Lock Screen

The Lock Screen appears when you turn on or wake iPhone. From the Lock Screen, you can see notifications, open Camera and Control Center, get information from your favorite apps at a glance, control media playback, and more.

You can also follow Live Activities there, like directions from Maps or order updates from food delivery apps. And you can personalize your Lock Screen by choosing a wallpaper, showcasing a favorite photo, changing the font of the time, adding widgets, and more.

Here’s how to access features from the iPhone Lock Screen.

Access features and information from the Lock Screen

Even while iPhone is locked, the Lock Screen gives you quick access to useful features and information.

Go to the Lock Screen, then do any of the following:

• Open Camera: Swipe left. On supported models, you can touch and hold the Camera button, then lift your finger.
• Open Control Center: Swipe down from the top-right corner (on an iPhone with Face ID) or swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen (on other iPhone models).
• See earlier notifications: Swipe up from the center.
• View more widgets: Swipe right. You can interact with widgets on the Lock Screen and the Home Screen to perform tasks—for example, tap an item in the Reminders widget to check it off, or tap the Play button in the Podcasts widget to play an episode.
• Control media playback: Use the playback controls (Now Playing) on the Lock Screen to play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward media playing on your iPhone.

Show notification previews on the Lock Screen

1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Notifications, then tap Show Previews.
3. Choose one of the following:
   • Always: Previews appear on the Lock Screen, even when iPhone is locked.
   • When Unlocked: Previews appear only after iPhone is unlocked.
   • Never: Previews never appear on the Lock Screen.

Details about Calendar invitations, lines from Mail messages, and text from Messages can all show up in notification previews.

View and control Live Activities on the Lock Screen

With Live Activities, you can follow the progress of app activities right on your Lock Screen. That includes directions from Maps, order updates from food delivery apps, live sports updates from the Apple TV app, and more.

Music, a movie, or other media you play on your iPhone also becomes one of these Live Activities, with playback controls on your Lock Screen to pause, play, fast-forward, or rewind. You can even control playback on a remote device like your Apple TV 4K or HomePod from your iPhone Lock Screen.

To change your Live Activity settings, go to Settings, tap Apps, tap the app with the settings you want to change, then tap Live Activities.

Note: Not all apps have a Live Activities setting.

You can get wallpaper suggestions for your Lock Screen or Home Screen that stylize photos of your favorite people and pets. They’re in the Photos app, below Wallpaper Suggestions in Collections, and you can use any of them as your wallpaper.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Swipe up and tap a suggested wallpaper (below Wallpaper Suggestions).

You can make some commonly used features, such as Control Center, widgets, and media playback controls, available on the Lock Screen for easy access when iPhone is locked. You choose them below Allow Access When Locked, in Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode settings.

1. Open Settings and then tap Face ID & Passcode (on an iPhone with Face ID) or Touch ID & Passcode (on an iPhone with a Home button).
2. Turn on options below Allow Access When Locked.

A Medical ID can also hold your medical information and emergency contacts, so first responders and others can view them on your iPhone when it’s locked.

Turning off Lock Screen access to a feature keeps someone who has your iPhone from viewing any personal information it might contain, like an upcoming event in the Calendar widget. The tradeoff? You lose quick access to that information yourself.

You can personalize your Lock Screen by choosing a wallpaper, showcasing a favorite photo, changing the font of the time, adding widgets, and more.

You can create more than one Lock Screen, switch between Lock Screens, and even link a Lock Screen to a Focus. So, for example, you could set a specific Lock Screen for when you want to focus on work. On iPhone 12 and later, you can even try a spatial scene wallpaper for a 3D effect.

Here’s how to create a custom iPhone Lock Screen.

Edit your Lock Screen or create a new one

1. Press the side button on your iPhone two times.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen and tap the Add New LockScreen Wallpaper button to create a new Lock Screen. (If you don’t see the Add New LockScreen Wallpaper button, touch and hold your Lock Screen again, then enter your passcode.)

   To make changes to an existing Lock Screen, swipe to the screen you want to change, then tap Customize.

3. If you’re creating a new Lock Screen, tap one of the wallpaper options. On iPhone 12 and later, you can try a spatial scene for a 3D effect and try options where the time dynamically adapts to your photo wallpaper and notifications.

   Note: If you don’t see a wallpaper option you want to use (for example, Weather or Astronomy), scroll down to see more options, then tap Get below the one you like.

   

4. Here are some ways to customize your Lock Screen (options depend on the wallpaper you choose):
   • Change the look of the clock: Drag the bottom right corner to increase the height and tap the time to change the font, switch to a more transparent look, and more.
   • Add a 3D effect: If you’ve added a photo that supports spatial effects, tap the Spatial Capture button (iPhone 12 and later).
   • Add or change the widgets: Tap your existing widgets or tap Add Widgets.
   • Swap the controls (like the flashlight): Tap the Remove button on one of the controls. Tap the Add Quick Action button.
   • Reposition your photo: Pinch open to zoom in and drag the image with two fingers to move it. Pinch closed to zoom out.
   • Create a multilayered effect: Tap the Depth Effect button. Or if you have a photo that supports layering, tap the More button and choose Depth Effect.
   • Change the style: Swipe left or right to try different color filters.
   • Create a motion effect with a Live Photo: If you select a Live Photo that can be translated into slow motion, tap the Live photo button to play the Live Photo when the device wakes up.
   • Set the shuffle frequency: If you chose Photo Shuffle, tap the photo thumbnail to change the photo selection or change the shuffle frequency by tapping the More button.
   • Switch between a light and dark appearance: If the background you chose has a light mode and dark mode option, tap the appearance button.
5. Tap Add or Done, then choose to Set as Wallpaper Pair or Customize Home Screen.

Link a Focus to your Lock Screen

By minimizing distractions, Focus helps you concentrate on a task. Once you set up a Focus, you can link it to your Lock Screen. Your Focus settings then apply whenever you use that particular Lock Screen, and when that Focus is on, that Lock Screen appears.

1. Press the side button on your iPhone.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Customize button appears at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap Focus near the bottom of the wallpaper to see the Focus options—for example, Do Not Disturb, Personal, Sleep, and Work.
4. Select a Focus and then tap the Close button.

Switch between Lock Screens

Throughout the day, you can switch between multiple custom Lock Screens you’ve created.

1. Press the side button on your iPhone.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Customize button appears at the bottom of the screen.
3. Swipe to the Lock Screen you want to use, then tap it.

Note: When a Lock Screen links to a specific Focus, switching to another Lock Screen changes your Focus too.

Delete a Lock Screen

Delete any Lock Screens you no longer need.

1. Press the side button on your iPhone.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Customize button appears at the bottom of the screen.
3. Swipe to go to the Lock Screen you want to delete, swipe up on the screen, tap the Trash button, and tap Delete This Wallpaper.

On iPhone, you can change the wallpaper on the Lock Screen and the Home Screen. You can set your wallpaper in Settings or through the wallpaper gallery from your Lock Screen. You can design your wallpaper with Photos, Emoji, or Color, or choose a wallpaper option from one of the featured sets, such as Nature. You can use the same wallpaper on both the Lock Screen and Home Screen as a wallpaper pair, or make changes to the Home Screen, like blurring the wallpaper.

1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Wallpaper, tap Add New Wallpaper, and then do any of the following:
   • Tap a button at the top of the wallpaper gallery—for example, Photos, Emoji, or Color—to design your wallpaper.
   • Choose a wallpaper option from one of the featured sets (for example, Nature).

Note: If you don’t see wallpaper options you want to use (for example, Weather or Astronomy), scroll down to see more options, then tap Get below the one you like.

3. Tap Add, then do one of the following:
   • Choose to use the wallpaper on both the Lock Screen and Home Screen: Tap Set as Wallpaper Pair.
   • Make changes to the Home Screen: Tap Customize Home Screen. Tap a color to change the wallpaper color, tap the Select a Photo button to use a custom photo, or select Blur to blur the wallpaper so the apps stand out.

Quick tip: Link your Lock Screen to a particular Focus, and your wallpaper switches automatically whenever you switch to that Focus.