Can't get rid of rogue wallpaper on start screen

[Davidoo]

A couple of months ago I downloaded a wallpaper on my Zedge app. I didn't like it and selected another wallpaper and deleted the old one I didn't like. Now, here's the problem.... The old wallpaper that I didn't like and have deleted from all places I know of on my Pixel XL, including the Zedge app, still comes up briefly right after my Pixel boots up for the first time. This ugly wallpaper shows up right after the Pixel goes through the Google boot up animation with the white screen and the multi-colored dots bouncing. I have a PIN lock, and it is there on the first screen after boot up that brings up the PIN number pad and says "PIN required after device restarts." Then immediately after I enter my PIN, the old ugly wallpaper goes away and switches to my new wallpaper. The old ugly wallpaper never comes back again until the next time the Pixel is restarted.

I guess you would call it the lock screen wallpaper, but it only comes up after a cold boot. I have deleted it from the list of wallpapers, so how is it still coming up......and how do you get rid of it?

 

[peter nde63h]

A couple of months ago I downloaded a wallpaper on my Zedge app. I didn't like it and selected another wallpaper and deleted the old one I didn't like. Now, here's the problem.... The old wallpaper that I didn't like and have deleted from all places I know of on my Pixel XL, including the Zedge app, still comes up briefly right after my Pixel boots up for the first time. This ugly wallpaper shows up right after the Pixel goes through the Google boot up animation with the white screen and the multi-colored dots bouncing. I have a PIN lock, and it is there on the first screen after boot up that brings up the PIN number pad and says "PIN required after device restarts." Then immediately after I enter my PIN, the old ugly wallpaper goes away and switches to my new wallpaper. The old ugly wallpaper never comes back again until the next time the Pixel is restarted.

I guess you would call it the lock screen wallpaper, but it only comes up after a cold boot. I have deleted it from the list of wallpapers, so how is it still coming up......and how do you get rid of it?

try clearing data and cache of pixel launcher...

 

[Davidoo]

Great suggestion. Unfortunately it didn't work. After clearing cache and data of pixel launcher the old wallpaper is still on the lock screen on first boot. By the way, I use Nova launcher. I wonder if that is why I only get the old wallpaper until I unlock then Nova starts. I thought clearing the pixel launcher might fix it. There doesn't seem to be an option to target the initial lock screen wallpaper in Nova.

 

[peter nde63h]

Great suggestion. Unfortunately it didn't work. After clearing cache and data of pixel launcher the old wallpaper is still on the lock screen on first boot. By the way, I use Nova launcher. I wonder if that is why I only get the old wallpaper until I unlock then Nova starts. I thought clearing the pixel launcher might fix it. There doesn't seem to be an option to target the initial lock screen wallpaper in Nova.

there must be something related to cached data as you already deleted the ugly wallpaper. if clearing those in pixel launcher doesn't help, try clearing those in wallpaper app. moreover, try clearing cache in "storage".

 

[Legobricke]

It's not the Nova launcher.... I have the same issue on the Pixel launcher. When the phone boots up, it displays the old deleted wallpaper on the lock screen for some reason.

 

[Davidoo]

there must be something related to cached data as you already deleted the ugly wallpaper. if clearing those in pixel launcher doesn't help, try clearing those in wallpaper app. moreover, try clearing cache in "storage".

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried them and still have the deleted wallpaper show up on the initial lock screen after boot up. I really thought clearing the cache and data in the wallpaper app would do it.

 

[Davidoo]

It's not the Nova launcher.... I have the same issue on the Pixel launcher. When the phone boots up, it displays the old deleted wallpaper on the lock screen for some reason.

Thanks Lego. Sorry you are having the same issue, but at least I know it is not just my device. This is definitely a very minor glitch. Definitely what I would call a first world problem. I still think it is related to the lock screen wallpaper. In prior android versions I thought there was a way to set both a lock screen and main screen wallpaper, but for the life of me I can't find that setting in nougat. There is just one wallpaper option.

 

[Davidoo]

Well, I sort of figured out the issue, but still can't make it do what I want. I decided to go out of Nova and back into the pixel launcher and select a completely different picture for the wallpaper. When I did this I had the option to select for the regular screens, lock screen, or both. Interestingly, when doing this, it showed the old deleted wallpaper as the current selection for the lock screen until I picked the new one. After saving, I did have the new wallpaper for the lock screen and the home screen on both pixel and nova launchers and on first boot.

So, I repeated the process for the wallpaper I really wanted, and saved as my lock and home screen again. It looked like it all worked until I restarted, and the prior wallpaper showed up on the first boot lock screen again, but the new one I wanted held on the home screen.

Here's what I think the issue is. I'm using a wallpaper called Null Black. I really like just having no wallpaper and a pure black background. It also helps the battery. What I didn't realize is this is considered a live wallpaper. I don't think you can use a live wallpaper on the lock screen, so the system is keeping my selection of Null Black for the desktop, but defaults to the last selected non-live wallpaper for the first boot lock screen. That is what I figured must be happening. Not a big issue, and now it makes some sense as to why this occurs.

 

[Unobtanium]

You could try "drawing" a black wallpaper in Paint or some other program, then save it as a jpeg or png file and either transfer it to your phone with the cable or email it to yourself.

 

[anon(9227267)]

I took a picture with the camera against the wall - needless to say the picture was totally black - set it as wallpaper - all good - flash must be turned off - may have try a few times to get it right.

 

[Davidoo]

Have you tried restarting the phone after doing this to see if the plain black screen shows up on the first boot lock screen, or does that first lock screen after boot retain the prior set wallpaper?

 

[Unobtanium]

I took a picture with the camera against the wall - needless to say the picture was totally black - set it as wallpaper - all good - flash must be turned off - may have try a few times to get it right.

Electrical tape?

 

[anon(9227267)]

Electrical tape?

No tape involved.
WAIT - did you mean tape over the camera lens - this would probably work - good idea.

 

[radgatt]

I have this issue as well. I believe its a glitch that just hasn't been brought to Google's attention. I believe it's something that only Google can fix.

 

[peter nde63h]

I took a picture with the camera against the wall - needless to say the picture was totally black - set it as wallpaper - all good - flash must be turned off - may have try a few times to get it right.

I think creating a 1x1 black jpg is more easy..^^

by the way, 1x1 is enough. 1080x1920 is not needed. the launcher would automatically stretch your 1x1 black pixel to fill the whole screen.

 

[anon(9227267)]

I think creating a 1x1 black jpg is more easy..^^

by the way, 1x1 is enough. 1080x1920 is not needed. the launcher would automatically stretch your 1x1 black pixel to fill the whole screen.

I did that for the blue pixel - I like to try different things - makes having phones more fun.

 

[Eric Bacon]

Thanks for the tips. I cleared. Wallpaper Cache and the nasty start up screen wallpaper is gone!! Finally!!