The Ultimate Guide to Customizing Your iPhone Lock Screen with Text

Key Takeaways

Enhance your lock screen experience with iOS 16 and newer versions by effortlessly incorporating text. Take advantage of convenient third-party applications such as AnyText, Lock Screen 16, and LockNotes, allowing you to effortlessly generate personalized widgets with custom text.

Your iPhone includes a convenient Reminder widget for managing tasks. Additionally, you can ensure that others can access your medical information during emergencies by displaying your Medical ID on the lock screen.

In contrast to Android, adding text directly to the lock screen is not possible on the iPhone. However, if you wish to personalize your lock screen with a name such as "Andrew's iPhone," provide details like "If Found, Call...," or include emergency contact information, there are various methods available for adding text to your iPhone lock screen.

Why Should You Add Lock Screen Text to Your iPhone?

You may want to add text to your iPhone lock screen for various reasons, such as:

Personalization: Customizing your phone with your name or a meaningful quote can give it a more personalized touch.

Emergency Contact Information: Including your name and an emergency phone number ensures that others can easily assist you during unexpected emergencies. This feature works in conjunction with your iPhone's built-in Medical ID displayed on the Lock Screen.

Lost and Found: To increase the chances of having your phone returned if it is found, consider placing your phone number, email ID, or another contact method on the lock screen. Offering a reward for returning it could also be beneficial.

Reminders: While the stock reminders tool and various third-party apps can handle widget-based reminders like reminding you to pick up the dry cleaning, they may not cater to personal growth reminders such as practicing breathing exercises or not taking criticism personally. To address this, customize the text on your lock screen to serve as a reminder for these types of tasks.

How to Add Text to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Introducing lock screen widgets, Apple has enhanced the functionality of iOS 16 by enabling users to conveniently view information at a glance. Although a default text widget is not available, third-party applications offer the option to incorporate text as lock screen widgets, as long as an iPhone is running on iOS 16 or a more recent version.

Using the Any Text App

Enhance your iPhone's home screen or lock screen with Any Text, a convenient third-party app. With its user-friendly widgets, this app allows you to personalize your device by adding custom text such as reminders, goals, task lists, or even emergency contact numbers to your lock screen effortlessly.

Any Text is free forever with no ads or in-app purchases and supports iOS 17's Standby Feature.

To get started, download the Any Text Widgets app on your iPhone.

Open the app to see the welcome screen with instructions for use. Tap "Get Started" to proceed.

On the next screen, type the text you want to appear on your iPhone's lock screen.

Tap the back button in the top left to save your "Widget 1."

Now, go to your iPhone lock screen. Long-press on the empty area and tap "Customize."

Choose the "Lock Screen" option.

Here, tap on "Add Widgets." If you already have widgets, remove them to make space for new ones.

You'll now see a list of all the widgets you can add. Scroll down and select "Any Text."

Drag and drop the custom-text widget you created into the widget box.

Tap "X" to close the widget window.

Once back on the lock screen, tap "Done" to save.

That's it. You have successfully added the custom text widget to your iPhone lock screen.

Since it can accommodate two widgets of this size, you can add another text box using the same process.

Using Lock Screen 16 App

The Lock Screen 16 app provides a wide range of feature-rich and customizable widgets specifically designed for your lock screen. Although many advanced features require a payment, you can still enjoy the benefits of setting up a personalized text widget on your iPhone lock screen without spending a single penny.

Download the Lock Screen 16 app from the App Store.

Launch the application and tap on the "Continue" button to bypass the application's introduction. It will prompt you to grant permission for push notifications and access to your photo library; you can confidently decline these requests for the intended usage.

Tap "Limited Version" when asked to purchase a subscription.

Once inside the app, scroll down to Status Widgets and hit the "Create" button. Remove one of the preset widgets if you see the "maximum four allowed" warning.

Type the widget name and text you want to display in their boxes.

Select your desired font style and size. Then, turn the Widget Background on or off. If you keep it disabled, the text will appear without any background.

Once you're done, tap the "Save" button.

Back to the iPhone lock screen, long-press anywhere, select "Customize," and choose "Lock Screen."

Tap on "Add Widgets."

Scroll down and tap "Lock Screen 16."

Swipe left to select the text widget you created.

Drag and drop (or tap) the Status widget to place it on your iPhone lock screen.

Hit "X" to close the widget list.

Hit "Done" to save the widget.

You have successfully placed a text widget on your iPhone lock screen. Feel free to play with different font styles and sizes to match your preferences.

If the widget does not appear in the list, close and re-open the app or restart your iPhone.

Using LockNotes app

Install the LockNotes: Notes on Lock Screen app on your iPhone to get started.

Launch it and tap the "Create" button on the top right.

Tap the empty field and type the text you want to display. You'll see a preview of how it will appear on the lock screen.

Once done, tap "Add to Lock Screen" at the bottom.

The app will save the widget. You can see it under "Notes on Lock Screen."

Go to your iPhone lock screen, long-press anywhere, and

select "Customize." Choose "Lock Screen."

Tap the "Add Widget" button.

Select "LockNotes" from the list.

Tap the text widget you created or drag and drop it to the widget box.

Hit "X" to close widgets.

Tap "Done" on the top right to save.

This is how the text will look on your iPhone lock screen.

Manually Add Text to Lock Screen Wallpaper

An alternative approach is manually adding text to a picture and using it as the lock screen wallpaper. The benefit is that it doesn't require any app downloads at all.

After completing the first step of saving the lock screen wallpaper as an image, proceed by opening the image in the Photos app and select "Edit" from the top right corner.

Click the "Markup button" (the tiny pencil icon on the top right).

Tap the "+" button at the bottom right and choose "Add Text."

Rearrange the position of the text box by simply dragging and dropping it onto the desired area of the wallpaper. Be careful not to overlap with the date, time, widgets, and lock screen shortcuts. Once positioned correctly, tap on the text and modify it according to your preferences for displaying on your lock screen.

Use the tools on the bottom to change the font style, size, color, and so on.

Tap "Done" on the top right to save the markup. Again, save the image by tapping "Done" on the top right.

Tap the "Share" button on the bottom left.

Select "Use as Wallpaper."

Finally, on "Add" and then "Set as Wallpaper Pair."

Although slightly inconvenient, this is the most effective method of adding content to your iPhone lock screen without the need for third-party applications. Unfortunately, modifying the text can be quite troublesome as it requires editing the image and repeating the entire procedure once more.

Add Reminders to the iPhone Lock Screen

To view your reminders or daily tasks quickly, you can add Reminders to your lock screen. Here's how: On your iPhone lock screen, long-press anywhere and choose "Customize," then select "Add Widgets."

Scroll down and select "Reminders."

Tap the List widget to add it to your lock screen.

Tap "Done" to save the widget.

You can now check the tasks directly from your iPhone lock screen.

Tip: Show Your Medical ID on the iPhone Lock Screen

To enhance privacy and safety, iOS offers the option to create a Medical ID on the lock screen. By doing so, individuals can provide essential health information, such as their name, blood group, emergency contacts, and more, without revealing their passcode. What makes this feature even more valuable is that it is seamlessly integrated and has proven to be dependable over the years.

To begin setting up your Medical ID, simply access the Health app, tap on your profile picture located at the top right corner, and select "Medical ID." From there, choose either "Create Medical ID" or "Edit" and input the necessary details, including your name, age, blood type, weight, and emergency contacts. It is crucial to ensure that the "Show When Locked" option is enabled, and once that's done, you're all set.

When someone tries unlocking your iPhone in an emergency, they can tap the Emergency button and select Medical ID to view your health and emergency contact information.