Sequoia put a really grainy, out of focus, low resolution desktop picture of some forest behind the login-screen. It's unaffected by the desktop picture for the user. How do I change that?
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Changing Desktop Picture (Wallpaper) of Login-Screen
- Thread starter TETENAL
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are you using filevault? anyway, whatever i set my desktop image to shows when i boot up or log in. but on my GF's M2 air, the background is that image as a video: it moves forward. is your image is static?
also, asking for help is usually more productive than ranting (just a thought)...
also, asking for help is usually more productive than ranting (just a thought)...
which mac? and if you change the image, your selected image doesn't show on boot up or login? might be related to FV.
hopefully others will join the thread (as i don't use FV), with suggestions or thoughts.
When the Mac boots it is using the read-only unencrypted SSV (signed system volume) which is the same on all Macs. This has no customisation.
Your login password is required to unlock and mount the read/write part of the boot volume where your wallpaper resides. So you have to login before the background image can change. So everyone has the same background image before login. You can't change it.
Most people find that annoying unless they really like the login picture/graphic. Is is one of the compromises we have to make to get Apple security features.
The only way round this is to break the SSV and, in recovery, mount it R/W and make changes. Not sure if this can work with Apple silicon - maybe only Intel. This is not good practice as it destroys much of the security barrier which Apple has put around macOS. Also makes macOS updates a bit tricky. Don't ask!
I generally only boot my Macs for macOS updates, so that avoids much of the annoyance.
Ps. I understand the image is of some Sequoia trees.
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OK, looking into this further, it does not appear to be related to FileVault. On another Mac the startup login desktop picture changes with the users' desktop picture. It's an M-series laptop while the Mac that is stuck to the forest picture is an Intel desktop.
Confirmed. The login screen shows the last logged in users desktop picture AND runs that as a screensaver in case it's a dynamic wallpaper at least here in my case. I have changed the first desktop/background within the user and change the screensaver to a different one than the default dynamic wallpaper, selected Show on all spaces.
That changed the login window background picture and screensaver in the login window in my case. Hope that helps.
File Vault is not enabled.
To spice things up, it also depends whether your machine has external monitors connected and whether it runs in closed lid mode or not. In closed lid mode, all background change to what ever i have selected in that mode. So rule of thumb: The picture you want as the login screen background should be selected on all first desktops on all monitors within that user in both modes.
On the bright side, you only have to change that setting once.
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I beg to differ. When I installed 15.0 I got the forrest on the Lock Screen. I changed my desktop background to "Studio Color" wallpaper, and on rebooting the forrest had been replaced with Studio wallpaper. I've run several versions of Sequoia and Studio Color has been on the Lock Screen every time.
I have FileVault enabled on my M2 MBA. The wallpaper on the first desktop is used for the login screen after booting. My guess is that Apple is storing the selection in one of the hidden volumes in one of the containers (there are 3) on the internal SSD.
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