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How to Change Your Wallpaper and Make Your Home Screen Easier to Read

Frank is seventy-one. He likes the photo of his garden on his phone. The problem is that the photo is busy. Bright flowers sit behind the app names. Frank squints to read the words. One day he tapped the wrong app three times in a row. He opened a game instead of the Phone app. He said to his wife, I need a screen I can read without my glasses on the end of my nose.

Your home screen is the first screen you see when you unlock your phone. The wallpaper is the picture behind the apps. The text size controls how large the words look. A few small changes can make the whole phone easier to use. A calm wallpaper helps the words stand out. Larger, bolder text helps your eyes. Fewer apps on the first screen helps your finger find the right one.

This guide shows how to change the wallpaper in a safe way, make the text larger and bolder, and tidy the home screen. You will not delete anything important. You can change the wallpaper back at any time. You can make the text smaller again if you prefer. Go slowly and check the screen after each change. Stop when the screen feels comfortable for you.

Before you start

Sit in good light. Put your glasses on if you use them. Think about what you want. Do you want a photo of family as wallpaper, or a plain dark colour that makes words easy to read? A plain dark colour is often the easiest choice for reading. A family photo is lovely, but a busy photo can hide the app names. You can try a plain colour first, then try a photo later and compare.

Charge is not a problem for this task. You need only a few minutes. Keep a family member nearby for the first try if you like. They can read the steps with you. Remember, every change in this guide can be undone. If you do not like a new wallpaper, you can pick the old one again. If text looks too large, you can move the slider back a little.

How to change the wallpaper

Wallpaper settings are reached from the home screen itself. The usual way is to press and hold on an empty part of the home screen. Empty means a spot with no app icon on it. Press and hold with one finger until the screen changes. Do not just tap quickly. A quick tap opens an app. A long press opens the home screen options. The exact words on that options screen can differ by phone, so look for the idea, not one exact phrase.

1. Go to the home screen. Press the home button or swipe up to return to the main screen if you are inside an app. Find an empty space with no app icon. It may be near the bottom or in a corner.
2. Press and hold on that empty space. Keep your finger still for two or three seconds. Do not slide your finger. The screen may shrink a little. A small menu appears at the bottom. Look for a word such as Wallpaper, or an icon that looks like a picture or a mountain scene.
3. Tap the wallpaper option. A gallery of pictures opens. You will see ready made wallpapers from Samsung. You may also see a choice to use your own photos. Scroll slowly and look at the choices.
4. Choose a calm picture to try first. Look for a plain dark blue, dark green, or dark grey picture. Dark plain pictures make white app names easy to read. Avoid a picture with bright spots in the middle, where the app names sit. Tap the picture once to preview it.
5. Check the preview. The preview shows how the picture will look behind your apps. Read the app names in the preview. Can you read them easily? If the names are hard to see, choose a plainer or darker picture instead. Do not settle for a picture that makes reading harder.
6. Choose where the picture goes. Your phone may ask if you want the picture on the Home screen, the Lock screen, or both. For this task, choose Home screen. The Lock screen is the screen you see before you unlock the phone. You can change that one later if you want.
7. Confirm your choice. Look for a button that says Set, Apply, or Done. Tap it once. Go back to the home screen. Look at the app names now. Are they clearer? Walk around the room and look again in different light. If you like it, keep it. If not, repeat the steps and pick another picture.

To use one of your own photos as wallpaper, look in the same wallpaper screen for a choice such as Gallery or My photos. Tap it. Choose a photo with a simple background, such as a photo of the sky or a quiet beach. Avoid a photo with many faces or bright patterns behind the words. After you choose the photo, you may be able to move it or make it larger or smaller with two fingers. Take your time. Confirm only when the preview looks clear.

How to make the text larger and bolder

Text size is a real setting in Settings. The verified path is Settings, then Display, then Font size and style. There you can drag a slider to make the font larger or smaller. There is also a switch for Bold font. Bold font makes the letters thicker and darker. Thicker letters are often easier to read, even at the same size.

1. Open Settings. Tap the gear icon. The Settings list opens.
2. Tap Display. Scroll until you see Display. Tap it once.
3. Tap Font size and style. This opens the font screen. You will see a preview sentence and a slider.
4. Drag the slider to the right, a little at a time. The preview sentence grows larger as you drag. Stop when the preview looks comfortable. Do not go to the largest size at once. A middle to large size suits most people. Very large text can push buttons off the screen in some apps.
5. Turn on Bold font. Look for a switch beside the words Bold font. Tap the switch to turn it on. The preview letters become thicker. Read the preview again. If it looks clearer, leave Bold on.
6. Go back to the home screen. Look at the app names and the clock. Are the words easier to read? Open the Phone app and look at the names. Open Messages and look at a message. If text still feels small in one app, go back and move the slider one step further to the right.

On some phones, a larger font also makes icons and buttons a little larger. That is normal. If an app looks crowded after the change, move the slider one step back to the left. Find the size that helps reading without crowding the screen. There is no right size for everyone. The right size is the one your eyes like.

How to tidy the home screen

A tidy home screen helps more than a new picture. Most people need only six to eight apps on the first screen. The rest can stay in the apps list, ready when needed. Put the apps you use every day on the first screen. Move the rest away.

1. Look at your first home screen. Write down the apps you use every day. For most people the list is Phone, Messages, Contacts, Clock, Camera, and perhaps WhatsApp or the internet browser. Keep those.
2. To move an app, press and hold its icon until it lifts or wiggles. Drag it slowly with your finger to a new spot. Lift your finger to drop it. Practise moving one app a short distance first.
3. To remove an app icon from the home screen without deleting the app, press and hold the icon and look for a choice such as Remove from Home screen. Tap it. The icon leaves the home screen, but the app stays on your phone in the apps list. This is not the same as uninstalling. Uninstalling deletes the app. Removing from the home screen only hides the icon.
4. Put the Phone app in the bottom row if it is not there already. The bottom row shows on every home screen. It is the easiest place to find the Phone app in a hurry. Drag the Phone icon down to that row.
5. Leave empty space around the apps you use most. Do not fill every corner. Space helps your finger tap the right icon. It also helps the names stand out against the wallpaper.

If you remove an icon by mistake, do not worry. Swipe up to see all apps, find the app, press and hold it, and drag it back to the home screen. Nothing is lost. Take a photo of your home screen with another phone before you start, if you want a record of how it looked. That photo helps you put things back if you change your mind.

A small practice: Frank tries a dark wallpaper

Frank practised on a Sunday afternoon. His wife, Mary, sat beside him. First he pressed and held an empty corner of the home screen. The options appeared. He tapped the wallpaper choice. He scrolled past bright flower pictures and beach pictures. He chose a plain dark blue picture. He set it for the Home screen only. The app names stood out at once. Mary said, That is much clearer.

Next Frank opened Settings, then Display, then Font size and style. He moved the slider two steps to the right. He turned on Bold font. He went back to the home screen. He read the word Phone without leaning forward. He opened Messages and read a message from his son without his reading glasses. He kept the new size. He moved a game icon off the first screen so the Phone icon had more space. He said, My phone feels like mine again. It does not feel like a puzzle.

Try the same order. Wallpaper first. Text size second. Tidy third. Check after each step. If a step does not help, undo it and try a different choice. Small changes add up. By the end, the screen should feel calm, clear, and easy to tap.

Common mistakes

These mistakes make the screen harder, not easier. All of them are easy to fix.

• Choosing a bright, busy photo as wallpaper. Faces, flowers, and bright patterns sit behind the app names. Words disappear into the picture. Choose a plain, darker picture for the Home screen. Keep the favourite busy photo for the Lock screen or for the photo gallery.
• Making the font as large as possible at once. Very large text can cut off buttons and menus in some apps. Move the slider a little at a time. Check two or three apps after each move. Stop at the smallest size that is comfortable to read.
• Deleting an app when you only meant to hide its icon. Pressing Uninstall removes the app. Look carefully for Remove from Home screen. If you do uninstall an app by mistake, you can get it again from the app store, but it is easier to avoid the mistake. Read the choice before you tap.
• Dragging an app on top of another app by mistake. Two apps stacked together make a folder. The icons hide inside the folder. If that happens, open the folder, drag the app out, and place it on empty space. Move slowly and watch where your finger drops the icon.
• Changing the Lock screen wallpaper when you meant to change the Home screen. The Lock screen is what you see before you unlock. If your home screen still looks busy after a change, check which screen you set. Repeat the steps and choose Home screen this time.
• Forgetting to check the screen in daylight and in evening light. A wallpaper that looks clear in a bright room may glare in the evening. Check the new screen in both lights before you decide to keep it.

Frequently asked questions

Will changing the wallpaper delete my photos?

No. Changing the wallpaper only changes the background picture. Your photos stay safe in the Gallery app. Using a photo as wallpaper does not move or delete the original photo. You can change the wallpaper as often as you like without harming your photos.

Can I go back to the old wallpaper?

Yes. Repeat the same steps. Press and hold an empty space, tap the wallpaper option, and choose the old picture again. Samsung wallpapers stay in the list. Your own photos stay in the Gallery. If you cannot remember which one was old, try two or three and pick the one that feels familiar and clear.

Does larger text affect every app?

Larger text affects most apps, including Phone, Messages, and Settings. Some apps may show larger text a little differently. A few apps set their own text size inside the app. If one app still shows small text after you change the font size, look inside that app for its own display or text size choice. Most of the time, the main setting is enough.

What if the font slider does not show on my phone?

Go to Settings, then Display, then Font size and style, as described above. On some A series phones the screen may look slightly different, but the same words should be there. If you cannot find it, use the search box at the top of Settings. Type the word font. Tap the result. If the search shows nothing, ask a family member to look with you, as the Display menu can sit further down the list on some models.

Is bold font better for everyone?

Not for everyone, but it helps many people. Bold letters are thicker and stand out against the background. Try it on for a day. If the letters feel heavy or crowded, turn Bold off again. The choice is yours. There is no harm in trying it and changing your mind.

How many apps should I keep on the first screen?

Keep only the apps you use most days. Six to eight is a good number for most people. The rest can live in the apps list. You can still open them by swiping up. A first screen with fewer icons is faster to use and easier to read. You will tap the wrong app less often.

If the words on your screen look different

The home screen options change a little between Galaxy models. On an A series phone, the long press menu may show different icons from an S series phone. The word for the wallpaper choice may be Wallpaper on one phone and Wallpaper and style on another. Both mean the same thing. Look for a picture icon or the word Wallpaper and tap that.

The font setting in this guide uses the Samsung support path, Settings, then Display, then Font size and style. That path holds for many phones, but small words can shift with your region, your phone company, and your One UI version. In October 2026, One UI 8, One UI 8.5, and One UI 9 are all in use, depending on model and region. If a word looks different, trust the idea. Display controls how the screen looks. Font size and style controls the letters. Use the search box at the top of Settings and type font size if you get lost. The search will show you the right screen on your own phone.