How to change the background wallpaper on an iPad

While iPadOS 16 doesn’t offer the same level of customization as iOS 16 does on iPhones, you can still set up separate homescreen and lockscreen wallpapers. Here’s how to change both on your iPad.

How to change the homescreen or lockscreen background on an iPad

Unlike iPhones, you can’t change wallpapers by tapping and holding on your lockscreen — you have to use the Settings app.

• Open Settings.
• Tap Wallpaper, then Choose a New Wallpaper.
• Choose an image from one of Apple’s preset collections (Dynamic, Stills, etc.) or one of your personal albums.
• Pinch with two fingers to zoom and/or reposition your chosen image.
• Some images have a Perspective Zoom button (a rectangle with two arrows), which you can toggle for a parallax effect when you shift viewing angles.
• Tap Set, then either Set Lock Screen, Set Home Screen, or Both.
• If you don’t choose Both, repeat earlier steps to set separate lockscreen and homescreen wallpapers.

Be aware that if you choose a custom image, it needs to surpass the resolution of your iPad to look good in both vertical and horizontal orientations. An 11-inch iPad Pro, for example, sports a 2388 x 1668 display, but wallpapers for it should measure 2388 x 2388 or larger. The bigger the image, the more likely is you’ll be able to use Perspective Zoom.