Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.
Setting this image as wallpaper could soft-brick your phone
July 10, 2025
Update, June 4, 02:00AM EST:Google said it’scurrently reviewing a solutionfor the bug. We have an in-depth explanation on thelikely reasons behind the wallpaper crash issue here.
Update, May 31, 12:30PM EST:An issue with a very similar description has been reported in Google’sAndroid issue trackerback in 2018. At the time, Google developers said they were unable to reproduce the issue and closed it out (Hat tip:inverimus on Reddit). We’ve reached out to Google for clarification.
According to several users on Reddit and Twitter, as well as Partha Sarathi Tripathy in our comments section, the issue is caused by the color profile of the image, which exceeds the bounds of what Android can handle, causing a crash.
Looking at user reports, it looks like devices from Google, Samsung, OnePlus, Nokia, Xiaomi are affected, though not all models behave the same.
Read more:The best Android wallpapers: Default wallpapers from 125+ Android devices
Original story, May 31, 04:40AM EST:Here’s a cool and a little troubling story for you this Sunday morning.
Simply setting an image as wallpaper on your phone could cause it to crash and become unable to boot.
The issue was reported by well-known leakerUniverse Ice on Twitterand confirmed by dozens of other users.
I tested it myself. First, foolishly, on my daily driver, theMate 20 Pro, which doesn’t appear to be affected. Iwasable to replicate the issue on aGoogle Pixel 2. After setting the image in question as a wallpaper, the phone immediately crashed. It attempted to reboot, but the screen would constantly turn on and off, making it impossible to pass the security screen.
Restarting the device in safe mode (by holding down the volume button during boot-up) did not fix the issue.
Eventually, my Pixel 2 displayed a message saying the phone can’t boot and offered the option to try again (which I did with no luck) or factory reset the device.
A factory reset did bring my Pixel 2 back to normal, but obviously that meant losing all my data.
Many users on Twitter report running into the issue. As userSebastiannoted, the issue can also be reproduced on the emulator bundled with Android Studio.
At this point, it’s not clear what’s causing it, but considering it’s happening on devices from multiple brands, including Google, it’s possible that the image somehow conflicts into an underlying issue with the Android OS. It’s also possible that it was specially crafted to take advantage of an existing vulnerability.
I donotencourage anyone to try setting the image as wallpaper on personal phones. If you’re able to’t help it, just make sure you’re okay with doing a factory reset.
Read more:10 best background and wallpaper apps for Android!
We’ll keep you posted.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.
