Alex Ruben
How To Set Astronomy or Earth Wallpapers on Your iPhone: The Complete Guide
Personalizing an iPhone with cool astronomy or Earth wallpapers can seriously upgrade its look and kinda give you that cosmic vibe every time you pick it up. It’s not rocket science, but sometimes the built-in wallpaper options are pretty limited, or things just don’t work smoothly. So, here’s a quick and kinda messy guide to get those stunning space images on your device, whether you want it as your Lock Screen, Home Screen, or both. By the end, you’ll probably have something looking pretty snazzy and cosmically inspiring.
How to Set Astronomy or Earth Wallpapers on Your iPhone
Access Settings on Your iPhone
First, unlock your phone and find the Settings app — yeah, the gear icon. Tap on it. Usually, this is straightforward, but sometimes updates can change things up a bit. If your settings menu is acting weird, try a quick restart. That sometimes helps reset whatever bug is causing trouble.
Navigate to Wallpaper Settings
Scroll down in the Settings menu until you see Wallpaper. Tap that. That’s where all the magic happens, even if it sometimes feels like pulling teeth because of the clumsy UI or bugs. If your phone is up to date, everything should be where it’s supposed to be, but if not, maybe check for an update — because of course, iOS has to make things slightly more complicated than necessary.
Add New Wallpaper
Inside Wallpaper, look for Choose a New Wallpaper. Tap that button, and you’ll see options like Photos, Dynamic, Stills, and apparently, a bunch of presets. But our goal here is to get custom astronomy or Earth images, so tap on the option that lets you browse your own photos or the built-in ones. Sometimes, third-party apps or downloaded wallpapers aren’t showing up here, so if that’s the case, you might need to add them to your Photos first.
Explore Astronomy and Earth Wallpapers
In the wallpaper picker, scroll down to find sections like Planets or Astronomy — if your iOS version has them. Sometimes they just don’t show up, which is kinda frustrating. If that happens, instead, tap on Photos and select an astronomy pic you saved earlier or downloaded from somewhere like NASA’s image library. For example, you can get some stunning images from the NASA Image Library. That way, you’re not limited to whatever Apple stuffed into the default options.
Select Your Desired Wallpaper
Swipe through the options and pick the one that makes you say “Wow.” If needed, zoom in/out or reposition to make sure it fits your aesthetic. Don’t forget that on some setups, the wallpaper might look different on the Lock Screen versus the Home Screen. A little trial-and-error might be necessary to get it just right. Tap on your favorite image when ready to move forward.
Set the Wallpaper
Once you’ve chosen, tap Add at the top. You’ll then see options to set it as the Lock Screen, Home Screen, or both. Pick what suits your mood today. Sometimes, setting as both causes weird stretching or cropping, so if the image looks funny, try just the Lock Screen first. Expect a moment of silence from iOS, then your new cosmic wallpaper appears. And yeah, sometimes it’s weird how it crops stuff or won’t show entire images because of native resolutions, but these are minor annoyances.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
Make sure your iPhone’s running the latest iOS version — old software might be buggy or not support certain features. If wallpapers won’t load or show up, try force quitting Settings (swipe up from the bottom or press the home button and swipe away), then opening it again. Sometimes, a quick reboot helps if the images are downloaded from the web or iCloud and aren’t showing. Also, if your downloaded images look weird or pixelated, check their resolution and cropping options — some images just don’t scale well without some editing first.
Wrap-up
Setting astronomy or Earth wallpapers on an iPhone isn’t always straightforward, especially with the way iOS handles image cropping and themes, but it’s totally doable. Playing around with photos from NASA or your favorites can make the device feel more personalized. Just keep in mind that sometimes, things might act a little wonky, but rebooting or updating usually fixes it. It’s kind of satisfying when you finally get a perfect view of that nebula or blue planet staring back at you.
Summary
- Check for OS updates — sometimes fixes everything.
- Use your Photos app or download images from reliable sources like NASA.
- Try cropping or editing images to fit better if they look weird.
- Be patient with cropping and positioning; it’s a bit trial and error.
- Reboot or force quit if images won’t load properly.
Final Words
Hopefully, this saves someone a few headaches. Custom wallpapers give your iPhone a bit of personality, and once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy to switch things up whenever you want. Good luck, and may your wallpaper always inspire wonder… or at least a smile when you unlock your screen.