Wallpaper and themes in Xiaomi smartphone: a complete guide to customizing the design MIUI

Xiaomi smartphones based on the company shell MIUI Not only are they famous for their performance and affordable price, but they're also very customized, and one of the key elements of personalization is wallpaper and themes that allow you to dramatically change the look of a device in just a few clicks. However, many users still confuse these concepts or are unaware of the hidden features. MIUI design.

In this article, we will understand how wallpapers (background images of the desktop) differ from those (complex design styles), where to look for them, how to install and why standard settings are used. MIUI You will also learn how to avoid common design changes that can lead to brakes or conflicts with system applications.

What is the wallpaper in the Xiaomi smartphone and how it works

Wallpaper in Xiaomi is background images that are displayed on the desktop (home screen) and lock screen. Unlike many other Android smartphones, MIUI allows you to set different wallpapers for these two zones, and also supports dynamic wallpaper (live, animated) and gradients with smooth transitions of colors.

Wallpaper files are stored in the system in.jpg,.png or.gif formats (for animation), and their resolution is automatically adjusted to the screen of the smartphone. It is important to understand that wallpaper does not affect system fonts, icons or color schemes - this requires themes.

• 🎨 Change the appearance of the main screen and application menu
• 🔄 Maintain automatic shifts on schedule (for example, day and night)
• 🖼️ Use live wallpaper in response to touch or time of day
• 📱 Adapt to the dark/light mode MIUI

Standard wallpaper in MIUI divide:

• 🏞️ Standard – pre-installed in the system (landscapes, abstractions, minimalism)
• 🌅 Dynamic – changes depending on the time of day or weather
• 🎬 Live – Animated (e.g., falling leaves or space views)
• 📷 Personal – uploaded by the user from the gallery

One of the key advantages MIUI — A built-in wallpaper editor that allows you to crop, scale and even apply blur effects to personal images. For example, if you set your photo as wallpaper, the system will suggest automatically adjusting it to dark mode or adding the paralax effect (light displacement when tilting the screen).

Topics in MIUI: What it is and how it differs from wallpaper

If the wallpaper is only responsible for the background, then the themes in Xiaomi are full-fledged design packages that change the entire visual content of the smartphone: app icons, notification style, fonts, transition animations, system menu design and even sounds. MIUI, which transforms the interface beyond recognition.

Xiaomi Themes are built on the.mtz format (MIUI Theme Zip and may include:

• 📱 Icons – Stylized icons for apps
• 🎨 Color schemes – palettes for menus, buttons and notifications
• 🔤 Fonts – system and for individual elements
• 🔊 Sounds – alarm clock melodies, notifications, keyboards
• 📱 Lock Style – Lock screen design and Quick Settings panel

Important: Topics in MIUI They are free and paid (in the theme store), system (preinstalled) and custom (downloaded from the Internet). Some themes require an unlocked bootloader or root rights to work properly, but most are installed by standard means.

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Before installing themes from third-party sources, check their compatibility with your version. MIUI. Some topics may conflict with system applications, causing brakes or errors.

The difference between themes and wallpaper can be illustrated by the example:

⚠️ Warning: If you change only the wallpaper, the app icons, fonts and menus will remain the same. Once you set the theme, you will change everything from the design of the call to the animation of the swipe between the screens.

Where to download wallpaper and themes for Xiaomi: official and third-party sources

MIUI Offers several ways to get new wallpapers and themes. The main one is the built-in theme store (Themes) → Online, where there are thousands of design options, but not everyone knows that there are alternative sources, often with more interesting solutions.

Official sources:

• 📱 The shop that MIUI — It's built-in, it's updated weekly, it's got both free and paid themes (price usually 1-3).$).
• 🌐 Xiaomi Themes (themes.xiaomi.com) – a web version of the store with advanced search.
• 📲 Wallpaper app – pre-selected background collections from Xiaomi.

Sources (use at your own risk!):

• 🔧 4PDA — forum with a bunch of custom themes and wallpapers (section Xiaomi) → Themes and wallpaper).
• 🎨 Zedge – a popular application for wallpaper and ringtones (there are versions for the MIUI).
• 📦 Telegram channels, for example, MIUI Themes & Wallpapers, where they share exclusive themes.
• 🖥️ DevianArt – Artists Share Unique Wallpaper in High Definition.

Warning about third-party topics:

⚠️ Attention: Topics from unverified sources may contain viruses, spyware, or hidden advertising. Always check reviews and ratings before installing. Be especially careful about topics requiring permission to access the site. SMS or contact.

How to install wallpaper on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

Installation of wallpaper in MIUI It takes less than a minute, but the process has nuances, especially if you want to use live wallpaper or different backgrounds for desktop and lock.Here is a universal guide for all Xiaomi models (from Redmi Note to Mi 13):

1. Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
2. Go to the Wallpaper tab in the lower menu.
3. Select a category: 📱 For the desktop 🔒 For the lock screen 🌅 Dynamic

Apply

If necessary, adjust the scale and position of the wallpaper with gestures.

To install your own wallpaper from the gallery:

1. Open the gallery and select a photo.
2. Press More. → Set as wallpaper.
3. Choose where to apply: on the desktop, lock screen or both.

Check the version. MIUI (live wallpaper works with MIUI 12+)

Close the background applications (animation requires resources)

Connect charging (live wallpaper consumes the battery faster)

Download the wallpaper in advance (some weigh 50)+ MB)-->

Features of live wallpaper:

• 🔋 They consume 10-15% more batteries than static ones.
• 📱 They can slow down on weak smartphones (for example, Redmi). 9A).
• 🛠️ Some require updating graphics drivers (installed through Settings) → The phone. → Update of the PO).

How to install a theme on Xiaomi: from download to activation

Installation is more difficult than wallpaper installation because it requires compatibility with the version. MIUI And sometimes, extra permissions. Let's look at the process of an official theme store:

1. Open the Topic app.
2. Go to the Online tab and find your favorite topic (you can use a search for keywords, such as “dark neo” or “ios style”).
3. Click on the topic and choose Download (for free) or Buy (for paid).
4. After download, click Apply. The system will prompt you to choose which theme elements to apply: 📱 Icons 🎨 Color scheme 🔤 Fonts 🔊 Sounds.

Confirm the changes and wait for the interface to restart (it can take up to 30 seconds).

To install themes from.mtz files (for example, downloaded from the 4PDA):

1. Download the theme file to your phone (preferably in the Download folder).
2. Open Topics → Local and find the downloaded file.
3. Click on it and select Apply.
4. If the theme does not apply, check its compatibility with your version. MIUI (for example, theme MIUI 14 won't make it on MIUI 12).

Important nuance:

⚠️ Note: Some themes change system fonts, which can lead to incorrect display of text in individual applications (for example, in banking or instant messengers). If after installing the theme the text became unreadable, return the standard font to Settings → Display. → font.

Wallpaper and themes problems in Xiaomi: how to fix

Even in such a well-established system as MIUI, You can get mistakes when you're working with wallpaper and themes. Here are the most common problems and solutions:

If after installing the theme, the smartphone began to warm, brake or discharge quickly, most likely the problem is:

• 🔋 Animations – Turn them off in Settings → Additionally. → Animation of the system.
• 📱 Background processes – check the activity of the Themes app in Settings → Battery.
• 🗑️ Cache – Clear the Topic app data (but this will reset all the installed themes!).

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If the app icons are missing after the theme change or the menu becomes unreadable, immediately return the standard theme through the Topics. → It'll reset all the changes in a few seconds.

The hidden possibilities of wallpaper and themes in MIUI, which you didn't know

MIUI It hides a few things that make it possible to get the most out of customization:

• 🌓 Automatic wallpaper change by time of day: In wallpaper settings, you can enable the option Dynamic wallpaper, which will change depending on time (for example, sunset in the evening and dawn in the morning".
• 🎭 Mixing themes: In Themes → My themes can be combined with elements from different themes, like taking icons from one theme and fonts from another.
• 🖼️ Creating your own wallpaper with the effect of paralax: When installing a personal photo as wallpaper MIUI Introduce a parallax effect that creates an illusion. 3D tilt-screen.
• 🔍 Theme search: In the theme store, you can filter the design by the dominant color (for example, "blue themes" or "dark themes"), which is convenient for choosing a cover or style.
• 📱 Exclusive themes for flagships: Some themes (such as "Super Wallpapers" with animation for Mars or Earth) are only available on flagship models (Mi). 11/12/13, Xiaomi 13T). On budget smartphones, they may not work or slow down.

MIUI 14 and newer supports Super Wallpapers - this is 3D-Animations that respond to the movement of a smartphone (gyroscope) and the time of day are available only on devices with a Snapdragon 8 Series processor or Dimensity 9000+.

Another hidden feature is the "Dark Wallpaper Theme" mode, if you turn it on in Settings. → Display. → Dark mode. → Additionally, the system will automatically darken the light wallpaper when activating the dark theme so as not to cut your eyes.

FAQ: Frequent questions about wallpaper and themes in Xiaomi