The fastest way to change your home screen look

You can change your iPhone home screen in two ways: swap the background image (called the wallpaper), or rearrange and remove the app icons themselves. The wallpaper change takes about 30 seconds and happens through Settings. Rearranging apps takes longer but gives you complete control over what appears where.

Both changes are permanent until you change them again — there is no limit to how many times you can switch things around. You do not need to restart your phone or read anything.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Settings, tap Wallpaper, then Choose a New Wallpaper to pick from Apple's built-in images or your own photos.
  • You can set different wallpapers for your lock screen and home screen, or use the same one for both.
  • To rearrange app icons, press and hold any app until a menu appears, then tap Edit Home Screen and drag icons to new positions.
  • Removing an app icon from the home screen does not delete the app — it stays in your App Library and you can search for it anytime.
  • App folders let you group related apps together and save space on your home screen.

Changing your wallpaper through Settings

Open the Settings app on your home screen. Scroll down and tap Wallpaper. You will see your current lock screen and home screen wallpapers displayed at the top.

Tap Choose a New Wallpaper. You will see several options: collections of Apple-designed wallpapers (like Nature, Emoji, or Solid Colors), your Photos library, and any other photo apps you have installed. Tap the collection you want to browse.

Tap the image you want to use. A preview will show how it looks on your home screen. Tap Add in the bottom right corner. You will then see options to set this wallpaper for your lock screen, home screen, or both. Choose which screen or screens should use this image, then tap Set.

Using photos from your camera roll as wallpaper

If you want to use a photo you took yourself, open Settings, tap Wallpaper, then tap Choose a New Wallpaper. Tap Photos at the bottom of the screen. This opens your photo library.

Navigate to the album or date where your photo is stored, then tap the photo. You can pinch and zoom to position it the way you want it to appear on your screen. Tap Add, choose whether to set it on your lock screen or home screen (or both), and tap Set.

If the photo is very small or very large, iOS will automatically stretch or crop it to fit your screen. You can adjust this by pinching and dragging before you tap Add.

Rearranging app icons on your home screen

Press and hold any app icon on your home screen for about one second. A menu will pop up. Tap Edit Home Screen — the icons will start to jiggle and show small minus signs in the corners.

While in edit mode, you can drag any icon to a new position. Drag it to the left, right, up, or down. You can also drag an icon to a different page of your home screen — just drag it to the edge of the screen and hold it there until the next page appears, then drop it.

When you are done moving icons, tap Done in the top right corner. The jiggling will stop and your new layout is saved.

Removing apps from your home screen without deleting them

While in edit mode (press and hold an app and tap Edit Home Screen), tap the small minus sign in the top left corner of any app icon. A menu will ask whether you want to Remove from Home Screen or Remove App. Tap Remove from Home Screen.

The app will disappear from your home screen, but it is still on your phone. You can find it by swiping down from the middle of your screen to open Search, then typing the app name. You can also find it in your App Library — swipe to the rightmost page of your home screen to see all your apps organized by category.

If you ever want the app back on your home screen, open the App Library, press and hold the app, and tap Add to Home Screen.

Creating folders to organize apps

While in edit mode, drag one app icon directly on top of another app icon. iOS will automatically create a folder and put both apps inside. The folder will be named based on the category of the apps — for example, dragging two game apps together might create a folder called "Games."

You can rename the folder by tapping on the name field at the top of the folder and typing a new name. You can also drag more apps into the folder by dragging them onto the folder icon. Tap outside the folder to close it and return to edit mode.

Folders are useful for grouping apps you use less often, like productivity tools or health apps, so your home screen shows only the apps you use every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set different wallpapers for lock screen and home screen?

Yes. When you add a new wallpaper, iOS asks whether you want to set it on the lock screen, home screen, or both. You can have a photo on your lock screen and a solid color on your home screen, or any other combination you prefer.

What happens if I remove an app from my home screen?

The app stays on your phone and you can still use it. You can search for it by swiping down and typing its name, or find it in your App Library on the rightmost page of your home screen. Removing it from the home screen just hides it from view.

Can I undo changes to my home screen layout?

There is no undo button, but you can rearrange your apps as many times as you want. Just press and hold an app, tap Edit Home Screen, and move things back to where they were. You can also reset your home screen to its default layout by going to Settings, General, Reset, and tapping Reset Home Screen Layout.

How many home screen pages can I have?

You can have as many pages as you need. Each time you fill a page with apps and add another one, iOS automatically creates a new page. You can swipe left and right between pages, or tap the dots at the bottom of your screen to jump to a specific page.

Do I need to restart my phone after changing the wallpaper?

No. Wallpaper changes and app rearrangement take effect when ready. Your phone does not need to restart.