🔖┆iPhone Setup Tutorial

iphone set-up tutorial │ ipad set-up tutorial │ macbook set-up tutorial │ android set-up tutorial │ handy set-up tutorial │ desktop set-up tutorial + lots more on my website!

2025 update; with the new iOS update, some of the interface looks slightly different within the shortcuts app, but all of the steps are nearly identical! some of the buttons have been relocated to different part of the screen within the shortcuts app, but can be found easily by following the steps below. I will create a fully updated version on this tutorial asap, to avoid confusion! Thank you so much for your patience <3

💌┆contents!

part 1: setting up custom app icons

part 2: setting up custom widgets

part 3: setting up custom timed widgets

part 4: setting up icons & widgets to be 'transparent' on detailed backgrounds

part 5: setting up wallpapers

part 6: common problems and troubleshooting

part 7: useful links

💌┆setting up icons!

download the app icons you want to use from the ‘iphone icons’ folder in the bundle’s google drive file - to download, you can usually press and hold on the image and save it to your photos - if you have problems with this, i recommend using the google drive app from the app store, as the web page can sometimes be glitchy

open the shortcuts app

find the blue ‘+’ button (usually in the top right) and click it

click the 'open app’ option (if you cannot see this option, choosing the ‘scripting’ option and then clicking 'open app' as the scripting option should work!)

click the faint ‘app’ word - here you will be able to search and select whichever app you want to set your custom icon artwork for!

once your app is selected, click the ‘open app’ text at the top to replace it with your desired app name - you can get creative, i usually use fonts from https://qaz.wtf/u/convert.cgi to make the app name look cute

once you’ve given your app a name, you’re ready to add it to your home screen! click the downwards facing arrow next to your app name and then click ‘add to home screen’

select the left most icon option that looks like a grey square with a phonon landscape on. once selected, click ‘choose photo’ (or, if you saved to your files, select ‘choose file’) 

your camera roll (or files) will open, and from here, simply click the icon image you wish to set for your app!

the image will enlarge on your screen - from here, you can move and scale it if you wish! you can also leave it how it is automatically, as it should fit perfectly~

click the ‘choose’ button in the bottom right, and the app icon will replace the generic icon that was present before

now, simply press the blue ‘add’ button in the top right, and your brand new, custom icon will appear on your homescreen!

repeat for every app you want to customise until you are happy (the process gets faster once you’re used to it, i promise eheheh)

to rearrange your home screen, press and hold any app until your apps begin to wiggle / click ‘edit home screen’ - from here you can drag your apps (and widgets) around for the perfect layout

💌┆setting up widgets!

💡 i use the ‘widgetsmith’ app to set up widgets - as it seems to have the most features for free - but there are plenty of other apps you can experiment with!

1. download the widgets you want to use from the ‘iphone widgets’ folder in the bundle’s google drive file - to download, you can usually press and hold on the image and save it to your photos - if you have problems with this, i recommend using the google drive app from the app store, as the web page can sometimes be glitchy

2. if you don’t already have it, open the app store and download the ‘widgetsmith’ application

3. open widgetmith - you can add small square, medium rectangle, and large square widgets - i most often create and use small square ones, but feel free to get creative. for the rest of this tutorial i will be showing the small widget set up, but it is the exact same for any size!

4. click the blue ‘add small widget’ button

5. there are hundreds of customisation options to explore, but in this example we are setting up custom photo widgets, so click the ‘photo’ tab

6. click the green ‘choose from photos’ button (or, if you saved to your files, select ‘choose file’)

7. your camera roll (or files) will open, and from here, simply click the widget image you wish to set

8. the image will enlarge on your screen, you can move and scale it if you wish, but you can also leave it how it is automatically as they’re made to fit perfectly click the blue ‘save’ button in the top right, and the widget will now be saved to your widget library

9. exit widgetsmith and return to your home screen

10. to add your saved widget to your homescreen, press and hold on your homescreen until the applications begin to wobble, and then press the grey plus icon in the top left

11. type or select the widget option called ‘widgetsmith’ and scroll left or right to select the size widget you would like (most of my widgets are made for the small, square widget on the far left, but you can customise however you like!)

12. the widget will now appear on your home screen!

13. widgetsmith automatically adds the widget you saved to your widget library most recently, but if the widget that appears on your homescreen isn’t the one you want, you can change which widget is shown by pressing and holding on the widget and selecting ‘edit widget’

14. from here, select the widget name / number you want to see on your home screen

15. repeat for every widget you want to add until you are happy (the process gets faster once you’re used to it, i promise eheheh)

16. finally, tidy everything up! press and hold on your screen until the application wobble, and then you can drag each icon and widget around until the layout works for you

💌┆setting up timed widgets (magic widgets!)

1. download all widgets you with to set-up from the google drive folder

2. open the widgetsmith app, found in the App Store

3. scroll to the 'add small widget' option (can also add medium or large widget with this method), click to create a new widget

4. on the new widget page, click the 'settings' option on the top of the page

5. select the timed widget option

6. click the centre of the 24 hour clock to add a new time slot. the time slot will be randomly added to your 24 hour clock - don't worry about which time it is on, just yet~

7. click on the newly added time slot where the text reads 'please choose a photo'. select the desired photo from your camera roll or files. note, you do not have to add the widgets in the correct order, as you can drag the order around later!

8. continue to click the 'add' option, then click on the added time slot and change it to a photo of your choice

9. once you have added as many time slots as you desire, and filled each time slot with your desired images, you can rearrange the time slots by holding and dragging the end of each 'line' segment where the line ends in a little dot. once holding the dot, drag the end of each time slot to fill up the 24 hour clock

10. ensure you have every section of the 24 hour clock filled with an image. if a time slot is created and does not have an image allocated to it, the widget will display as a black image on your home screen during that time slot

11. finally, to add your new timed widget to your homescreen, scroll up to the 'setting up widgets' tutorial above and follow step 9 onwards!

💌┆setting up icons & widgets to be 'transparent' on detailed backgrounds!

for the set-up techniques above, we use the icons with the same background color as the chosen wallpaper in order to create a seamless 'transparent appearance'. whilst genuinely transparent icons and widgets are not yet available on ios, if you want to simulate a genuinely transparent appearance on top of a detailed background, there are websites and apps that you can submit your chosen background wallpaper into (as mentioned, this can be any wallpaper or illustration, it doesn't have to be a plain colour) alongside the (genuinely) transparent icons (which you can find in the 'android' or the 'desktop' folders), and then website or app will produce the icons with the wallpaper image 'cut up' into them!! i have four main recommendations for this method:

✤ the website iempty.tooliphone.net

✤ the app ‘Icon Luxe’

✤ the app 'App Icons & Transparent Theme'

✤ the app called 'Transparent App Icons' with a blue/magenta icon

💌┆setting up wallpapers!

download the wallpaper you want to use from the ‘iphone wallpapers’ folder in the bundle’s google drive file - to download, you can usually press and hold on the image and save it to your photos - if you have problems with this, i recommend using the google drive app from the app store, as the web page can sometimes be glitchy

go to your settings application and scroll to ‘wallpaper’

firstly, we will set up the lock screen (the screen that appears when you first turn your phone on) - click on the left hand side ‘customise’ button as shown

click the photo icon in the bottom left to open your camera roll

make sure you are on the ‘all’ tab at the top to see all of your photos, then click on the downloaded wallpaper you wish to set as your lock screen

from here you you can move and scale it is you wish, however i make the wallpapers perfectly fitting for all new iphone models, so you don’t need to worry about this

if you wish, you can also click on the date, time, and lock screen widgets sections to customise these as you please

when you are happy, simply click the grey ‘done’ button in the top right

secondly, we will set up the home screen (the screen that appears with your apps and widgets once you ave unlocked your phone) - click on the right hand side ‘customise’ button as shown

on ios16 you can set your home screen as a block colour or a gradient, feel free to experiement with these! for this tutorial, however, we will click the ‘photos’ button

click the photo icon in the bottom left to open your camera roll

make sure you are on the ‘all’ tab at the top to see all of your photos, then click on the downloaded wallpaper you wish to set as your lock screen

from here you can move and scale it if you wish, but you can also leave it how it is automatically as they’re made to fit perfectly for all new iphone models

when you are happy, simply click the grey ‘done’ button in the top right

you have now set your lock screen and home screen wallpapers!

💌┆common problems & trouble shooting!

add your question to the comments on this post and i'll reply to your comment with the solution and add it to this section to help others!