How to Get Live Wallpapers for PC?
If you’re in front of your PC screen for most of the day, wallpaper backgrounds are a nice distraction (especially if it’s one we’ve chosen ourselves). But you’re looking for something with a little more pizazz. This is where live wallpapers for PC step up to the plate. These are active wallpapers that feature moving images, interactive data, etc., all while giving you something nice to look at. This is the age of high tech after all.
Unfortunately, your base version of Windows (both 10 and 11) doesn’t support PC live wallpapers by default. Surprisingly, the only Windows OS to officially do so was Vista, and even then, only the Ultimate version.
That’s no reason to give up, though. We’re going to teach two great ways to get live desktop wallpapers enabled on your PC and where to find more.
Using the Windows Store
The quickest and most accessible way to get your PC ready for live wallpapers is via the Windows Store. As always, with any download, be sure that you trust any third-party live wallpaper app for PC you’re installing on your machine. If you’re unsure, a quick Google search will begin to clear things up.
For our example, we’re going to use probably the most popular live wallpaper app, aptly named Lively Wallpaper. This isn’t a sponsorship, as Lively Wallpaper is both a free and open-source (FOSS) app.
Now, to download and install it:
1. Open up the Microsoft Store from the Start Bar or Search Menu.
2. In the app’s Search Bar, type “lively wallpaper” and you should see the app pop up.
3. Click the app, then hit the “Get” button to begin the download.
4. Once, downloaded, you’ll be able to find the app via a quick search or from your Start Menu. You can also open it from the Windows Store after the download is complete.
5. Lively Wallpaper comes with some preloaded wallpapers ready to go. If you’d like to add more, you can download them via the internet and add them to the app’s library with the “Add Wallpaper” option.
How to Get Live Wallpapers for PC
Now that you’ve got the app, what about the actual wallpapers? You can use any form of video file format to get the job done. Popular ones include WebM, WMV, or MP4. Even a GIF file can get the job done if you don’t mind the lower quality.
There’s no shortage of websites out there sporting plenty of live wallpapers for PC to suit your tastes. Again, be sure that you can trust the site or the user you’re downloading from. If you’re worried about downloads, Lively Wallpaper also allows YouTube videos and other URL addresses instead.
1. Click the “Add Wallpaper” button (the plus icon) to bring up the menu.
2. Click “Choose a file” to select your wallpaper from a specific location on your PC.
3. Enter the URL into the dialog box and click the arrow to see the preview. If you’re happy, click OK.
With all these choices, keep in mind that live wallpapers can consume a lot more power (both battery and graphics) and could slow the performance of your machine. If your machine is a laptop, or getting on in years, make sure it can handle all the power requirements.
Using the Steam Store
Microsoft Store isn’t the only way to get a live wallpaper app for PC working on your machine. A platform like Steam has plenty of third-party apps and programs to get you started. If you’ve got an account, and some money to burn, you can also check them out.
