How to turn off Sonoma animations?

I just got a MacBook M3 Pro Max 16 inch, Sonoma version 14.2.1, and have the same problem with the disorienting rolling wallpaper when logging in or putting the screen to sleep and waking it. As with others, turning off screensaver doesn't solve the problem, but I took a screenshot of the Sonoma default wallpaper, which I sort of like, and added that as a photo and the problem is solved. It seems pretty close in detail and color to the original. I hid the dock before I took the full screen screenshot, and then cropped off the top bar before adding it as a photo.

There isn't an easy way to control the animation on the Sonoma login screen. Instead, try to change the default Sonoma Horizon wallpaper to a still image instead. If you like that image as a wallpaper, try taking a still image of a frame in the video and use that instead.

You may not have an actual problem and just want it turned off like me. I remote into mine and that wallpaper slows down the experience. Changing the wallpaper did the trick for me (I'm on version 14.0 so mileage may vary).

I was looking for a solution to this, not because of performance (sorry, M3 Max here), but because it's disorienting and a bit nauseating. I wasn't a fan of the full-color "Sonoma Horizon," but have typically used whatever "interpretive" image Apple provides for the current OS. So I switch the dynamic Sonoma wallpaper and it also continued to animate.

Once I found this question and some of its answers, I had a look at the settings again. It turns out that if you turn off the "Show as screen saver" option, the animation stops... For "Sonoma" at least. Apple seems to ignore that setting for the "Landscape" videos.

Hope that helps someone having the same issue; not sure what it'll do for you, OP.

I found the animated screensaver very distracting and nauseating as well, and even when turning off the "Show as screensaver option" the animation still continued. (it only became animated after upgrading to the latest Sonoma 14 version.). But now I've found how to turn it off and make the image 'still'. - i.e. Under 'Wallpaper' you need to select 'Pictures' instead of 'Landscapes' etc.

Same here. I have my macbook connected to two external displays for work and whenever the screensaver turns on not only do the displays update at like 3hz, but the macbook fan spins up to full speed and the macbook body gets too hot to hold. Just from running a screensaver. And we can't disable it. That's just terrible design and release testing.

More recently I sort of got tired of the Sonoma Horizon wallpaper screenshot I was using, although it still available in the pictures section of the wallpaper settings, and I did a screenshot the same way of the animated Middle East satellite view, making sure it was all the way back to it starting position first. It is a mostly blue wallpaper, similar to the choice of the galaxy wallpaper I was using on my previous MacBooks. The only thing is, because it's darker overall, the top bar comes out black with white lettering, which took me a little while to get used to.

I don't see your problem; it looks fine to me.

We have three Macs on Sonoma and neither has any sort of lagging problem.

How should I do that?

bro it is jitterish

but for m3 optimizing the hardware 14.3 shoud solve the issue for your m3 mbp no issues

Form over function, AGAIN. I disable animations wherever I can... sigh.