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Change your boring static wallpaper into an animated GIF
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Did you save an awesome GIF on your phone or computer that you want to use as your wallpaper? Whether you're using any of these, you can easily customize your background the way you want it to. Just be aware that using a GIF as your wallpaper may make your device run a little sluggish, as well as wear out your battery faster. Be aware that new iOS changes have changed the way Live Photos work – they can no longer be used as backgrounds. Read on to learn more about animated wallpapers for Windows and Android.

Setting a GIF as Your Wallpaper

For Windows, download Lively Wallpaper, find a wallpaper, and click "Add Wallpaper." For Android, download the GIF, open your Gallery, tap the three-dot menu icon, and select "Set wallpaper." For an iPhone or iPad, you first need to convert the GIF to a Live Photo, then select it from "Wallpaper" in Settings.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Getting an Animated Wallpaper on Windows

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  1. Get Lively Wallpaper from the Microsoft Store. Download this app for free from the Microsoft Store to get a GIF as wallpaper.
  2. Click Open from the Microsoft Store or click the app icon in your taskbar to launch the program.
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  3. You'll see the plus icon near the top of the window. [1]
    • You can also use any of the ones displayed by clicking the three dots and selecting Set as Wallpaper.
  4. Once you do, you'll have more options to set for your background, like which monitor to show the animated wallpaper on (if you have more than one). Click "Active wallpapers" to manage your wallpapers. [2]
    • Click x in "Active wallpapers" to remove the current background.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Setting a GIF as Wallpaper on Android

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  1. You can use apps like Giphy to save GIFs to your local device to use them as a wallpaper. [3]
    • If you don't have Giphy, download it for free from the Google Play Store.
  2. The app icon varies between your phone's manufacturer, like Photos, Photo Gallery, or Google Photos. If you can't find the app icon, open the camera and tap the photo thumbnail to get to your gallery. [4]
    • Once you have Gallery open, navigate to the GIF you want to use as wallpaper.
  3. This three-dot menu icon is in the bottom right corner of your screen.
  4. [5]
    • Tap Apply to confirm your choice.
    • Sadly, the GIF will not be animated as the wallpaper. You need to download a third-party app to use an animated GIF as your wallpaper.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Downloading a Live Wallpaper App

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  1. Locate the Google Play icon on your home screen or app drawer. It’s a white shopping bag with the Play symbol on it. Tap to open.
  2. 2
    Your phone most likely does not support live wallpapers by default. Instead, use a third-party app from the Play Store to get a live wallpaper on your home screen.
  3. Tap the search icon at the bottom of your screen, then enter “live wallpapers.” The results should display an extensive list of live wallpaper apps available on Google Play.
  4. 4
    Despite the variety, this method can be used for any live wallpaper app you choose to download from Google Play.
  5. 5
    Popular ones include Live Wallpapers, 4k Wallpapers; Zedge Wallpapers & Ringtones; and TickTock - TikTok Live Wallpaper. These are all free with ads, but you can pay to unlock more features and get rid of ads.
  6. You will be taken to its information page, where you can also see information like reviews and ratings. Tap the Install button near the top of the page, and wait for the download and installation to finish.
  7. 7
    Look for a live wallpaper app with 4.0+ ratings since those are more likely to work.
  8. 8
    Read the most recent reviews, regardless of star rating, since these will most likely give you important information on whether the app works well or if there are a ton of ads.
  9. 9
    Apply the live wallpaper. Open the wallpaper app that you just downloaded and find a live wallpaper that you like. When you do, you can press the option to download it. You might have to watch an ad before the live wallpaper downloads.
  10. 10
    If you're asked to watch an ad first, you have the option to pay to unlock the Pro or Premium tier, where no ads are involved. In this case, you also have more options, like automatically changing the live wallpaper every hour and auto-downloading new wallpapers.
  11. 11
    Once you download the image, tap Apply or Set wallpaper to set your live wallpaper. You can also choose to use the live wallpaper as your lock screen or home screen.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Setting a GIF as Lock Screen on Samsung

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  1. 1
    Open the video you want as a live wallpaper in your gallery. You can tap the camera icon, then tap the picture thumbnail in the bottom left corner to see the gallery, or tap the Gallery app icon (it looks like a flower on a red/pink background).
    • Tap the video you want to set as your background to open it.
    • You can only set video as live wallpaper on your Lock screen. If you want it on your home screen, use the method to download a live wallpaper app from the Play Store.
  2. 2
    Tap â‹® . It's in the top right corner and prompts a menu to drop down.
  3. 3
    Tap Set as wallpaper . It's near the end of the menu.
  4. 4
    Tap Lock screen . If the video is more than 15 seconds long, you'll need to trim it before you can use it. Trim it by following these steps:
    • Tap Trim , and a timeline will appear at the bottom so you can shorten the video.
    • Drag the selection left or right to change which 15 seconds of the video appear on your Lock screen. You can watch a preview of your Lock screen above the timeline.
    • Tap Done when you have the 15 seconds you want to appear on your Lock screen selected.
  5. 5
    Tap Done . It's in the top right corner of your screen and will apply any changes.
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      Warnings

      • Note that using a GIF or Live Wallpaper will negatively affect your device's performance and battery life. [6]
      • You need to download 3rd-party apps because the manufacturers found poor performance from these features and disabled the built-in functionality.
      • Some services offer Live Wallpapers for Mac, but all of them are outdated and have poor recent ratings.
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