Apple’s iOS 18 might be dazzling us with new features like Camera Control’s visual intelligence and the ability to add events to Calendar by snapping a flyer, but there’s one feature that’s been stuck in neutral: the much-hyped dynamic wallpaper. Months after its debut, users are still dealing with the maddening glitch that keeps these wallpapers from, well, dynamically changing throughout the day.
The issue, first spotted not long after its debut in iOS 18 beta 3, has now survived multiple updates, including the recent iOS 18.3 release. And despite the slew of fixes and improvements Apple has rolled out since September, this colorful feature has remained stubbornly broken.
Dynamic wallpapers were supposed to be one of iOS 18’s standout features. The idea? Wallpapers that subtly shift their hues as the day progresses, giving your iPhone a vibrant, time-sensitive aesthetic. But for some users, this dream has turned into a static nightmare.
Frustrated users have been all over forums and social media with complaints for months, describing issues like wallpapers stubbornly sticking to one color (usually pink, for some reason) or bizarre glitches where the Lock Screen wallpaper changes, but the Home Screen one doesn’t — creating an unintentional and, frankly, ugly mismatch.
Even with iOS 18.3’s fresh slate of fixes — like a smarter Calculator that remembers your last operation and a bug-free Apple Music — there’s still no love for the dynamic wallpaper. The latest changelog is a laundry list of updates that skips over this very visible, very annoying issue.
So, what gives? With Apple’s army of software engineers and a cash pile big enough to buy a small country, you’d think fixing a wallpaper glitch would be low-hanging fruit. Instead, it feels like this bug has slipped through the cracks of Apple’s otherwise stellar software updates. The fact that this problem has persisted through beta testing, stable releases, and even the most recent iteration is, well, baffling.
To be fair, Apple’s known for meticulous attention to detail, which makes the bug’s persistence even more surprising. Some users are resorting to workarounds like manually changing wallpapers or resetting their phones, but those are hardly ideal solutions for something that’s supposed to be seamless and automatic.
It’s worth noting that Apple’s iOS updates often come with growing pains, especially with new features, but this wallpaper saga feels different. The dynamic wallpaper glitch isn’t just an isolated issue; it’s a feature that’s failing to deliver on its core promise. And the longer Apple takes to address it, the more users are left wondering: Does Apple even care about this one?
Until Cupertino finally rolls out a fix, dynamic wallpaper fans are stuck with a decidedly static experience. Here’s hoping that iOS 18.4, or maybe even 18.5, gives this feature the attention it deserves. After all, a wallpaper that doesn’t change is just a regular wallpaper, and that’s not what anyone signed up for with dynamic wallpapers.
Lev05-02-2025
Mine wasn’t working neither on 13 mini and now on 15 Pro, just found solution yesterday, turned on Location service for “System Customization” (last one in list) and Wallpaper started changing colors ✨ after whole time of iOS 18 update 😂