How to Change the Display Settings on an iPhone (16 Steps)

By Tyson Cliffton

Change the background on your iPhone.
i Chris Hondros/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Add a little bit of personal style by changing the display settings on your iPhone. You can change the background image on both your lock screen and the home screen; any wallpaper or image saved on your device, pictures in the Camera Roll or images in folders you've synced with the device can be used. You can also change the brightness of the background and whether the clock appears as a 12- or 24-hour clock. These settings can be changed within the "Settings" app.

Brightness

Step 1

Tap the "Settings" icon on the iPhone. The icon is gray and looks like a gear.

Step 2

Scroll down and tap "Brightness."

Step 3

Tap the circle on the bar at the top of the screen and keep your finger pressed against the screen.

Step 4

Move your finger to the left to make the screen darker and to the right to make the screen lighter.

Step 5

Tap the "ON/OFF" button to the right of "Auto-Brightness" until "ON" is highlighted for the phone to automatically adjust to light and dark settings. Keep the brightness at the current level all the time by tapping the button until it says "OFF."

Background Images

Step 1

Tap "Settings."

Step 2

Tap "Wallpaper."

Step 3

Click the images that appear at the top of the screen. It doesn't matter if you select one image or the other -- you will be taken to the same screen. The image on the left corresponds with lock screen and the image on the right is the general background for the iPhone.

Step 4

Tap the section that contains the image you want to use as either "Lock" screen background or as the general background. By default, the two sections that will appear are "Wallpaper" and "Camera Roll." Other sections may also be displayed if your iPhone is set to sync with folders on your computer.

Step 5

Tap the image you want to use as the lock screen background or the general background and then tap "Set." Tap "Set Lock Screen" to set the image as the background for the lock screen, tap "Set Home Screen" to set the image as the general background for the iPhone, or tap "Set Both" to set the image as both the lock screen background and the general background.

Step 6

Tap another image and choose another setting if you want to change one or both of the backgrounds to something else.

Clock

Step 1

Tap "Settings."

Step 2

Tap "General."

Step 3

Tap "Date & Time."

Step 4

Tap the "ON/OFF" button to the right of "24-Hour Time" until "ON" is highlighted to display a 24-hour clock; tap the button until "OFF" is highlighted to display a 12-hour clock. These changes will apply to both the clock at the top of the iPhone screen and the "Clock" app.

Step 5

Tap the "ON/OFF" button to the right of "Set Automatically" until "ON" is highlighted for the device to adjust to time zones and time changes automatically; tap the button until "OFF" is highlighted to adjust time settings manually.

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