How to Change the Screen Saver on an iPad (Lock Screen)

An iPad doesn’t have a screen saver setting. What you see when you pick it up is the Lock Screen wallpaper, so change that: open Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper, pick a picture, tap Add, and choose Set as Wallpaper Pair or Customize Home Screen. Auto-Lock controls when the screen goes dark.

You want a new picture on your iPad when you pick it up, and you go looking for a screen saver setting that isn’t there.

What the iPad Uses Instead of a Screen Saver

On a computer, a screen saver is an animation or slideshow that plays after the machine sits idle. The iPad works differently. When it sits idle, it locks and the screen turns off. When you wake it, the Lock Screen appears, showing the time, any widgets, and a wallpaper image. Three settings together cover what most people want from a “screen saver”:

What you want	iPad setting
A new picture when you wake the iPad	Lock Screen wallpaper
Pictures that change	Photo Shuffle on the Lock Screen
A longer or shorter wait before the screen goes dark	Auto-Lock

There’s no setting that plays a moving slideshow while the iPad sits unused, and App Store screen saver apps aren’t covered here.

Change the Lock Screen Wallpaper in Settings

This is the route in Apple’s guide to changing the iPad wallpaper.

1. Open the Settings app and tap Wallpaper.
2. Tap Add New Wallpaper. A gallery opens.

3. Pick a source from the buttons at the top of the gallery. Photos uses your own pictures, and Apple’s options include choices such as Astronomy and Weather, plus featured sets further down. If you don’t see an option you expected, scroll down and tap Get next to it.
4. Adjust the preview. For a photo, pinch open to zoom and drag with two fingers to position it so the main subject isn’t hidden behind the clock.
5. Tap Add.
6. Choose Set as Wallpaper Pair to use the same design on the Lock Screen and Home Screen, or Customize Home Screen to make the Home Screen look different.
7. Press the top button to lock the iPad, then wake it to see the new picture.

If your iPad shows Choose a New Wallpaper and Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen or Set Both instead, it’s running iPadOS 16 or earlier. Follow the labels you actually see rather than mixing older and newer steps.

Worked example: Priya wants a photo of her garden on the Lock Screen but a plain color behind her apps. She taps Photos, picks the garden picture, pinches it so the flowers sit below the clock, taps Add, then chooses Customize Home Screen and picks a color. Her Lock Screen and Home Screen now look different.

Change It From the Lock Screen Itself

Apple’s page on creating a custom iPad Lock Screen describes a faster way that skips the Settings app. Apple’s guide offers this version of the steps for iPadOS 17 and later.

1. Press the top button to wake the iPad. On a Face ID model, look at it; on a Touch ID model, rest your finger on Touch ID. Don’t open the Home Screen.
2. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Lock Screen gallery appears.
3. To create a new one, tap the + button. To change an existing one, swipe to it and tap Customize.

4. Choose your picture and options, then tap Add (or Done when editing).
5. Choose Set as Wallpaper Pair or Customize Home Screen.

If the + button doesn’t appear, touch and hold the Lock Screen again and enter your passcode when asked. The gallery only opens once the iPad knows it’s you.

While customizing, you can usually change more than the picture. Depending on the wallpaper and iPad model, Apple lists these options:

• Tap the time to change the clock font and style.
• Resize the clock by dragging its bottom-right corner.
• Tap Add Widgets to put widgets on the Lock Screen.
• Swipe left or right on a photo to try color filters.
• Turn the depth effect on or off, so the clock can appear behind part of the subject.
• Choose light or dark appearance where offered.

Widgets and notifications appear on the Lock Screen too. If you also want message previews there, see showing text messages on the iPad Lock Screen.

Make the Picture Change on Its Own

The closest thing to a slideshow is Photo Shuffle. Instead of one photo, the Lock Screen cycles through a set of your pictures.

1. Start a new wallpaper from Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper, or from the + button on the Lock Screen.
2. Choose Photo Shuffle from the gallery.
3. Pick the photos or the kind of photos you want included.
4. While customizing, tap the photo thumbnail to change which photos are included, or tap the shuffle frequency button to change how often the photo changes.
5. Tap Add and pick a Home Screen option.

Photo Shuffle changes the image on the schedule you choose. It doesn’t play a running animation while the iPad sits idle.

You can also link a Lock Screen to a Focus, such as Work or Personal. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears, tap Focus, choose a Focus, then tap the check mark. When that Focus turns on, the iPad switches to the matching Lock Screen. It works the other way too: switching away from a Lock Screen that is linked to a Focus also switches your Focus.

Keep the Home Screen Different

When you tap Customize Home Screen after adding a wallpaper, Apple’s wallpaper guide lists a few choices: a color, a custom photo, or Blur, which softens the Lock Screen picture so app icons stay easy to read. Pick one and tap Done.

Changing the wallpaper doesn’t move your apps or folders.

Switch Between or Delete Lock Screens

Each wallpaper you add becomes its own Lock Screen, and you can keep several.

1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the gallery appears.
2. Swipe left or right to the one you want, then tap it to switch.
3. To delete one, swipe up on it, tap the trash can, then tap Delete This Wallpaper.

Apple’s steps only remove the Lock Screen design; they don’t mention touching your photo library. If a Focus was linked to it, link that Focus to another Lock Screen afterward.

Control When the Screen Goes Dark

The wallpaper doesn’t change how long the iPad stays on. That’s Auto-Lock, and Apple covers it on its page about keeping the iPad display on longer.

1. Open Settings > Display & Brightness.
2. Tap Auto-Lock.
3. Choose a time interval from the list your iPad shows.

A few things to know before you pick a long time:

• Apple warns that delaying or preventing Auto-Lock may increase power use.
• Guided Access turns off Auto-Lock while it’s active.
• Many apps, such as Maps, video players and reading apps, keep the screen on while you use them, no matter what Auto-Lock is set to.
• An external display or Stage Manager can keep the screen on longer.

For more on choosing a time, see making an iPad wait longer before it locks.

iPad Screen Saver Questions

Can I use a video or Live Photo as the Lock Screen?

Apple’s Lock Screen guide mentions Live Photo motion as an option when it’s offered for the photo you pick, and some wallpapers have built-in motion on supported models. Apple’s wallpaper pages don’t list a regular video as a wallpaper option.

Why don’t I see Add New Wallpaper?

Your iPad is probably on iPadOS 16 or earlier, which uses Choose a New Wallpaper. Update iPadOS if your model supports a newer version, or follow the older labels.

Can the iPad show photos while it’s charging?

Not through a built-in screen saver. Photo Shuffle changes the picture when you wake the iPad, but the screen still turns off on the Auto-Lock schedule.

Why does the screen stay on longer than my Auto-Lock time?

An app that’s in use, Guided Access, an external display or Stage Manager can keep the display awake. Close the app or end Guided Access, and the normal timer applies again.

Will a new wallpaper drain the battery?

Apple doesn’t list wallpaper choice as a battery factor on the pages checked here. The setting it does warn about is a longer Auto-Lock time.

Once your new Lock Screen is in place, try a widget or two while you’re in Customize, since that’s the quickest way to make the screen you see most often more useful.

Apple documentation checked November 6, 2026. Options vary by iPad model and iPadOS version.