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To change the Apple TV screen saver, go to Settings > Screen Saver > Current Selection and choose a category: Aerials, Memories & Slideshows, Portraits, or Snoopy. Which categories you see depends on your Apple TV model and region. The steps below follow Apple’s current Apple TV 4K support guide, which Apple checked for these instructions in October 2026.
Change the screen saver source
- From the Apple TV Home Screen, open Settings.
- Select Screen Saver.
- Select Current Selection.
- Choose the category you want. Apple lists Aerials, Memories & Slideshows, Portraits, and Snoopy. Portraits and Snoopy are available on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later).
Apple’s documentation for this procedure is in its Activate or change the screen saver on Apple TV 4K guide.
Set how long Apple TV waits before the screen saver starts
Apple’s settings guide describes the behavior this way: “Apple TV 4K displays a screen saver after the screen is idle for a preset number of minutes.” To change that delay, go to Settings > Screen Saver > Start After and choose the wait time you want. The Adjust Screen Saver Settings on Apple TV 4K guide covers the same controls.
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Personalize each screen saver type
Aerials
Go to Settings > Screen Saver > Aerials. From there you can choose which themes to show or hide and set how often new Aerials are downloaded. Apple groups Aerials by themes including Cityscape, Earth, Landscape, and Underwater.
You can skip to another location while an Aerial is playing. Apple does not describe a way to pin one specific Aerial location as the fixed selection, so the rotation is controlled by theme and download settings rather than by a single location. Aerials are not available on Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation).
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Memories & Slideshows (photos)
Go to Settings > Screen Saver > Memories & Slideshows. You can choose all Memories, or limit the source to Favorites, Activity, or a specific shared or personal album.
To set an album directly, open the Photos app, select the album, choose Set as Screen Saver, and confirm. For photo albums, you can also choose a transition style in Memories & Slideshows.
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Music album art
Go to Settings > Screen Saver > Memories & Slideshows, select Music Albums, and choose a style.
Portraits
Choose Portraits in the Screen Saver settings. You can select whether to include people, pets, nature, and cities. Under Update Frequency, adjust Change Every to set how often the images rotate. Portraits requires Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later). Apple’s Set up Apple TV 4K screen savers guide covers these options.
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Snoopy
Snoopy appears in Apple’s list of Current Selection categories and requires Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later). Apple’s documentation cited here does not describe additional Snoopy-specific settings.
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Start the screen saver manually
Apple says you can activate a screen saver without waiting for the idle timer. The method depends on where you are on the Apple TV 4K:
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- From the Home Screen: move to the leftmost app icon in the top row, then press Back or Menu.
- Inside an app: press Back or Menu repeatedly until the screen saver starts.
Compatibility by model
Availability depends on the Apple TV model, and Apple notes that features and content are not available on every hardware model or in every region. The table summarizes what Apple’s support pages state.
| Screen saver option | Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later) | Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation) |
|---|---|---|
| Aerials | Available | Not available |
| Memories & Slideshows, including photo albums and music album art | Available | Not stated in the cited Apple pages |
| Portraits | Available | Not available |
| Snoopy | Available | Not stated in the cited Apple pages |
Apple TV 4K (1st generation) is not covered by the cited Apple pages for Portraits or Snoopy, so check the screen saver menu on that model to see which categories appear.
If an option is missing
- Portraits or Snoopy is not listed: confirm your model is Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later).
- Aerials is not listed: Aerials are not available on Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation).
- A category is listed on one model but not another: check the Apple support guide for your tvOS version. Apple publishes its Apple TV 4K guide for specific tvOS versions, including tvOS 26 and tvOS 18.0, and menu labels and options can differ between releases.
The cited Apple pages were checked for these steps in October 2026. Apple may update menu labels or availability later.
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