How to change Windows Phone 8.1 Backgrounds on your Lumia

How to change Windows Phone 8.1 Backgrounds on your Lumia

 

Windows Phone 8.1 comes with a host of new features that allow you to personalise your Nokia Lumia and make it feel more unique. One new way is to change the Background on your Start screen, adding a photo or image you love. Here we look at how to change Windows Phone 8.1 Backgrounds on your Nokia Lumia.

Windows Phone 8.1 allows you to change the Backgrounds on your Lumia so your phone looks like no other. It does this by making the Live Tiles on the screen transparent, in this way you can see any image in the background. It’s worth pointing out that presently not all Live Tiles have this function, the app developer needs to factor it into their app design.So, when it comes to getting a great Start screen, it’s very much a combination of adding a great image and a little artistic effort on your part to place the best arrangement of tiles to suit you.


If you want to add more transparent tiles then we recommend you check out the Transparency Tiles app in the Windows Phone Store, as this offers you more options.

However, we’re getting ahead of ourselves as the first thing you need to do is add an image. Adding a background to your Nokia Lumia running Windows Phone 8.1 Start screen is simply a case of heading to Settings>Start+Theme>Choose Start background photo.

You’ll find there is a new Backgrounds gallery that’s loaded with a wide selection of images for you to use on your Nokia Lumia. However, if you want to use a photo you’ve taken from your Camera Roll, or an illustration that takes your fancy, then you’re free to do so.

Once you’ve selected your image, you can crop it down so you get the part of the image that makes the most impact. To do this, pinch the screen to zoom in or out and move the image around to find the best position.

Find out more about Nokia Lumia smartphones at Nokia UK
Getting the right image balanced with the Live Tiles takes a little practice and is as much about personal taste as it is balancing the tiles with the image. However, it’s fun, quick and gives your Nokia Lumia smartphone that individual look many users have been asking for.