How to Change the Screen Saver on a Mac

Quick answer: To change the screen saver on a Mac, open System Settings > Wallpaper > Screen Saver and select Custom. Pick an aerial, Shuffle Aerials, or Photos under Other for your own pictures. Set the delay with Start Screen Saver, then check Lock Screen settings so the display doesn't switch off first.

A new Mac comes with slow aerial footage of somewhere expensive. It gets old.

Changing it takes a minute, but macOS has tucked the settings in two places, and one of them decides whether your new screen saver ever appears at all.

Where are the screen saver settings on a Mac?

Inside Wallpaper, not in a pane of their own. Apple's guide to changing Screen Saver settings gives the path: choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Wallpaper in the sidebar, then click Screen Saver. You may need to scroll down to find the button.

Older versions of macOS had a combined Desktop & Screen Saver pane in System Preferences. If a guide you're following mentions that, it predates System Settings, and the steps will look different.

How do you change the screen saver?

Click the one you want in the grid. Apple's guide lists what's there:

• macOS: slow-motion images.
• Landscape, Cityscape, Underwater and Earth: the aerials. A small arrow on a thumbnail means you need to click it to download that one first.
• Mac: animated pill shapes that spell "Mac".
• Shuffle Aerials: rotates through several aerials, with a pop-up menu to set how often.
• Other: Photos, plus a handful of older screen savers, and Random to shuffle between them.

Click Preview to see it full screen, and move the pointer to stop. For screen savers under Other, Options at the top of the window sets colour, speed and the rest, depending on which one you chose.

What's the difference between Automatic and Custom?

Custom is the one that lets you choose. Apple's page describes the Use Screen Saver setting as a choice between Automatic and Custom settings. To pick a particular screen saver, or to use Photos, select Custom first. Apple's steps for using photos as a screen saver also begin by selecting Custom.

How do you use your own photos as a screen saver?

Choose Photos under Other, then point it at a folder. Apple's steps for using photos as your screen saver:

1. In Wallpaper > Screen Saver, select Custom.
2. Scroll down to Other and click Photos.
3. Click Options, open the pop-up menu and choose Choose Folder or Photo Library.
4. Pick the folder or photos and click Choose.
5. Click Style for a different transition, then OK.

There's also a Colours option, which shows a solid colour instead of pictures. A plain folder is the easiest source to manage, because you change the pictures in Finder rather than in Settings. The same trick, with a folder of pumpkins, makes a Halloween screen saver without downloading anything.

Can you use your own video as a Mac screen saver?

Not with the built-in options. The choices in Apple's guide are the aerials, the macOS and Mac screen savers, Photos and the older ones under Other. None of them plays a video file. Third-party screen saver apps can fill the gap, but if you install one from a developer's own site, Apple's guide to opening an app from an unknown developer warns that overriding those settings is a common way Macs get malware.

For something that moves on the desktop all day, a wallpaper app is often the better fit. Our guide to making your Mac look aesthetic covers animated wallpapers.

How do you change how long before the screen saver starts?

Use Start Screen Saver, on the same page. Apple describes it as how long your Mac can be inactive before the screen saver starts. Pick a delay from the menu.

Then check Lock Screen settings, because they can beat the screen saver to it. Apple's guide to Lock Screen settings has two timers, "Turn display off on battery when inactive" and "Turn display off on power adapter when inactive". Apple's screen saver overview says the screen saver starts when the Mac sits idle for the time you choose, "unless your display is turned off".

Why isn't my Mac screen saver starting?

The display is probably switching off first. If the display-off timer in Lock Screen is shorter than Start Screen Saver, the screen goes dark before the screen saver ever gets a turn. Set both display-off timers, on battery and on the power adapter, longer than the Start Screen Saver delay, and the screen saver will start.

How do you start the screen saver straight away?

Set up a Hot Corner, or choose Lock Screen. Apple's overview gives both: move the pointer to a corner you've set for the screen saver, or choose Apple menu > Lock Screen. Hot Corners live in System Settings > Desktop & Dock, under the Hot Corners button, and our guide to using Hot Corners covers the rest of the menu.

To stop the screen saver, press any key, move the mouse or touch the trackpad.

Does the screen saver lock your Mac?

Only if you've told it to. In Lock Screen settings, "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off" sets how long after the screen saver starts your password is needed. Apple's guide describes it as locking your Mac when it's left idle. Set the password requirement to immediately if your Mac sits anywhere other people can reach it.

A two-minute screen saver change

1. Open System Settings > Wallpaper > Screen Saver and select Custom.
2. Pick an aerial, Shuffle Aerials or Photos, and click Preview to check it.
3. Set Start Screen Saver to a delay you like.
4. Open Lock Screen settings and make both display-off timers longer than that delay.
5. Add a Hot Corner if you want to start it on demand.

A note on Spellbin

If you're the sort of person who changes the screen saver, the Dock might be next. Spellbin is our own small paid Mac app: a pixel-art cauldron that sits in the Dock beside the Bin. Drop a file on it and a green flame carrying the file's thumbnail rises out and dissolves, and by default the file lands in the real Bin.

Every drop counts towards achievements that unlock new cauldron skins, from Copper to Starlight. Download Spellbin if you'd like a cauldron in yours.

A screen saver is the one thing on a Mac whose only job is to look nice. Give it something worth looking at.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change my screensaver on a MacBook?

To change the screensaver on a MacBook, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Wallpaper, then click Screen Saver. Select Custom, then click an aerial, Shuffle Aerials or Photos. The steps are the same on a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro or any other Mac running a version of macOS with System Settings.

How do I make a picture my screen saver on a Mac?

To make a picture your screen saver on a Mac, put it in a folder, then open System Settings > Wallpaper > Screen Saver and select Custom. Click Photos under Other, click Options, choose Choose Folder and pick that folder. The Photos screen saver shows every picture in the folder, so one picture shows on its own.

Where is Desktop and Screen Saver on a Mac now?

Desktop and Screen Saver is no longer a single pane on a Mac with System Settings. Screen saver choices are now under System Settings > Wallpaper > Screen Saver, and the timers that control the display and password are in Lock Screen. Hot Corners for starting the screen saver are in Desktop & Dock.

Why does my Mac screen go black instead of showing the screen saver?

A Mac screen that goes black instead of showing the screen saver usually has its display-off timer set shorter than the screen saver delay. Apple says the screen saver won't start if the display is turned off. Open System Settings > Lock Screen and set both display-off timers longer than Start Screen Saver.

Can I download more screen savers for Mac?

More screen savers for Mac come from developers' own sites, but the built-in list covers most needs. Apps from outside the App Store may trigger Apple's unknown-developer warning, which exists because overriding it is a common way Macs get malware. Only install screen savers from developers you trust.

Final Takeaways

• Screen Saver lives inside Wallpaper in System Settings.
• Select Custom before picking a particular screen saver or Photos.
• A folder makes the best Photos source: add and remove pictures without touching settings.
• Display-off timers in Lock Screen must be longer than Start Screen Saver, or it never appears.
• Hot Corners start it on demand; the password setting decides whether it locks the Mac.