On a Mac, your desktop wallpaper and your Lock Screen are usually identical. When you change your main desktop background, macOS automatically updates the login screen to match, providing a seamless visual transition when you type your password and enter the system.
However, many people prefer a clear separation between the two. You might want a vibrant, highly detailed photograph of a city on your private desktop, but a subtle, professional, or blurred image on the Lock Screen that anyone walking past your desk might see. On modern versions of macOS, Apple finally made it incredibly easy to decouple these two images.
How to Change the Lock Screen Wallpaper
This process will only work if your Mac is running macOS Sonoma (macOS 14) or a newer version. If you are running an older operating system (like macOS Ventura or Monterey), the system forces the lock screen to mirror the desktop, and you cannot easily separate them without complex terminal workarounds.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings.
- Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Lock Screen. (Do not click on “Wallpaper”).
- In the main panel, look near the top for a section labelled Login window wallpaper.
- By default, a toggle switch labelled Match desktop is turned ON. Click this switch to turn it OFF.
The moment you disable the “Match desktop” setting, a small preview image of your current lock screen will appear below the toggle, along with a button labelled Choose Picture.
Click Choose Picture, and macOS will open the standard wallpaper gallery. You can select one of Apple’s built-in aerial screensavers, choose a solid colour, or click the “Add Photo” button at the bottom to browse your hard drive and upload a completely custom image.
How to Test Your New Lock Screen
Once you have selected your new image, you do not need to reboot the computer to see if it looks correct.
Simply click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select Lock Screen (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + Command + Q).
Your Mac will instantly lock itself, displaying your newly chosen, unique wallpaper behind the password prompt. When you log back in, you will see that your original desktop wallpaper remained completely unchanged.
Customizing the Lock Screen Elements
While you are in the Lock Screen settings menu, you can also customize exactly what information is visible to someone looking at your locked computer.
Scroll down the Lock Screen settings page to find several useful toggle switches:
- Show message when locked: If you turn this on, you can type a custom text string (like “If found, please call 555-0199” or your company name) that will float at the bottom of the lock screen.
- Show large clock: You can choose whether the giant, bold clock dominates the lock screen, or if it shrinks down to a subtle corner display.