Table of Contents
Introduction
The lock screen is the first thing you see when you pick up your iPhone XR, so customizing it to your liking gives your device some personality. iOS 16 introduced major upgrades to lock screen personalization, allowing you to change wallpapers, widgets, fonts, and more.
In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to customize your iPhone XR lock screen wallpaper using the latest iOS 16 software. Whether you want to use your own photos, Apple’s curated collections, or even video wallpapers, this guide has you covered.
Prerequisites
Before customizing your lock screen, make sure:
- You have an iPhone XR
- Your iPhone XR is updated to iOS 16 or later
- You have photos or wallpapers ready if you want to use your own
If your iPhone XR is not on iOS 16 yet, go to Settings > General > Software Update to update.
Access Lock Screen Customization
There are a couple ways to access lock screen customization:
From Settings:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap “Wallpaper”
- Tap “Customize” next to “Lock Screen”
From Lock Screen:
- Press and hold anywhere on lock screen
- Tap “Customize” at bottom of screen
- Enter passcode if prompted
Either method will bring you to the lock screen customization screen.
Choose Wallpaper
With the customization screen open, tap the wallpaper preview image to change it. You’ll have these options:
Featured
Apple curates beautiful wallpaper images in various categories like Weather, Astronomy, Typography, and more.
Photo Shuffle
Automatically rotates through photos in your library. You can customize timing and people to feature.
Photos
Choose any photo from your library. Supports perspective and depth effects.
Collections
Save groups of photos or wallpapers into collections that rotate automatically.
Live Photos
Make your lock screen come alive with Live Photos from your library. Press screen to animate.
Video
Yes, you can even set videos as your wallpaper in iOS 16! Videos loop automatically.
Once you select a wallpaper, you can further customize it:
- Reposition/zoom photo wallpapers
- Apply filters and depth effects
- Adjust video crop and perspective
Customize Lock Screen Elements
With your wallpaper set, you can customize other lock screen elements:
Date and Time
- Change font (8 options)
- Alter color
- Add outline or drop shadow
Widgets
- Add widget stacks for at-a-glance info
- Widgets available for calendar, reminders, weather, batteries, activity rings and more
Notification Appearance
- Adjust text size
- Show number of notifications or no numbers
- Show only count for select apps
Play around with different element combinations until your lock screen represents your personal style!
Save and Manage Lock Screens
As you customize, new lock screens are automatically saved as “Lock Screen 1,” “Lock Screen 2,” etc.
To manage lock screens:
- Press and hold on lock screen
- Swipe left/right to view other saved lock screens
- Tap “Customize” to edit a lock screen
- Swipe up and tap delete icon to delete lock screens
You can have multiple lock screens saved for different occasions or focuses.
Set Wallpaper Pair with Home Screen
By default, your home screen wallpaper mirrors your lock screen. But you can customize them separately:
On final lock screen customization screen:
- Tap “Set as Wallpaper Pair” to sync home screen with lock screen
- Tap “Customize Home Screen” to choose different home screen wallpaper
And that’s it! With iOS 16, you have more flexibility than ever to make your iPhone XR lock screen match your personal style. Change up your wallpaper and widgets from time to time to keep things fresh. Have fun and get creative!
