those bugs in the latest update.
Summary
- Access Settings > Wallpaper
- Choose a live wallpaper from the Live category
- Set it as lock or home screen — press and hold to animate
- Attempt needed to toggle or reboot if it’s not working
- Consider third-party apps for more options
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this shaves off a few hours for someone trying to fix or activate live wallpapers on a beta. Beta OSes are always all over the place, but with a bit of patience, you can get them working. If nothing else, it’s a good thing to try before waiting for the next stable release.