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How to put contact details on an Android lock screen

Android gives you more built-in options than iPhone does, but the most visible one is still the wallpaper. Here is how each method compares.

Android handles owner information better than iOS, but the features are buried in different menus on every make of phone, and the ones that exist are easy to miss. Here are the three approaches, strongest first.

Method 1: put the details in the wallpaper

Nothing else is as visible. The text becomes part of the wallpaper image, so it is on screen the instant anyone wakes the phone – no tapping, no menus, no internet connection.

1. Make the image at your phone's screen resolution, with the text placed below the clock and above the shortcut buttons. OwnerScreen does this free in the browser.
2. Save it to Photos or Gallery.
3. Pixel and stock Android: long-press the home screen → Wallpaper & style → Change wallpaper → My photos.
   Samsung Galaxy: Settings → Wallpaper and style → Change wallpapers → Gallery.
4. Choose Lock screen (or “Home and lock screen” if you want both).
5. Do not crop or zoom – tap Set or Done.
6. Long-press the lock screen and adjust the clock style or remove widgets if anything covers your text.

Method 2: the built-in emergency information screen

Nearly every modern Android has an emergency card readable without the passcode.

1. Open Settings → Safety & emergency → Medical info.
2. Fill in allergies, conditions, medications, blood type and organ donor status.
3. Go back and open Emergency contacts to add the people who should be called.

To read it from a locked phone, tap Emergency on the passcode screen, then Emergency information (some makes need a double tap).

This is what ambulance crews are trained to look for, so it is well worth filling in. But like Apple's Medical ID, an ordinary person who finds your phone in a taxi is unlikely to go hunting for it.

Method 3: Samsung's contact information line

Samsung Galaxy phones have a genuinely useful extra: Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Contact information (older versions: Lock screen → Contact information). Anything you type appears as a line of text on the lock screen itself.

It is limited to a short line and small type, so it works best alongside a wallpaper rather than on its own. Some other makes have an equivalent, often called “owner info” or “lock screen message” – search your Settings for “owner” and see what appears.

If your phone is already lost

Go to google.com/android/find on any browser and sign in. You can make the phone ring, lock it, and display a message with a contact number on the lock screen. Samsung users have the same through SmartThings Find.

This only helps after you have noticed the phone is missing, and generally needs the phone to be online. The wallpaper works from the second it leaves your pocket.

Which Android screen size should the image be?

Match your phone's resolution if you can, but do not agonise – Android scales wallpapers, and an image larger than your screen looks fine. Common sizes:

Frequently asked questions