> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.simplykyra.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Exploring the reMarkable Sleep Screen Overlay (and How to Tinker with It Yourself!) - URL: https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/exploring-the-remarkable-sleep-screen-overlay-and-how-to-tinker-with-it-yourself/ - Published: 2025-12-21T00:58:40.000Z - Updated: 2025-12-21T00:58:40.000Z - Description: A quiet change in reMarkable OS 3.25 added a rotating illustration overlay to the sleep screen on Paper Pro devices. I went digging to see how it works, how to turn it off, and what happens if you start poking around yourself. - Author: Kyra - Tags: Creative Experiments, reMarkable, Simply Customize It! When the reMarkable 3.25 beta rolled out I quickly went through my app tests by cleaning up my app, downloading the current set of screens, uploading my favorite sleep screen, and then syncing the templates. I was excited everything was working perfectly and then noticed something new on my **reMarkable Paper Pro and Paper Pro Move**. This didn't appear on my **reMarkable 2**. ![Pinterest geared image showing my post title, images from below, and my main URL.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/compressed_Exploring-the-reMarkable-Sleep-Screen-Overlay---Pinterest.png) 💕 **Pin this post to come back to later.* --- **Note:* Right now (3.25 beta), I’m only seeing this overlay on the reMarkable Paper Pro and Paper Pro Move. My reMarkable 2 doesn’t have it. Just in case that changes down the line, the instructions below assume the overlay exists.* --- ## The Overlay When locking my reMarkable, I started seeing a white square illustration layered on top of my sleep screen image. Each time I unlocked and re-locked the device, that illustration changed. ![Photo shows the Move and PP side by side both with differing sleep screen images and the overlay image on top.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/compressed_IMG_8242.jpeg) After a bit of digging, it became clear this was new behavior. On both the reMarkable Paper Pro and Paper Pro Move, the device cycles through three built-in illustrations. The effect is subtle on the default sleep screen, but once you use a custom image behind it, the overlay becomes much more noticeable. [reMarkable OS 3.25 Beta: A Quick Heads Up About Sleep Screen BehaviorA quick heads up for reMarkable beta users about a change in sleep screen behavior observed on Paper Pro devices in OS 3.25 beta.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/icon/4-66.png)SimplyKyraKyra![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/thumbnail/Simply-Customize-It---3.25---Cover-2.png)](https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/remarkable-os-3-25-beta-a-quick-heads-up-about-sleep-screen-behavior/) I shared a quick heads up about this when I first noticed it here. At the time, I only had about an hour before I had to grab my kid from the bus, but after a quick Reddit check I realized others were running into the same thing. I threw together [a short reaction reel and shared it](https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/remarkable-os-3-25-beta-a-quick-heads-up-about-sleep-screen-behavior/) so people wouldn’t be caught off guard. Once I had more time, I started digging into *how* this behavior worked. My goal was simple: - Could I disable it without breaking anything else? - Could it be undone easily? - Would it survive without needing a firmware update? The answer turned out to be yes on all three counts so I next added the fix directly into [*Simply Customize It*](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simply-customize-it/id6443862161?ref=simplykyra.com) so it’s easy to use with a simple button. That said, if you prefer doing it yourself keep reading as this post walks through what I found, how the overlay appears to work under the hood, and how you can experiment with it on your own reMarkable if you’d like. --- ## A Quick Note Before We Start This guide assumes you’re comfortable using the command line, have **Developer Mode** enabled on your reMarkable, and understand that reMarkable does **not officially support** modifying system files. If `SSH`, `SCP`, or hands-on experimenting isn’t your thing and you just want the overlay gone you can check out [*Simply Customize It*](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simply-customize-it/id6443862161?ref=simplykyra.com)*.* --- ## How to Disable the Overlay ### Connect to Your reMarkable You’ll first need to connect to your reMarkable over `SSH`. To do this you need to find the username (`root`), password, and I.P. address. ![Photo shows the updated General Public License version 3 compliance paragraphs including the login credentials and the SSH over WLAN is disabled by default paragraph shown below. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2024/09/compressed_IMG_8848.jpeg) To find your credentials go to menu -> `Settings` \-> `?` \-> `Copyrights and licenses`. This will be hidden on the Paper Pro and Move unless you've turned on developer mode. [Learn How to Access Your reMarkable Paper Pro Through the Command LineWith the new reMarkable Paper Pro out I realized I needed to update my How To Connect post... here it is!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/icon/4-67.png)SimplyKyraKyra![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/thumbnail/compressed_IMG_9201-1-11.jpeg)](https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/learn-how-to-access-your-remarkable-paper-pro-through-the-command-line/) I’ve written a full walkthrough here with added steps for the Paper Pro and Move users. By default the reMarkable Paper Pro and Move have `WLAN` turned off and back with the [3.22 Beta](https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/wlan-disabled-in-remarkable2-3-22-beta-heres-the-fix/) I noticed the same with my reMarkable 2\. To connect the first time you'll need to use a cable to connect and a new I.P. address will pop up. Once you know which address to use you can connect by typing in `ssh [username]@[host/ip address]`. Once on, if needed, you can turn on `WLAN` by typing in `rm-ssh-over-wlan on`. ### Locate the Sleep Overlay Images Once connected via `SSH` you can go to where the images live by typing in: ```bash cd /usr/share/remarkable/carousel ``` This changes your directory to the new reMarkable `carousel` one that stores the three rotating images. If you have changed out your default sleep screen before you'd find it up one directory at `/usr/share/remarkable/suspended.png`. [Switch Out Your reMarkable Paper Pro’s Sleep ScreenWith the reMarkable Paper Pro out I figured it was time to share an updated post on how to switch out your screen images! Come check it out.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/icon/4-68.png)SimplyKyraKyra![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/thumbnail/compressed_Switch-Out-Your-reMarkable-Paper-Pro-s-Sleep-Screen----Image-4.jpg)](https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/switch-out-your-remarkable-paper-pros-sleep-screen/) Check this out for more information about switching out the default sleep screen! Once there you can list the contents with `ls` and, at this time, I see three files: ```bash ❯ ls sleep_Illustration_01.png sleep_Illustration_02.png sleep_Illustration_03.png ``` Which, when downloaded from the reMarkable using `scp` match what I see rotated through when I repeatedly lock and unlock my reMarkable. ![Image shows three square white backed images all called sleep_Illustration followed by 01, 02, and 03.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-19-at-21.00.46.png) Took a quick screenshot of my file folder so it's a bit small. If you run `file` on them you'll see this information: ```bash ❯ file * sleep_Illustration_01.png: PNG image data, 776 x 776, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced sleep_Illustration_02.png: PNG image data, 776 x 776, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced sleep_Illustration_03.png: PNG image data, 776 x 776, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced ``` ### Readonly At this time I want to do a quick aside and warn you this directory may be readonly. Back when I first tried to [add custom templates and sleep screen images to the Paper Pro](https://www.simplykyra.com/updates/big-update-support-for-rmpp-move-editable-templates-and-asset-downloads/) I quickly realized making changes didn't work and to get past this, after every update (and maybe restart?) when you `SSH` in and want to make changes, you will need to first type in: ```bash mount -o remount,rw / ``` ### Disable the Overlay In pursuit of disabling the overlay I tried to rename the files and alter their extensions. Neither seemed to work. What did work; however, was creating a new directory in `carousel` and moving all the images into it. I'm sure deleting them would've worked too but I wanted a method that could easily be undone. To do this first make sure you're in the `carousel` directory and create a backup folder (I chose `backupIllustrations`) by typing: ```bash mkdir backupIllustrations ``` Then move all the current images within `carousel` to your newly created subdirectory `backupIllustrations` with: ```bash mv * /backupIllustrations/ ``` With that the images will be hidden the next time you lock the device and so the overlay will no longer appear. Your **actual sleep screen image remains unchanged**. If you know you never want the overlay, until maybe the next update, you can instead ignore making the backup directory, make sure you're still in `carousel`, and delete all the images with: ```bash rm sleep_Illustration_* ``` ![Image shows the non-overlaid paper pro beside the water stashed covered Move.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/compressed_IMG_8232.jpeg) Here I tested theories out on my Paper Pro and was super excited to see all the leaves again. I left my Paper Pro Move with it's overlay on until I could accomplish the same through [**Simply Customize It*](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simply-customize-it/id6443862161?ref=simplykyra.com)**.* ![Image shows both Paper Pro devices with no overlay covering up the sleep screen image.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/compressed_IMG_8245.jpeg) With [**Simply Customize It*](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simply-customize-it/id6443862161?ref=simplykyra.com) hooked up both my reMarkable devices were once again gorgeous! ### Reenable the Overlay If you used the backup directory and didn't delete the images you can later restore the overlay default behavior by moving the files back into the `carousel` directory so your reMarkable will once again find them. First go into `carousel` and type in ```bash mv backupIllustrations/* . ``` Once you use `ls` to confirm they're there you could next cleanup the empty backup directory by deleting it with ```bash rmdir backupIllustrations ``` --- ## A Simpler Option I originally shared guides like this years ago for my reMarkable 2 which led me to building [*Simply Customize It*](https://www.simplykyra.com/simply-customize-it/). As such I wanted to let you know that if you’d rather not run commands or dig through system folders I’ve added tools that let you both **turn off** the overlay and **restore** it again... all without touching the command line. If that sounds more your speed it might be worth [checking out](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simply-customize-it/id6443862161?ref=simplykyra.com). [![Image shows the Simply Customize It title to the right of the app icon's drawing.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/image.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simply-customize-it/id6443862161?ref=simplykyra.com) --- ## Going Further ### Playing Around At first, I only tested a couple of small changes: renaming one of the files and changing the file extension on another. In both cases, the images still appeared when locking the device. One image changed position, but the overall behavior stayed the same and all of the images were still shown. Once the app update was out, I gave myself permission to play around a bit more. If this kind of tinkering is your jam and you want to go deeper, here’s what I learned from experimenting further. ### Adding Your Own Images I want to preface this by saying this was only about an hour or so of experimenting before I turned the overlay back off again. That said, once I noticed the reMarkable overlay images were square, I got curious. I wondered whether I could add my own images and, more specifically, whether a full reMarkable-sized image would fill the screen. I had hoped this might open the door to rotating custom sleep screens. It didn’t quite work out that way… but the behavior itself was still interesting. If you want to try this yourself, you can upload images directly into the `carousel` folder using `SCP`. First, open a terminal in the directory on your computer that contains the image(s) you want to upload. Then run: ```bash scp * root@IPaddress:/usr/share/remarkable/carousel/ ``` This uploads a copy of **all files in your current directory** to the `carousel` folder on your reMarkable. If instead you want to download a copy of the existing overlay images to your computer you can run: ```bash scp root@IPaddress:/usr/share/remarkable/carousel/* . ``` In both cases, simply replace the `*` with a specific file name if you only want to upload or download a single file. [How to Make Template Files for Your reMarkableDo you have a reMarkable device? Have you thought about creating a template file of your own for it? Do you have a PDF page or PNG image you want to use as a template? Here’s how I made my template file for my reMarkable 2.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/icon/4-69.png)SimplyKyraKyra![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/thumbnail/compressed_How-to-Make-Templates-Files-for-Your-reMarkable-Image-4.jpg)](https://www.simplykyra.com/blog/how-to-make-template-files-for-your-remarkable/#upload-the-template-image) If you want more background on working with images and system files, I go into much more detail in my reMarkable 2 template guide here. ### What I Learned After testing different file names, formats, and even invalid files, here’s what seems to be happening behind the scenes. The reMarkable does **not** appear to hardcode which images are used. Instead, it attempts to load **every file** in the `carousel` directory. Subdirectories are ignored entirely which is why moving the images into a backup folder effectively turns the overlay off. Files that aren’t valid images (such as text files or empty files) are still iterated over, but they appear as *nothing* on screen. When watching the logs with `journalctl` these images cause errors that are logged quietly in the background. I also learned that file names and extensions don’t seem to matter. The images are **not shown alphabetically** and the order appears to follow filesystem order instead. Both `PNG` and `JPEG` images worked, and orientation metadata `EXIF` was respected, which is why one of my photos initially appeared sideways. Finally, the device automatically scaled every image I tested. Each overlay sat on top of my existing sleep screen rather than filling the display, which dashed my hopes of a true full sleep screen rotating system. ![Collage of four photos showing different custom overlays on my reMarkable Move shown over my custom screen.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d3/68/d3684a67-f3a9-4c11-9d37-bc9fc8fe73ed/content/images/2025/12/compressed_Exploring-the-reMarkable-Sleep-Screen-Overlay---Image.png) Four views of custom overlays on my reMarkable Move shown over my custom screen. One important confirmation: this overlay behavior is **completely separate from your actual sleep screen image**. Disabling or modifying the overlay does not reset or replace the sleep screen you’ve already chosen. --- ## Where This Might Go Next Right now, reMarkable doesn’t seem to expose any user-facing settings for this behavior. Everything appears to be driven entirely by what exists in the `carousel` folder. When I first noticed the overlay, I briefly considered whether it might be possible to fully customize the images *and* control their order from within [*Simply Customize It*](https://www.simplykyra.com/simply-customize-it/). In theory, that could be interesting especially if the overlays could be made full-screen. That said, I’m not convinced this is realistically achievable. Even if I did manage to make it work, there’s a good chance a future reMarkable update would change the underlying behavior and make it no longer applicable. If you end up experimenting with this yourself and uncover more details, I’d genuinely love to hear about it. Feel free to leave a comment below or [email me](mailto:mail@simplykyra.com?subject=reMarkable%20Overlay%20Customization). And if there’s enough interest, I’d be open to adding this to the roadmap and continuing to explore what’s possible. And like always, I hope this helped and you’re having a great day! 💕 --- If you’re interested in getting any of my future blog updates I normally share them to my [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SimplyKyra/) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/simplykyraapps/?ref=simplykyra.com) pages. You’re also more than welcome to join my email list located right under the search bar or underneath this post.