Live wallpapers are a nice thing to have on mobile if you don’t mind the battery drain. There are Windows users that want the same thing. Sadly, it’s not a native feature despite all the attention and effort Microsoft has been giving to Windows aesthetics. So, Windows users turn to third-party software to get that ability. This time, we discuss How to Set Live Wallpaper in Windows 10 or 11 using such software.
Having a live wallpaper is an entertaining novelty even though most people don’t spend much of their time on the desktop. Live wallpapers running in the background do result in a considerable toll on the computer’s resources. Microsoft is probably playing safe and does not want to be blamed for any unnecessary power drains on laptops.
The closest thing to a live wallpaper that Windows can provide is the slideshow wallpaper function that can cycle several wallpapers every specified time frame. But for those who want live wallpaper, the software has long been available perhaps since the concept was thought up. We will show you one example of How to Set Live Wallpaper in Windows 10/11.
How do I Set a Live Video Wallpaper on PC?
For Windows 10 and 11, there’s a free app in the Microsoft Store called Lively Wallpaper. We would prefer to get the software from the Microsoft Store as these would be relatively free from viruses or malware. The app is thankfully completely free and limited only by its lack of support in case of software issues.
➀ First, go to the Microsoft Store.
➁ Click on the Search Bar and type Lively Wallpaper.
➂ The Lively Wallpaper app should appear. There’s not much in the description, users will just have to see for themselves. But it’s an awesome app which we’ll describe later. Click on ‘Install’ to download the app. There are other alternatives shown that it wouldn’t hurt to try.
➃ Click on Open after downloading. The app will also appear in the Recently Added section when users click the Start Button. It’s best to right-click it and add it to the Start menu or the taskbar for convenient access later.
➄ Once open, the app will display several pre-installed live wallpapers. You may double-click on any of them to set them as wallpaper, or right-click to get a preview. The pre-built backgrounds are as follows.
Eternal Light – a picture of a purple sunset with flowing purple waves. The waves are very fluid and depending on your screen, are quite realistic. Not for those who get seasick easily.
Fluids – a psychedelic wallpaper displaying smoky multi-colored fluid flow on a dark background. The fluids respond to mouse cursor movement.
Matrix Rain Customizable – the iconic rain of green characters in a dark background from the film The Matrix. The customizable part is where the green characters can become multi-colored, and the rate of fall can be sped up or slowed down.
Medusae – a beautiful moving purple jellyfish on-screen.
Parallax.js – a moving stylized scene of an ocean buoy in a dark sea, mountains in the background and literally hanging clouds. Each image is moving in its own layer hence the name.
Periodic Table – awesome for those taking chemistry or interested in chemistry. It displays a multi-colored neon periodic table in a dark background that responds to mouse input. Each element can be hovered over or double-clicked to be highlighted and the groups of element types can be highlighted per type.
Rain – simulates a glass window being hit with raindrops. The window‘s view is that of a mountain with a dark sky. The intensity of the rainfall can be customized.
Ribbon – displays a moving translucent colored ribbon moving in a background of a darker color. The ribbon’s amplitude and color can be customized.
Ripples – displays the current weather conditions and temperature in a square box surrounded by a background of water ripples. The weather source should be specified before activating the wallpaper.
The Hill – simulates a first-person view of a hill climb amidst a dark background with the current date and time displayed at the center.
Waves and Triangles and Light – are both customizable geometric live wallpapers. The colors of both wallpapers can be customized. Both respond to mouse movement. Waves is a geometric representation of a sea of triangles while Triangles and Light highlight a gem cut section of a large gem with what seems like light from a flashlight.
Other live wallpapers can be added by clicking on the Add Wallpaper button. The wallpaper can either be a video, a GIF image, or the URL of a YouTube video. For more professionally created live wallpapers, just search for ‘live wallpaper’ inside the Microsoft Store, which cost less than 2 dollars per wallpaper.
➅ After launching Lively Wallpaper, the app will reside in the System Tray, where it can be accessed later.
➆ If there are performance concerns, there are settings available to control the wallpaper behavior when the laptop is on battery power or when an app is on focus. If the video has audio, there is a setting to silence it.
➇ To disable the app, simply go to the app’s settings and disable it when Windows boots up and simply change to another wallpaper.
➈ To make use of another wallpaper that’s not on the list, users can download short videos, gifs, and YouTube videos. First, download or source the video or gif and save it in any folder. Launch the app and click on the Add Wallpaper button. Drag and drop the file on the box specified or choose the file and click on the Browse button or—enter/paste the URL of your favorite YouTube video on the Enter URL box. Click on the right arrow button to preview and click on the OK button if the video is okay.
Alternatives to Lively Wallpaper
So that’s How to Set Live Wallpaper in Windows 10/11 using Lively Wallpaper. As mentioned, the concept of a live wallpaper has been around for some time and there are other apps available for this function that would have displayed as alternatives to Lively Wallpaper. There’s X Live Wallpaper aka Coole Wallpaper, a different Lively version. There’s also Desktop Live Wallpapers that can be used to apply both live and static wallpapers.
