Windows 11 offers many ways to personalize your experience, but if you want more than the default options, there are unofficial methods to improve your visuals. For example, Windows 11 doesn’t support animated wallpapers natively. It supports only static images. However, you can use third-party apps for animated wallpapers. An interesting app called Lively Wallpapers allows you to pick wallpapers from a vast repository and set them as your animated backgrounds. There are alternatives like Wallpaper Engine that allow you to customize it more, but when it comes to Free options, Lively Wallpapers is undoubtedly one of the best options.
How to Use Live Wallpapers on Windows 11 with Lively Wallpaper
Lively Wallpaper is a fantastic app for adding animated wallpapers to your Windows 11 desktop. It’s free, open-source, and available on the Microsoft Store and GitHub. Here’s a simple guide to get you started:
- Download and install Lively Wallpaper from the Microsoft Store.
- When you open the app, you’ll see the home screen with a selection of 12 wallpapers to choose from (as of this writing).
- Select any wallpaper option to instantly set it as your desktop background.
- To personalize the appearance, click the ellipsis button next to the wallpaper’s name and choose “Customize wallpaper.”
- Since the available wallpapers are quite diverse, the customization options will vary as well.
- These options might include adjusting colors, resizing certain elements, and more.
- You’ll see the changes in real time if the wallpaper is currently active. Once you’re satisfied with your adjustments, click OK to save your changes.
Once you’ve saved your settings, you can close the app by clicking the X button in the top right corner, which will minimize it to the system tray. Completely closing the app will cause your wallpaper to disappear. The app is set to start with the system by default, so your animated background is always visible, though you can change this in the app’s settings.
The app also features a Gallery tab in the main view, which will eventually showcase user-created wallpapers. For now, you have a selection of curated wallpapers, all of which are great.
How to Choose Your Wallpaper
While the selection isn’t endless, Lively Wallpaper allows you to upload your wallpapers. This includes videos (both online and local), GIFs, and even interactive web-based wallpapers. The developer provides documentation on the types of wallpapers supported. If you already have a wallpaper ready, here’s how to set it up:
- Launch the Lively Wallpaper app.
- Select the + (plus) icon located in the top menu bar.
- Select a file or source for your wallpaper.
- To use a local file, either drag and drop the file into the designated area on the screen or click “Open” to browse for it. The app supports various video file formats.
- For online videos or web pages, select the “Enter URL” option. This feature supports embedding from sites like YouTube, allowing you to set a video as your wallpaper, provided it’s not restricted from embedding. The “Advanced” option enables you to create dynamic wallpapers from 2D images. This uses AI to generate a parallax effect, giving a sense of depth as you move your mouse, though results may vary.
- You can still customize these wallpapers similarly to the default ones. For local videos, you can adjust settings like contrast, brightness, and playback speed. AI-generated dynamic wallpapers allow you to tweak how the image shifts with the parallax effect.
When you’re finished, close the app, and your video or animated wallpaper will stay active. If the video has audio, it will typically be muted when you’re using other applications.
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How to Apply Wallpapers to Multiple Monitors
If you’re using multiple monitors, you’ll need to adjust settings to extend your animated wallpaper across all screens. Here’s how:
- Open the Lively Wallpaper App.
- Click the Monitor Icon on the menu bar, which shows the number of monitors currently using an active wallpaper.
- Select One of the Three Options to customize how the wallpaper is displayed across your monitors.
Options for Multi-Monitor Wallpapers
- Selected Screen Only (Default): Applies the wallpaper only to the currently selected monitor.
- Span Across Screens: Expands the wallpaper to cover all connected monitors.
- Duplicate Same Wallpaper: Displays the same wallpaper on each monitor.
Some wallpapers may look better when spanned across multiple screens, while others might be more visually appealing when duplicated. You can experiment with these settings to see what works best for your setup. If you want to choose a specific monitor each time you apply a wallpaper, check the box labeled “Always pick screen when choosing wallpaper” before clicking OK to save your changes.
Tips for Using Lively Wallpaper
Lively Wallpaper is light on resources, but here’s how to save power, especially on laptops:
- Power Saving: The app pauses animations when you use fullscreen apps. Adjust additional settings in the Performance tab to further optimize power use.
- Customization: Use the Performance tab to control wallpaper refresh rates and pause animations as needed.
These adjustments will help keep your laptop’s battery usage in check while using animated wallpapers. You can further customize the options by going into the app’s settings and checking the Performance tab. The options here include:
- Fullscreen Apps: Pause wallpapers in fullscreen mode (default: Pause).
- Focused Apps: Choose behavior when another app is active (default: Nothing).
- Battery Power: Set actions when on battery (default: Nothing).
- Battery Saver: Adjust behavior for Battery Saver mode (default: Nothing).
- Remote Desktop: Pause wallpapers during Remote Desktop sessions (default: Pause).
- Display Pause Rule: Apply pause rules to all screens or individually (default: Per screen).
- Pause Algorithm: Select detection method for active apps (default: Foreground process).
These adjustments help balance performance and power efficiency, though more pausing can affect wallpaper dynamics.
Conclusion – Windows 11 Animated Wallpapers
As you can see, it’s pretty simple to customize Windows 11 animated wallpapers without needing to install multiple apps or change things in System. Lively Wallpapers is a good free alternative for those who are bored of static images.