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Cool Wallpaper with QR code for iPhone

17 Nov 2023 (updated: 24 Aug 2026) / 6 minutes to read

Elena Daehnhardt

 iPhone wallpaper, November 2023

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TL;DR:
  • Create iPhone wallpapers with QR codes using Python reportlab: generate QR code, overlay on background image. Custom wallpapers with embedded links—useful for sharing contact info or URLs.

📚 This post is part of the "AI Image Generation in Practice" series

Series: AI Image Generation in Practice (Part 10 of 10)

Previous: Part 9 — Super-girls don't cry in face-swaps

When my iPhone is locked, I can still share my website address with anyone nearby. It is also handy if I ever leave my phone somewhere — whoever finds it can scan straight through to a page with my contact details. My solution for creating a wallpaper with a QR code combines Pinterest (or any favourite app for backgrounds) with reportlab, a Python library for generating PDFs and graphics such as barcodes and QR codes.

Introduction: iPhone Wallpaper with a QR Code

I have been using this approach for a while now. Since people keep asking me how I added a QR code to my iPhone wallpaper, I am sharing the full method here, once and for all.

Setting an iPhone Wallpaper

You probably already know how easy it is to use your own photo as an iPhone wallpaper: select your photo, tap the “Share” button, then choose “Use as Wallpaper.” That is it — you now have a unique wallpaper instead of the standard one.

Alternatively, use Midjourney, Pinterest, or another application to create your wallpaper background — you will add a QR code to it next.

Generating a QR Code in Python with reportlab

If you like Python, as most readers of this blog do, adding a QR code to a photo or any other image is a breeze. Here is how to do it with reportlab:

from reportlab.graphics import shapes, renderPDF
from reportlab.graphics.barcode import qr
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas

# Creating screensaver for iPhone 12
output_pdf_filename = "/path/to/output.pdf"
width = 1170
height = 2532

pdf = canvas.Canvas(output_pdf_filename, pagesize=(width, height))


def draw_qr(text="https://daehnhardt.com", size=400):
    qr_code = qr.QrCodeWidget(text)
    bounds = qr_code.getBounds()

    w = bounds[2] - bounds[0]
    h = bounds[3] - bounds[1]

    drawing = shapes.Drawing(size, size, transform=[int(size / w), 0, 0,
                                                    int(size / h), 0, 0])
    drawing.add(qr_code)
    renderPDF.draw(drawing, pdf,  width / 2 - 230, height / 2 - 230)

    pdf.save()
draw_qr()

One detail worth knowing: QrCodeWidget ignores any width and height you hand to the Drawing directly — it sizes itself according to how much data the QR code encodes. That is why the code calls getBounds() first and derives its own scale transform, rather than trusting a fixed size.

Note: this script draws the QR code onto its own blank PDF page — it does not composite it onto your background photo for you. To combine the two, either draw your background image onto the same canvas before calling draw_qr() (with pdf.drawImage()), or merge the two as separate PDF pages using pypdf, the actively maintained successor to PyPDF2 (PyPDF2 itself was deprecated in December 2022, so I have dropped its unused import from the snippet above).

You can use your own QR code size and its offsets relative to your background image. Check What are the different iOS Wallpaper sizes? for size information. Have fun!

Conclusion: A Python QR-Code Wallpaper

You now have a simple iPhone wallpaper with an embedded QR code, built in a few lines of Python using reportlab.

iPhone QR-Code Wallpaper FAQ

Which Python library generates a QR code for an image?

This tutorial uses reportlab (from reportlab.graphics.barcode import qr), which draws a QrCodeWidget onto a canvas. Install it with pip install reportlab.

How do I add a QR code to an iPhone wallpaper?

Create or pick a background image, generate the QR code with reportlab sized and offset to sit over the background, then on the iPhone open the image, tap Share, and choose “Use as Wallpaper”.

What resolution should an iPhone wallpaper be?

It depends on the device — the example targets iPhone 12 at 1170x2532 px, its official resolution. Check the per-model dimensions in the linked iOS wallpaper-sizes reference before exporting.

Did you like this post? Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.

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References

1. What are the different iOS Wallpaper sizes?

2. reportlab

3. iPhone 12 - Technical Specifications (Apple Support)

4. reportlab Graphics Reference (QrCodeWidget)

5. pypdf documentation — history and PyPDF2 deprecation

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About Elena

Elena, a PhD in Computer Science, simplifies AI concepts and helps you use machine learning.

Citation
Elena Daehnhardt. (2023) 'Cool Wallpaper with QR code for iPhone', daehnhardt.com, 17 November 2023. Available at: https://daehnhardt.com/blog/2023/11/17/iphone-cool-wallpaper-python-qr-code/
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