How to remove the widget At a Glance on Xiaomi: the complete guide

The modern MIUI and HyperOS shells that power Xiaomi smartphones offer users a variety of visual elements for personalization, one of which is the At a Glance widget, which displays weather, appointment schedules, notifications and other important information right on the lock screen. Despite its functionality, many users are annoyed by its presence, especially if it overlaps wallpaper or consumes system resources in the background.

The question of how to remove the At a Glance widget on Xiaomi becomes especially relevant after firmware updates, when the interface settings may change or get confused. Often device owners are faced with a situation where standard disable methods do not work, or the menu item is hidden. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to deactivate this element, including hidden settings and system restrictions.

It is worth noting that depending on the version of Android and regional firmware (Global, China, EEA), the algorithm of actions may differ slightly. We will consider universal methods that are suitable for most current models, from budget Redmi to flagship Xiaomi 14. Understanding the principles of the notification system will allow you not only to remove the extra, but also to optimize the operation of the device.

What is At a Glance widget and why turn it off

The At a Glance widget is a dynamic data block integrated into the lock screen, pulling data from calendars, weather, reminders and even delivery trackers to form a single event feed. For many, it's a handy tool that allows you to quickly assess the situation without unlocking the phone. However, its implementation in MIUI shells is often criticized for redundancy and intrusiveness.

The main reason users tend to turn off this element is visual noise. Large fonts and constant card changes can interfere with the perception of key elements of the lock screen, such as time or messenger notifications. In addition, constantly polling servers to update weather and news information can slightly, but increase battery consumption.

⚠️ Warning: Completely disabling system widgets in some firmware versions may cause the weather widget to disappear from the home screen, as they use a common system service.

Another important aspect is privacy: the widget displays information on a locked screen, which in some cases may not be desirable. For example, meeting details or tracking of parcels can be visible to unauthorized persons. Disabling the function returns the user full control over what is displayed at rest of the device.

Standard way to disable through settings

The most obvious and safe way to remove the widget is to use the standard settings menu. Xiaomi manufacturers have provided the ability to control the lock screen, although sometimes this item is hidden quite deep.

Find the Settings icon and open it. In the settings list, you'll need to find the look and lock screen section. In current versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14, the path can be: Settings → Lock screen. In older versions, this item is often inside the Wallpaper menu.

• 📱 Open the Settings app on your smartphone.
• 🔍 Find the Lock Screen section or go to Wallpaper → Lock screen settings.
• ❌ Find the At a Glance switch or Briefly and put it in the "Off" position".
• ✅ Check the lock screen by pressing the power button to make sure the changes are made.

If the widget is still in place after you do this, you may be using a theme that compulsorily includes the item, so you should go back to the Wallpaper menu and try changing the theme to the standard or classic one, and then repeat the disabling procedure.

Management through the Topics app

Often the problem is not with system settings, but with third-party themes downloaded from the Themes store. Many of the designs for Xiaomi have rigid widgets that cannot be removed by standard methods, in which case the only solution is to change the theme or edit its components.

To check, open the Themes app (an icon with a brush or a "T"). Go to the user profile (usually the person icon in the lower right corner) and select the Topics section. Make sure the standard Classic or Default theme is active. If you have a third-party theme installed, try switching to the stock one and checking the lock screen.

In some cases, even a standard theme can "glutch" after an update. Reset the theme settings is recommended. In the Themes app, go to the profile, click on the settings icon (cogs), and select Reset settings. This action will return all the design parameters to factory values, which often helps to remove intrusive widgets.

⚠️ Warning: Resetting theme settings does not delete your personal photos or files, but will return the system’s appearance to the “out of the box” state".

If you want to keep a beautiful theme but remove the widget, find modified versions of popular designs in the theme store where the author has already removed unnecessary elements. However, downloading themes from unverified sources can carry security risks, so it is better to use an official store.

Use of Simple (Lite) Mode

An alternative but radical way to get rid of the extra elements on the screen is to switch to the Simple Mode, which is designed for the elderly or those who prefer minimalism, it enlarges fonts, simplifies icons and, as a rule, completely removes the At a Glance widget.

To activate this mode, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Simple Mode. Once turned on, the smartphone interface will change beyond recognition: unnecessary animations, widgets and complex menus will disappear. The lock screen will become as as as ascetic as possible, displaying only the time, date and main calls.

But it's also changing the logic of the entire smartphone, with folders disappearing on the desktop, apps lining up, and some features becoming unavailable, a solution that's suitable for those willing to sacrifice functionality for a clean screen without widgets.

Comparison of methods of disabling the widget

The right method depends on your firmware version and your goals. If you just need to hide information, you need to have a standard setting, if the widget is stuck because of the theme, you need to change it. To understand the differences between the methods, let's go to a comparative table.

As you can see from the table, the best way is to use standard settings. Radical measures, such as a complete reset or flashing, should be resorted to only in extreme cases when the widget is the result of a system failure.

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Before you change your system settings, back up your important contacts and photos to the Mi Cloud or Google Drive cloud.

Solving problems if the widget isn't removed

There are times when the switch is active in the settings, but the At a Glance widget continues to appear, which may be caused by data caching or an error in the system process of Android System Intelligence, in which case a deeper intervention in the software part is required.

The first step is to clear the cache of the lock screen service. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Find the lock screen or Lock Screen (sometimes part of the system interface) on the list. Click Clear → Clear cache. Don't confuse it with clearing data unless you want to reset alarms and passwords.

If cleaning the cache didn’t help, try updating system components through the GetApps store or Google Play. Often interface bugs are fixed in security patches. It’s also worth checking if you have third-party screen locking apps that may conflict with the system widget.

⚠️ Note: If the widget appeared after installing a specific software update, it may be a version bug.

In rare cases, disabling Google widgets helps. Since At a Glance is closely linked to Google services, going to Google app settings → Briefly → Disabling can break communication and remove the widget from the Xiaomi lock screen.

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Comprehensive cache cleaning and updates to Google system components often solve the problem of “immortal” widgets.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)