iPhone wallpaper keeps going black iOS 16.1

I have the same problem that just started. I restarted once it came back. Six hours the same thing happened. I restarted it but the wallpaper did not come back. I deleted the photo and reinstalled it.

Hello belcantoCali,

Thanks for asking the Apple Support Communities about your iPhone background changing to black.

Please reach out to Apple Support to get help with this.

Apple Support

Thanks.

I have exactly the same problem on my 1Phone 11 IOS 16.1. I believe it started after the recent 16.1 upgrade.

Any support or advice would be helpful.

Same with me and i can't find the original photo in my library anymore. when i restart it comes back but randomly goes black again!

Me too, it just started doing this today (11 Dec 22) after I had to power off. The highlighted work around isn’t great for me since my Home Screen isn’t a photo, it’s an ombré in grey. I can’t cope with a photo behind the widgets.

I’m wondering if part of this issue stems from importing the settings from my previous phone, rather than them being a choice on the new one? (I’ve gone from an 8+ to a 13pro). I can’t find any other screen setting allowing you to choose a colour over a photo. Honestly, not everything needs updating all the time!

For those who can’t find the original wallpaper photo on their phone, did you migrate your photos on a phone upgrade too?

edit: I’ve now found the colour choices but struggling to have colour on my Home Screen and photo on Lock Screen - even though it says customise them individually

Did you ever find a fix? I have the same issue on 2 different 14ProMax. It was fine on my old XSMax. On new phone it will not allow a different lock n Home Screen. Also had the black out Home Screen issue.

After the update it seemed to have resolved. Is back to the same old crap. This is so frustrating and Apple needs to fix this! Way too much money for a phone and there is no one to reach out to in Apple for help wirh this ongoing issue.

so essentially, whatever photo you put on your lockscreen, keep it somewhere safe outside of any Apple product, because it will be lost otherwise... one random update later or another. Apple "backup" is not a real backup, it's a mirage.

Same issue. Lock Screen wallpaper changes to black - happens several times a day. I have to restart my phone to get “original” wallpaper back, which is an old photo that I do not have in my photos anymore, so I can’t “reset” it. Frustrating.

Well thanks for looking into this ..... It has stopped..... I no longer get black screen when I return from an app. And I don't remember if I had done something or ver 12.6.3 had taken care of it.

And after the an apple analyst...... is the following *******************

Worked with an apple analyst and still this is not working so annoying. I've restored from backup and works for a time but goes back to black. This part may be helpful I've noticed that coming back from an app which may already have a black background the system keeps that background. I would have the Home Screen display the setup Home Screen every time there is an exist and return to Home Screen. Or the Home Screen will keep the last app appearance. Hope this is helpful ...... waiting for the fix .....

I tried your method. But the photo I use for my wallpaper is not in the Photos app any longer.

I suppose It is just another "glitch" the user, who pays much for the phone, has to deal with. Quality is a dinosaur now. Crap service is the norm, like it or not. I will not be replacing my phone when it totally fails me. That's my option to give me peace & stop corporations from shoving their agenda on me! Plus their rotten service. I bet if I placed the pride flag as my wallpaper it wld remain for eternity. See what I mean? Not very happy!

Hi, the posted resolution does work. At first I thought it was odd that selecting the regular wallpaper was NOT part of the steps, but it is not needed. Just "re-select" the existing locked screen wallpaper and go through the posted steps.

The only difference you might see is that the images (locked screen and unlocked screen) may shift a little. For example, I never had the bottom part shown in the unlocked screen wallpaper image - I didn't want it to because it shows the edge of a picture frame etc. It now shows the entire image. Not a big deal. Oddly, I did not experience this problem until 16.5 instead of 16.1. It was definitely an odd problem to see.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come. From MacOS Snow Leopard to MacOS Monterey - not one single install or upgrade problem ever......then came Ventura! Same for iOS, not one single problem until 16.5 I hope Apple's overall QA can return to what it has always been which was outstanding A+, instead of what it has become only recently: B- I wonder if Steve Jobs kept the QA so high (instead of prematurely pushing out new versions).

Hi! Thank you for your response! Yes, this is disappointing for Apple to go below their usual high standards. It isnt the end of the world but I find it a nuisance. I just assume avoid having the Focus on my device. It is unnecessary and interference. So I pray the next update provides the option to eliminate Focus. I truly despise it.

The 16.6 update caused my colors to change everywhere: background, wallpaper, text messages, Facebook, …, and my ❤️ emoji has changed from red to blue!!

This is ridiculous!! Apple needs to fix this now!

I recently received and downloaded a new update on my iPhone mini and ever since the Lock Screen wallpaper is just going to a faded blackish tint. My phone won’t allow me to change it even when I try to change photos.