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change login screen picture

hi everyone, I'm a new MacBook user. I changed the lock screen and desktop screen picture but I cannot change the picture of the screen when I just turned on the computer. and I couldn't find the solution for this anywhere. please help me :)

MacBook Air, macOS 13.5

Posted on Sep 10, 2023 3:15 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 10, 2023 1:28 PM

you can only make the login screen match your user account's wallpaper. you cannot set it as a separate image.


if you are the sole user (not even a guest account) AND file vault is turned off you can go to System Settings, in the Lock Screen tab,  and set "Login window shows" to "List of users". then your login screen matches your desktop background.



if you are using file vault or have multiple users, the above will not work.  if that's your situation, you will need to wait for apple to address this. it may be worth your time to send feedback directly to apple. Feedback - macOS - Apple.

15 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 10, 2023 1:28 PM in response to eklcckr

you can only make the login screen match your user account's wallpaper. you cannot set it as a separate image.


if you are the sole user (not even a guest account) AND file vault is turned off you can go to System Settings, in the Lock Screen tab,  and set "Login window shows" to "List of users". then your login screen matches your desktop background.



if you are using file vault or have multiple users, the above will not work.  if that's your situation, you will need to wait for apple to address this. it may be worth your time to send feedback directly to apple. Feedback - macOS - Apple.

Sep 10, 2023 2:16 PM in response to jeffreythefrog

My current lock screen is Ventura dark mode (its warm, red and orange toned) . but my login screen wallpaper is ventura in open mode (orange and blue toned) I am using the computer in dark mode. So in this case, I guess we can say that the wallpapers are the same. But we can also say that they are not the same. I don't know its a bit complicated

Sep 10, 2023 2:58 PM in response to eklcckr

The login screen is part of the baked in system settings and cannot be changed. It has been that way for at least 30 years and the question has been asked numerous times. Apple has not changed it. It is what it is. The list of users has nothng to do with the image.


It begs the question: why bother with a screen you see for just 10 - 20 seconds?

Sep 10, 2023 3:08 PM in response to babowa

babowa wrote:

The list of users has nothng to do with the image.

actually, it does. if you only have one user on the Mac, not a guest (and file vault is off), using "list of users" the login screen matches the user's chosen wallpaper of their account. but if there are more than one user, you get the default macOS wallpaper because macOS can't tell which user's wallpaper to use before logging in.

It begs the question: why bother with a screen you see for just 10 - 20 seconds?

I will totally agree with that. but of course, people will continue to ask this question.

Sep 10, 2023 3:06 PM in response to babowa

First of all, thank you for your clear answer. But I can't understand why Apple hasn't changed this ridiculous "system" for years. This is a very, very simple matter. The problem is not that I want to change my login screen wallpaper; The problem is, I can't do such a simple thing. And yes, since I am an obsessive, I have been looking for a solution to change my login screen image for days.

Sep 10, 2023 3:56 PM in response to eklcckr

... I have been looking for a solution to change my login screen image for days.


You wrote that you are a new MacBook user. Others have been looking for decades. It ain't happening. If you had asked here first you could have saved yourself some time.


As I wrote,


John Galt wrote:

That image cannot be changed.


You never have to turn off a Mac anyway. That way, you never have to see it, except after a routine software update that requires a reboot.


Enjoy your new Mac!

change login screen picture

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