Can I change login screen with OS Monterey

This tip works for me for the multiple users I have on my Mac. It allows the individual users to have their own logon screens. (I previously used it for Big Sur, but went back to Catalina, where it continued to work for my recent upgrade to Monterey.). However, it does not solve the initial logon screen which shows all users to start initial logon. Just like Big Sur, Apple blocked any user customization of this screen, which continues in Monterey, and again as noted in comments by users, ignores the repeated calls for a return to user customization options without any comment or response from Apple about why the change or if any return to sanity will ever occur.

Hi all,

I'm curious myself as to how the default login background photo is selected on macOS. I'm on an M1 MacBook Air running macOS Monterey (12.1), with FileVault enabled. My login screen background is automatically set to the light-mode Monterey graphic (pink and purple shades).

Does anyone else get a different image when they have FileVault enabled (in System Preferences -> Security and Privacy) and they restart their Mac? I'm particularly interested in what happens on an M1 iMac and on the new 14" and 16" MacBook Pros.

This info could help in finding out how macOS chooses which background to display, and how to change it.

With "customization" of everything being one of the hottest trends the past 10 years, it boggles the mind that Apple's developer's have chosen to immutably lock in the boot up screen. I personally find the chosen color scheme abhorrent, but that is irrelevant. We should each have the latitude to select our own screen. I hope the Apple crew will enable us to do so soon.

Yes, I did that, but just slightly differently..... I simply opened the "lockscreen.png (ie the CHROMA RED) in photoshop, pasted in new image (then flattened it to delete the original on underneath layer) saved and all done. Now I have my own nice mellow sunset instead!

Apple was founded on user choice... the computer for the rest of us. I’m a Boomer,so I go waaaaaay back, and I’ve only ever used Apple, but now this embarrassing, hideous, boot screen has been locked in and I am sure there will be no change because we are now to be told what we will accept and how we will operate our devices. I feel betrayed and quite sad that AppleSoft has turned its back on its founding principles.

<--that worked for me. thx.

actually, i had no problems with my preferred login screen after I updated from Big Sur. It stayed how I wanted it. However, the background did revert to the default pink/purple Monterey pic when I cleared out all my caches to do some troubleshooting related to another matter (USB hangs).

thanks again for re-posting this solution.

I found out that the key to making these instructions work is to add a step I found in the YouTube video. Before you restart your computer, go to System Preferences/Security & Privacy/FireVault and turn off FireVault! Then, restart your computer and the login background changes. Whew! That Monterey background was a blinding eyesore!

I already have my personal image in /Library/Caches/Desktop Pictures with the correct UUID (the image is what I use as desktop wallpaper). Guest is disabled. But the ugly Monterey graphic still displays on boot.

The startup screen is called "Monterey Graphic.heic" and it is located in /System/Library/Desktop Pictures. It cannot be changed because Apple has made the System read-only. This cannot be modified by either root user or sudo. It's an "enhancement" to security and it means any changes to the System will make the computer un-bootable.

There is a a hack, disabling csrutil, but that actually didn't work. I was willing to experiment because this is a new install on a partition. I wanted to see what programs would break in Monterey before committing. Unfortunately, quite a few don't yet have Monterey compatible sw, so I will have to wait.

How I despise this login screen, at least past ones had nice images of landscapes I can indulge in, but this dated looking monstrosity is like something out of the days when we first launched OSX. It's ugly and it was a terrible, terrible decision by Apple.

No. You can't change it.

We're stuck with that same ugly screen since Big Sur - except it was orange rather than pink. No idea who's so-called ''art'' is, everybody dream about changing this, but you can't unless you have a single profile. But as most have at least an admin and a standard account, forget it.

Been searching this for over a year and you have to live with it. God decided for us. We follow.

I guess I'm going to be the peculiar one here, but I don't even mind the new colors on the login screen. But even if I didn't like them, it's just the login screen, for Pete's sake, how long do we look at that, maybe one second max? There must be more pressing issues to deal with in these Discussions ...

When I buy an appliance that allows personalization, I want the manufacturer to allow me the freedom to continue making the changes I have made in the past.

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Apple is not the only business that has taken away owner rights. Owners have no choice on Microsoft updates (even when they suck), and few Android owners have been able to avoid updates as well.

DavidWeisman wrote:

Apple is not the only business that has taken away owner rights. Owners have no choice on Microsoft updates (even when they suck), and few Android owners have been able to avoid updates as well.

You are sort of proving my point. One should distinguish between "taking away owner rights" and things that ruin functionality (updates that cause failures), versus something cosmetic and unimportant (in my view) such as a login window color. There was never an "owner right" to change this or that color. And other posters went to such extremes to try to change it as to interfere with normal operation (one said his/her Mac would not shut down after a "fix"). The login window probably appears for a minute or two at most before someone logs in or the machine sleeps. This has to be an issue that is pretty low on the list of things for Apple to address.

After all, and complain about it myself since Big Sur (same ugly screen, less complained, just different colors….), I admit I concur to what you are raising here. True, it’s minor compared to fact I always need to wait about 9 months so many programs I use finally comply….

Nevertheless, even though “art” is a very subjective matter, if security is involved in that decision to “remove” capability to change that screen, it is the second year Apple is providing such an ugly design. Never wondered about modifying Catalina or previous default screens…

It is the start screen and you cannot change it. Unfortunately. It is the picture called "Monterey Graphic.heic" in HD>System>Library>Desktop Pictures ...and even if your are admin you cannot transform the content of it.

I tried to make a new start screen, changed the deathvalley from jpg to heic and ... Those are preferences settings by Apple.