I’m eternally grateful for the number of screen customizations that Apple has introduced since 2022, like it’s great to edit fonts and add Lock Screen widgets. One annoying issue, however, is when your Lock Screen gets stuck on photos, and you can’t switch to your calendar or clock. This is particularly irritating if you have an important upcoming event or simply want to check the time.
Fortunately, I was able to easily fix this problem. And now, I’ll show you how to do the same.
Why Is My iOS 17 Lock Screen Stuck on Photos?
Most of the time, you’ll see your Lock Screen in this state because of your StandBy settings. When you have Smart Rotate switched off, you have to manually change the widgets. In rare instances, you’ll experience this problem because of software glitches. However, these are normally just as easy to fix.
How to Fix iOS 17 Lock Screen Stuck on Photos
1. Adjust StandBy Settings
You can solve this issue by adjusting your StandBy removing the photo widget from StandBy, turning on Smart Rotate, or turning off StandBy altogether.
Time needed: 1 minute
Let’s first look at how you can remove your photo widgets in StandBy.
- Put your iPhone in StandBy mode by locking your screen, turning your device on its side, and connecting it to a charger.
- Press and hold on to your screen to unlock StandBy editing. Look at your phone, too, because you need to use Face ID to unlock this feature.
- Tap the – icon next to your photo widgets.
- When the pop-up window appears, select Remove.
If you want to switch Smart Rotate on and remove the Photos widget from your screen, follow steps one and two in the previous section. There, make sure that Smart Rotate is switched on.
If you want to turn off StandBy mode altogether, you’ll have to navigate your iPhone’s Settings app. This article on how to switch off StandBy provides the steps you should follow. I only recommend doing this temporarily or if you never use StandBy anyway as it’s not a long-term solution to this issue.
2. Unplug Your iPhone
Unplugging your iPhone turns off StandBy default, and the photos that won’t go away should therefore also disappear. If you’re using a MagSafe charger, simply remove your iPhone from the charging pad. If you’re charging your iPhone via USB instead, unplug the cable. After waiting around 30 seconds, you can plug your iPhone back in.
3. Long-Press Your Screen
If you’re having issues with your Lock Screen not letting you access your clock or calendar, long-pressing it and opening your customization options should do the trick. After doing this, you can tap again to close this section.
It’s also worth checking to see if you’ve set up Photo Shuffle. If you have, and it’s causing problems, change to a different screensaver. This article on why your iPhone keeps changing the wallpaper and how to fix it may also help.
4. Force Restart Your iPhone
At least one of the above-mentioned steps should have helped you get your iPhone working again. But if they didn’t, you can always try force-restarting your iPhone. Since iOS 17 only supports iPhones with Face ID, the steps are identical for all devices. Here’s what you need to do:
- Press one of your volume buttons and quickly let go. It doesn’t matter which one you start with.
- Quickly press and release the other volume button.
- Hold on to the power button until you see the Apple logo.
- When your iPhone switches back on, you should be able to use your device like normal again. Enter your passcode and continue whatever you were doing on your device.
If your iPhone won’t let you access your calendar or clock, you normally don’t have to do much. It’s almost always an issue related to StandBy or some glitch in your software. So, try adjusting your StandBy settings or force restarting your device.