Unable to change home screen wallpaper photo on iPhone 16 Pro Max

In your first screenshot, you're completely missing the thumbnail of the current wallpaper in the bottom left hand corner, which would be quite easy since your wallpaper is SO dark. You'll see the little constellation on the left, which you'll want to tap and then you can choose a new photo.

By golly, you got me. I should have looked for the invisible button, right on the galaxy. I feel a little dumb, but it's there all right; I just tap the galaxy.

Problem solved.

Try this Modify the home screen by selecting a colour. Save it with done. Then go back and choose a Photo.

That's a no-go. I pick a color, "Done", back out of settings and my home screen is setup with that color as background. Then, when I go back in and select "photo", it brings me back to the photo I had last time, again with no option to select a photo -- it looks exactly like the second screen shot.

The only workaround I can think of, and I'm too ****** off to try it, is to choose "add a wallpaper", in which case I might, maybe, get the chance to choose a new photo. If I do that, then I have to go and rebuild my current lock screen configuration, which I really don't want to have to do.

jbl-az wrote:

I am unable to change the background photo in my home screen wallpaper in iOS 27.2 on my iPhone 16 pro max. This does not apply to the lock screen wallpaper. When customizing the home screen wallpaper, when I tap on the "photo" button (Screen 1 below) I am given only the options to apply a filter to the current photo or to extend the photo (Screen 2). There is no way I have been able to find to select another photo. I don't think I had this problem in iOS 26.

What's the best way to report this to Apple?

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/4f4dc856-0000-4424-9b8b-d697f9a0f869

Screen 1

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/5f83047b-5a82-4c95-8bd6-64c75c9c6443

Screen 2

In your first screenshot, you're completely missing the thumbnail of the current wallpaper in the bottom left hand corner, which would be quite easy since your wallpaper is SO dark. You'll see the little constellation on the left, which you'll want to tap and then you can choose a new photo.

jbl-az wrote:

The only workaround I can think of, and I'm too ****** off to try it, is to choose "add a wallpaper", in which case I might, maybe, get the chance to choose a new photo. If I do that, then I have to go and rebuild my current lock screen configuration, which I really don't want to have to do.

Tough, that is the normal remedy, take 60 seconds out of your life and do that.

Third-party photos may not always work as expected when cropped or resized for wallpaper on an iPhone. Here are some reasons and recommendations to address the issue:

Possible Issues with Third-Party Photos:

1. Resolution Mismatch: Third-party photos might have a resolution or aspect ratio that doesn’t align with the iPhone’s display dimensions. This can lead to improper scaling or pixelation.
2. Metadata Differences: Photos taken with non-iOS devices or edited in third-party apps might lack or modify metadata crucial for accurate rendering on iOS devices.
3. Color Profile Incompatibility: iPhones use specific color profiles (like sRGB or P3). Third-party photos might use different profiles, causing display issues.
4. Dynamic Wallpaper Features: Features like parallax or Live Photos might not work correctly with third-party images that lack the necessary depth or motion data.

Recommendations:

• Use iOS Camera Photos: Photos taken with the iOS Camera app are optimized for your device, ensuring compatibility with wallpapers and dynamic features.
• Choose Default Wallpapers: Apple provides high-quality wallpapers pre-installed with iOS that are designed to fit perfectly.
• Edit with iOS Tools: If using third-party photos, crop and edit them using the iPhone's built-in Photos app to adjust the resolution and alignment.
• Test Before Setting: Before finalizing, preview the wallpaper on the lock screen and home screen to ensure it displays correctly.

These steps should help ensure a better experience when setting wallpapers on your iPhone.

Sorry, the problem wasn't with any photo format or metadata or anything like that. I couldn't find the icon to tap to give me a chance to select a new photo, but Lobsterghost1 spotted the problem and it's now solved.

Try this

Modify the home screen by selecting a colour.

Save it with done.

Then go back and choose a Photo.

那什麼東西⋯

To__z wrote:

那什麼東西⋯

It's wallpaper what did you think it was?