Alex Ruben
How To Customize Your Caller Theme
If you’re tired of that boring default caller screen and want to give your incoming calls a more personalized, fancy look, this is for you. Whether it’s cool colors, sneaky animations, or some fresh themes, messing around with caller themes is surprisingly doable. Just warning — sometimes these apps can be kinda hit-or-miss, and on some phones, the theme won’t apply right away or prompts weird permission requests. But if you want a change that actually sticks, here’s how to do it, step by step.
How to Change your Caller Theme on Android or iPhone
Method 1: Using a dedicated caller theme app
This approach is the most straightforward. Plenty of third-party apps on both Google Play and Apple App Store promise to jazz up your caller screen. The reason it works is that these apps usually have built-in themes and customization options, making it easy to switch things up. Expect to see a flashy call screen when someone rings, and hopefully, no weird bugs or permissions causing trouble.
Key thing: always check reviews before downloading anything, because some apps are just poorly maintained or sneaky with permissions. Especially on Android, make sure to grant permissions to access contacts and phone state — not doing so might make your theme not show up properly or cause crashes.
Open your app store and search
- On Android, go to Google Play Store
- On iPhone, open the App Store
Search for “Caller Theme” or “Call Screen Theme.” The top results are usually the most popular, but check ratings and reviews to filter out trash. Some of the apps you’ll see—like *Lovely Call*, *DJ Call*, or *True Caller*—have built-in themes, but be cautious, not all are reliable.
Install & Set Up
- Tapping Install (Android) or Get (iPhone) will start the download.
- Once installed, open the app. You’ll likely get some onboarding screens or permissions requests.
On Android, you might need to head over to Settings > Apps & notifications > Permissions or directly grant permissions to access contacts, phone, and storage. This is crucial because otherwise, the app can’t pull caller info or apply themes properly. Sometimes, you have to manually enable the caller screen toggle inside the app’s own settings.
Select & Apply Your Theme
- Inside the app, browse through the available themes or styles—this might be collections of animated backgrounds, pastel colors, or even some cartoonish stuff.
- Pick the one you like, then hit Apply or Set as default. Sometimes, you need to enable or toggle this from your device’s main call screen settings, which varies by device.
Note: on some phones, you might see a prompt to set a new default caller screen or enable a combo that lets the app control your call UI. Don’t skip that, or your theme won’t show up.
Make sure the app has the right permissions and is enabled
- Head to Settings > Apps & notifications > Your Caller Theme App on Android or Settings > Privacy > Call & Phone on iPhone.
- Grant permissions for contacts, phone, and notifications. On Android, ensure the app is set to “Always Allow” when prompted.
- If there’s a toggle for “Default Phone App” or “Caller Screen,” set your theme app as default if possible.
This step is kinda annoying but necessary — if permissions aren’t right, the theme simply won’t show at incoming calls.
Test it out
- Give someone a call or borrow a friend’s phone to dial yours. If everything’s set up right, your new theme should appear when the phone rings.
- If not, double-check permissions, settings, and that the theme is enabled as default — sometimes, restarting the phone helps, especially after changing permissions.
Extra tips & tricks
Most themes apps on Android or iPhone have their own quirks. On certain devices, you might need to disable the stock caller ID or call screen, which can be found under Settings > Phone > Call Display / Incoming Calls. Also, some apps require you to disable other call screen replacement apps, so conflicts don’t happen. And yeah, on some setups, the theme only shows during particular types of calls (like only for outgoing or incoming) — weird, right?
Another pro tip: if a theme *doesn’t* apply immediately, reboot the device and see if that kick-starts it. Because of course, Windows has to make this process more complicated than it needs to be.
Wrap-up
Changing caller themes isn’t rocket science, but it’s kinda messy in real life. Be patient with permissions and app compatibility. If you find a good app that sticks, it can really add some fun personality to your calls. Just keep in mind — some apps are junk or ask for too many permissions, so check reviews before jumping in.
Summary
- Download a trusted caller theme app from the store
- Grant permissions for contacts and calls
- Pick your favorite theme, then set it as default
- Test by calling your own phone or having someone call you
Fingers crossed this helps
Hopefully, this saves someone hours trying to figure out why their themes aren’t showing. Mostly, it’s permissions or default settings — kind of dumb, but that’s how phone customization tends to go.