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How to customise your iPad lock screen in iPadOS 17
In This Article
iPadOS 17 is a huge update for iPad owners, bringing with it new functionality including the customisable lock screen experience we saw introduced toiPhoneowners with iOS 16. The question is, how do you customise your iPad lock screen in iPadOS 17?
While the process is indeed very similar to that ofcustomising your iPhone lock screen, there are a few iPad-specific changes you need to be aware of when getting creative.
Don’t fret; we at Trusted Reviews areiPadOS 17experts, and here, we explain exactly how you can customise your iPad lock screen.
What you’ll need:
The Short Version
Step1
Tap and hold your iPad’s lock screen
The first step to customising your iPad’s lock screen is to tap and hold the lock screen to access the lock screen picker menu.
Step2
Tap the Plus icon
You can either customise your current lock screen or create a new one from scratch. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll be creating a new lock screen. To do so, tap the Plus icon in the bottom right.
Step3
Choose your lock screen preset
You’ll now be presented with a range of lock screen styles to choose from. These range from basic colourful screens to themed options like Weather and Space that’ll automatically change as the day progresses. You’ve also got Photo Shuffle lock screen presets that’ll display a swathe of photos throughout the day.Browse through the selection and tap the layout you’d like to customise.
Step4
Tap the clock to customise the clock
Now the customisation process can begin. Let’s start with the clock; tap it to change both the font and the colour of the clock. The default colour will automatically sync up with the background colour, but you can override this if you choose.
Step5
Add widgets
Here’s the really fun part; adding widgets to your iPad lock screen. Simply tap the empty space to the left of the screen (in landscape orientation) and browse from the selection of widgets available. To add one, tap it or drag it into place.Certain widgets, like the Reminders and Home widgets, can be interacted with directly from the home screen, allowing you to toggle smart tech on or off and check things off your to-do list without unlocking your iPad.An important thing to note here is that, unlike the iPhone lock screen system, the iPad has two separate lock screen layouts – landscape and portrait – and you can display different widgets depending on the orientation. So, before you continue, rotate your iPad and add its vertical orientation widgets too.
Step6
Tap Add to save changes
Once you’re happy with the way your new iPad lock screen looks, tap Add in the top-right to save your changes.
Step7
Tap Set as Wallpaper Pair
The next step is to decide whether you want to pair your lock screen wallpaper with your home screen wallpaper. To do this, tap Set as Wallpaper Pair. Alternatively, you can tap Customise Home Screen to select a different wallpaper to use.
Step8
Select your new lock screen
You should now be able to tap your newly-created lock screen and select it for use on your iPad. You can create as many as you like for different scenarios – like work and home – so make as many as you like and get creative!
Troubleshooting
It might be because you only set up widgets for one orientation – landscape or portrait. iPadOS 17 has separate widget layouts for both, so go back and make sure you’ve selected widgets for both screen orientations.
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Lewis is the Mobile Editor of Trusted Reviews with plenty of phone experience, from the Nokia 3210 to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. He has been in the tech industry writing about phones, headphones, tablets,…
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
