Can’t set live wallpaper on iPhone SE (2025)

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User profile for user: lizzie-ann

lizzie-ann Author

User level: Level1

101 points

On my new iPhone se 2020 I can’t set a live wallpaper is this the only phone or me doing it wrong :)

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone SE, iOS 13

Posted on Apr 28, 2020 1:00 PM

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User profile for user: EthenC

EthenC

User level: Level1

13 points

Posted on May 22, 2020 2:02 PM

In that case, the last paragraph of this Apple Support article would be incorrect then?

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-the-wallpaper-iph3d267104/ios

When you set a Live Photo as wallpaper, touch and hold the Lock screen to play the Live Photo—on all iPhone models except iPhoneSE (1st generation).

That would mean either the iPhone SE 2nd Gen is actually supposed to have Live Wallpaper, or this article is not updated, or incorrect. I feel like it's the former; this article says "1st generation", implying that it was updated to reflect the fact that there is now a 2nd generation. If somebody went and added "1st generation" to this article upon the release of the 2nd gen, wouldn't they have mentioned that the new phone did not support Live Wallpaper?

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User profile for user: EthenC

EthenC

User level: Level1

13 points

May 22, 2020 2:02 PM in response to sberman

In that case, the last paragraph of this Apple Support article would be incorrect then?

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-the-wallpaper-iph3d267104/ios

When you set a Live Photo as wallpaper, touch and hold the Lock screen to play the Live Photo—on all iPhone models except iPhoneSE (1st generation).

That would mean either the iPhone SE 2nd Gen is actually supposed to have Live Wallpaper, or this article is not updated, or incorrect. I feel like it's the former; this article says "1st generation", implying that it was updated to reflect the fact that there is now a 2nd generation. If somebody went and added "1st generation" to this article upon the release of the 2nd gen, wouldn't they have mentioned that the new phone did not support Live Wallpaper?

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User profile for user: sven226

sven226

User level: Level1

13 points

May 12, 2020 3:05 AM in response to sberman

Why is having Face Id so important for life wallpapers?!? I mean the iphone 7 and 8 also had the ability for live wallpapers and these phones don‘t have Face Id. I can‘t believe it! I hope you guys will add it in the next update.

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User profile for user: chantel120

User level: Level1

9 points

May 20, 2020 11:15 PM in response to lizzie-ann

I don’t understand why this feature isn’t available? I transferred my phone and the Live Photo I had from my past phone worked! I went to change it to another live photo only to realize the option wasn’t available! It doesn’t make sense.

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User profile for user: callan83

callan83

User level: Level1

16 points

Mar 17, 2021 3:57 PM in response to lizzie-ann

Unfortunately The iPhone SE 2020 Model does not currently Support The Live Wallpaper feature found on most other iPhones, if you need information on how to check out how to set your wallpaper on general Check Out This Article https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200285, Hope this Helps, Have A Great Day!

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User profile for user: sberman

sberman

User level: Level10

267,375 points

Apr 28, 2020 1:08 PM in response to lizzie-ann

The iPhone SE does not support Live Wallpaper.

Change the wallpaper on your iPhone - Apple Support

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User profile for user: Tokichiro

Tokichiro

User level: Level1

13 points

May 7, 2020 11:55 AM in response to sberman

It works on my iPhone SE 2020 but it was a wallpaper carried over from iPhone 8. I won't change it as I won't get the live wallpaper effect back

Can’t set live wallpaper on iPhone SE (9)Hopefully the effect comes back in the next update

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User profile for user: melanieonthedrive

melanieonthedrive

User level: Level1

13 points

May 24, 2020 12:44 AM in response to lizzie-ann

I've read that it doesn't have live wallpaper because that requires 3D

which the iphone SE 2 doesn't have. iPhone SE 2 has replaced that with

hapic touch. 3D is now eliminated from the Apple lineup. it does have

dynamic wallpaper though which is even better in my opinion. Dynamic

wallpaper can be used on both the lock screen and the home screen and it

runs without touching the screen in a loop. Live wallpaper was only

capable of running on the lock screen and you had to touch the screen to

make it run. unfortunately you can't add your own dynamic wallpaper so

hopefully Apple will update with more choices in coming updates.

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User profile for user: melanieonthedrive

melanieonthedrive

User level: Level1

13 points

May 24, 2020 1:23 AM in response to SonOfaMonkey

I don’t know then because that’s what the tech sites say about why iPhone se 2 doesn’t support live wallpaper. Here's an article from Mac Reports

https://macreports.com/live-wallpapers-on-iphone-xr-and-iphone-se/

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User profile for user: Tokichiro

Tokichiro

User level: Level1

13 points

May 25, 2020 3:22 AM in response to EthenC

I fully agree with his statement that "wouldn't they have mentioned that the new phone did not support Live Wallpaper?", can @sberman please check on this? You seem to be our own help and the most professional member on this topic at the moment.

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User profile for user: juliamcgeary

juliamcgeary

User level: Level1

4 points

Jun 6, 2020 8:27 AM in response to lizzie-ann

i was so excited to buy the new iphone Se 2020 because I thought it had live wallpaper like the rest of the phones. only to find out it doesn’t and i’m kinda dissatisfied and disappointed. I hope you can add live wallpaper not only for me but for everyone else in a future update. thanks

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User profile for user: juliamcgeary

juliamcgeary

User level: Level1

4 points

Jun 6, 2020 8:28 AM in response to sberman

could you please add live wallpaper to the next update for this phone?? all the other phones had it and i’m dissatisfied and disappointed because I bought this phone knowing it was a great phone only to find out that I could to live wallpaper and I was looking forward to it because I thought I had it.

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User profile for user: Ishan8221

Ishan8221

User level: Level1

4 points

Jun 14, 2020 2:07 PM in response to lizzie-ann

It is weird. You can have a live wallpaper, but you cant set a live wallpaper on the se. I had a live wallpaper set on my iPhone 7 plus and i had it backed up. I used the backup on my SE(2020) and the live wallpaper works. It seems as if they want to restrict the use of live wallpapers on the se for some reason.

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User profile for user: jakewilder

jakewilder

User level: Level1

4 points

Jun 18, 2020 10:56 AM in response to Katelyn06

same- just because it doesn’t have 3D touch doesn’t mean you can’t have a live mallpaper. i have an iphone se 2020 and i’m mad that they don’t have them - and it is so simple to add on i hope it comes on ios 14

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User profile for user: EthenC

EthenC

User level: Level1

13 points

Jun 25, 2020 9:49 AM in response to DottorGonzo

The iPhone SE 2nd Gen has the same battery size as the iPhone 8, which supports Live Wallpaper...and a new chip like the A13 should increase battery performance, not decrease it.

Read for yourself:

The iPhone SE (2020) comes with a battery that is surprisingly tiny for a phone in 2020: it features the exact same battery capacity as the iPhone 8 at 1,821mAh

https://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-iPhone-SE-2020-battery-drain-test-life-capacity-mah_id124402

But later in the presentation, Apple dropped some bombshells — it says the A13 Bionic is also the most power efficient chip it’s ever made by up to 40 percent...

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/9/10/20857177/apple-iphone-11-processor-a13-cpu-speed-graphics-specs#:~:text=But%20later%20in%20the%20presentation,the%20iPhone%2011%20Pro%20Max.

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User profile for user: EthenC

EthenC

User level: Level1

13 points

Jun 26, 2020 7:16 AM in response to DottorGonzo

https://www.cnet.com/news/new-iphone-se-vs-iphone-8-whats-best-budget-minded-phone-apple-fans-2020/

Apple never discloses its iPhones' battery capacities, so when it announced the iPhone SE, all it said was that it was the same as the iPhone 8. It also listed identical wireless video and audio playback hours (13 hours and 40 hours, respectively) for both phones. However, when we ran our battery tests for video playback on Airplane mode, the iPhone SE lasted longer than the iPhone 8 by nearly two hours. (To be more specific, the iPhone SE lasted about 15.5 hours, while the iPhone 8 lasted 13.5 hours.)

If anything, the iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 8 should at least equal in battery life.

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Can’t set live wallpaper on iPhone SE

Can’t set live wallpaper on iPhone SE (2025)
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