iOS 17 wallpapers blurry at top

Just got done messaging with IT from Apple, this is a new “feature” in iOS 17 and this is how it goes, if you zoom out or try to make it look the way you want it to, the image will blur, if you zoom in, it unblurs. As of now he said, there is no known fix to this other than having a wallpaper that perfectly fits the format for the specific iPhone you are using. He said Apple did this to provide a cleaner look in general to the time battery indicator etc. Idk if this is true or not, but knowing Apple, this is most likely the reason.

So, if you want a perfect fit when finding a wallpaper for your iPhone, I recommend what has worked for me so far after this nonsense of a “feature” has been added, this link shows all of the pixel sizes etc for each iPhone up to the 14 Pro Max. I can’t currently find the sizes for 15’s but I’m sure they are out there. https://cnbgear.com/tips-guides/iphone-wallpaper-size/

I just noticed @dagodinez posted a similar solution. Rather than cropping it to fit the screen…in edit mode, I selected crop, then tapped on the image on the top right that gives you the option for original, Freeform, square, wallpaper, and different ratios. I chose wallpaper and it filled my screen. Then I saved it in Wallpaper. Theres no blur. 😊

I found a temporary fix for this until Apple sorts it out. I go onto the picture in my gallery that I want as my wallpaper, and I zoom on it until it’s roughly the same size / dimensions as the iPhone wallpaper size and take a screenshot. Then use the screenshot as your wallpaper and it doesn’t blur the top. You can still retain more of the width of the photo this way you just have to position it where you want when it comes to setting it as your wallpaper.

Open the Settings App

Tap Wallpaper

Tap the Wallpaper you use for your home screen

See Blur at the bottom right hand corner and tap it to turn Blur off

The blur on top is intentional so the photo does not interfere with the data and controls at the top of the poster screen.

However, do let Apple know of your displeasure and they may alter this behavior or offer an option to disable it in the future:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Was facing the same issue and found a solution on yt: go into your gallery and click edit photo. There you will see the crop option where multiple dimensions are given. Click the “wallpaper” option. Now when you set it as your lock screen, it won’t blur at the top. Hope this helps :)

The issue was introduced with IOS 17.0.1 the blur they are talking about is not the blur seen on the Home Screen which you can turn on or off. When setting up the Lock Screen picture which seems to have two problems. One is the ability to use Color Backdrop on all new pics I try to use but seems to have stopped working and the second is as you zoom out the top 1/3 of the picture gets artificially blurred. There is no way to turn it off, since I am in IT and deal with iPhone on a daily basis, I am going to say it's a bug that was introduce and not much to be done but not upgrade or wait for the fix.

Temporary Solution: Go to the image in your photos app, go to crop. Click on the third button from the right that looks like multiple screens overlapped. Select 'wallpaper' and adjust the photo from there. Save it and set it as your wallpaper.

I have found a work around, in photos choose crop, select the icon next to Auto, you’ll see some options at the bottom then choose wallpaper. Try setting this pic as wallpaper and there won’t be any blurring at the top.

It's stupid i know. They should fire this Product Manager, but this works:

1) Duplicate the picture (select 3 dots in upper right of picture, select Duplicate)

2) Edit the pic

3) Select Crop

4) Select the icon in the upper right, looks like rectangles within rectangles

5) Select WALLPAPER in the lower right

6) Adjust to your liking

7) click Done

Do your typical Use as Wallpaper

I've posted this before, but since people often don't read much in a thread they posted too, it bears posting again.

You can save a photo as wallpaper, which stops the blur by doing the following:

Open the photo you want to use.

Tap Edit

Tap Crop

Tap the box at the top with boxes in the box

Now choose Wallpaper and then done

You can choose this saved wallpaper and it won't blur. Don't try to resize it after choosing it as wallpaper.

Sorry if this is a duplicate solution. But I found that if I remove the “Focus” feature (e.g. Sleep, Personal, etc), it will instantly restore the normal wallpaper appearance. Voila! No need to duplicate the pic, etc.

Hope that helps guys

The only way I was able to “fix” it was if you click on the photo, hit edit as if you were going to edit your photo & zoom out from there (the background will be black) and I screenshot my photo with the edit options but I then crop it out on my screenshot. So then after that, I use the screenshot copy for my wallpaper . It will have the black top & bottom but it’s better than blurry. Hope it helps.

The only “fix” or loophole I’ve been able to find is going into my camera roll, clicking on the image I want as a wallpaper, zooming the image to fill the screen however I like and screenshotting it. Then using that screenshot as the wallpaper; toodles to the blur.

This video provides the solution: https://youtu.be/3vzIRXe55V8?si=R9GKP9hOspeIY2dt. The wallpaper only blurs if you try to crop it. So first you need to crop the photo to the aspect ration you want before opening up the photo in wallpaper settings.