How to Set a Live Wallpaper on Android in 2026 (Samsung, Pixel, OnePlus)
On almost every Android phone, the quickest way to set a live wallpaper is from inside the app that provides it: tap its Set wallpaper button, Android opens a preview, and you confirm with Set wallpaper again, choosing Home screen or Home and lock screen. If you would rather start from the phone’s own wallpaper picker, the path is Settings, then Wallpaper (the exact name varies), then Live wallpapers.
The details differ by manufacturer, so here is each of the common ones, followed by the problems people run into most often.
Before you start
Two things to know about live wallpapers on any Android phone:
- A live wallpaper is a small program, not an image, so it has to come from an installed app. You cannot download one as a file.
- The wallpaper only runs while your home screen is visible. When the screen is off or you are inside another app, it stops. This matters for battery, which we cover in a separate article.
From the app itself (works everywhere)
This is the same on every brand and is the route most apps expect you to take.
- Open the wallpaper app and choose or configure the wallpaper you want.
- Tap the app’s Set or Set wallpaper button.
- Android shows a full-screen preview. Look it over; this is exactly what you will get.
- Tap Set wallpaper. If asked, choose Home screen or Home screen and lock screen.
- Go back to your home screen. It should update straight away.
If step 3 never appears and you land on a system settings page instead, your phone is asking you to pick the wallpaper from its own picker. Follow the brand-specific steps below.
Samsung (One UI)
- Long-press an empty spot on the home screen and tap Wallpaper and style. (Or go to Settings, then Wallpaper and style.)
- Tap Change wallpapers.
- Scroll to Live wallpapers and pick the one you installed.
- Preview, then tap Done or Set on Home screen.
Samsung lets you use a live wallpaper on the home screen while keeping a still image on the lock screen. If your lock screen changes unexpectedly, go back to Wallpaper and style and set the lock screen separately.
Google Pixel
- Long-press the home screen and tap Wallpaper & style.
- Tap More wallpapers, then Live wallpapers.
- Select the wallpaper, review the preview, and tap Set wallpaper.
- Choose Home screen or Home and lock screen.
Pixels also show installed live wallpapers grouped under the app’s name, so if you do not see it in the first row, scroll down.
OnePlus (OxygenOS)
- Long-press the home screen and tap Wallpapers (on some versions it is Wallpapers & style).
- Tap Live wallpapers or More.
- Pick the wallpaper, preview, and tap Apply or Set as wallpaper.
- Choose where to apply it.
OnePlus phones often have an aggressive battery optimiser. Live wallpapers are a system feature and run without it, but if you also use a matching widget, see the note on battery settings below.
Other brands
Xiaomi, Motorola, Nothing, Sony and most others follow the Pixel pattern closely: long-press the home screen, open the wallpaper picker, find Live wallpapers. Xiaomi’s picker is sometimes called Themes; the live wallpaper section is inside it.
Common problems
“Live wallpapers” is not in the picker
Some launchers hide the category until at least one live wallpaper app is installed. Install the app first, then reopen the picker. If it still does not appear, set the wallpaper from inside the app instead; that route bypasses the picker entirely.
I confirmed, but the home screen has not changed
Usually one of three things:
- You chose Lock screen only. Repeat and pick Home screen.
- Your launcher cached the old image. Swipe home, wait a moment, or restart the launcher.
- A third-party launcher is installed and is showing its own wallpaper setting. Check that launcher’s settings.
It reverted to a static image after a restart
This happens if the app was uninstalled, or if an aggressive cleaner app “optimised” it away. Reinstall or exclude the app from the cleaner, then set the wallpaper again.
My photo disappeared, but the animation is still there
The wallpaper could not read the photo it was given. Pick the photo again inside the app so it can make its own private copy.
Setting an age wallpaper with TimeBorn
TimeBorn follows the “from the app” route above, with one extra step that most wallpaper apps skip. You choose your photo first, then browse all twenty-four faces already drawn on top of it, so you are not guessing how a style will look against your own picture. Tap Position to drag, pinch and rotate the counter into place, then tap Set and confirm in the Android preview. Whatever you arranged is exactly what gets drawn. See how it works on the home page.