Many Xiaomi smartphone users, when they switch from other devices or get a new gadget, face an unusual interface. Immediately after unlocking the screen, you don't get to the desktop with icons, but to a screen filled with news, weather, pedometer and application recommendations. This space is often called "ribbon widgets" or "cards", and it is an integral part of the shell of MIUI and the new HyperOS.
Understanding how this interface element works allows you to turn it from a source of annoyance into a powerful productivity tool, and it's basically an information aggregator that brings the most important things to the fore without requiring you to open apps. You can see currency rates, task lists, weather, or activity trackers at a glance.
In this article, we will explore in detail what lies behind this feature, how to properly customize the tape for your needs and why it can be useful for you. We will look at the hidden features that not all Xiaomi owners know about, and learn how to manage the flow of data so that it does not distract, but helps.
The essence and purpose of widgets in MIUI
The widget tape that users often call "-1 The screen is a separate space preceding the first desktop. Unlike standard Android widgets, which are placed directly on the desktop among the icons, the concept of "cards" is used here. These cards have a unified design, clear boundaries and adaptive size, making the interface more neat and structured.
The main purpose of this section is to quickly access information, so instead of opening the Weather app to find out the temperature, or running the Calendar to check the schedule, you just swipe to the right, and the system pulls data from various services and displays it as convenient blocks, which saves time and reduces the amount of action it takes to get an answer to a simple question.
Importantly, newer versions of HyperOS have made the design of these elements even more flexible, with more complex animations and the ability to integrate widgets more deeply into the overall style of the system, but the basic principle has remained the same: it is a personal dashboard that you create yourself.
⚠️ Note: The widget tape requires a constant Internet connection to update the data in the cards (news, weather, currency rates). If you have limited traffic, monitor the data consumption of the background services of the system.
It’s also worth mentioning that the card functionality is closely linked to the ecosystem.If you have Xiaomi Home smart devices, their status can also be displayed here, allowing you to control lights or a robot vacuum cleaner without logging in to the app.
How to turn on, disable and configure the tape
Widget tape management is in the system settings of the interface. If a standard set of cards doesn't suit you or, conversely, you want to activate this feature, you need to do a few simple things. The setup process may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI or HyperOS, but the logic remains the same.
To start, you need to go to the settings menu. Find the section that deals with the appearance of the desktop. Most current firmware versions have the path as follows:
Settings → Desktop → Tape of widgetsIn the menu that opens, you'll see a switch that activates or deactivates the tape as you swipe to the right. If the switch is active, you'll see a list of available widgets below, where you can choose which cards will be displayed and which are hidden, and you can change the order of the cards by simply dragging and dropping items or removing unnecessary ones.
- 📱 Display order: Top cards are visible immediately, bottom cards require scrolling. Place the most important information (time, weather) at the top.
- 🎨 Style: In some themes of design, a choice between a classic look is available MIUI and the style of iOS, which changes the appearance of the cards.
- 🔄 Update: Here you can configure the data refresh rate for the news feed and other dynamic elements.
If you want to get rid of this screen completely, just move the master switch to the "Off" position. After that, the swipe to the right on the desktop will either do nothing or open a Google search (depending on the search engine settings).
☑️ Setting up the perfect tape
Types of widgets and their functionality
The set of available widgets in Xiaomi’s feed is wide enough to cover most smartphone use cases. Understanding the purpose of each will help you create a really useful configuration. The system offers both standard system widgets and cards from third-party apps, if they support this feature.
Among the most popular and useful is a weather card that shows not only the current temperature, but also the forecast for several days, as well as air pollution levels. The health card syncs with Mi Fitness or Google Fit, displaying steps taken and calories burned in real time, which motivates you to move more, because progress is always in front of your eyes.
Notes widget is also worth noting, allowing you to quickly record a thought or a shopping list directly from your lock screen or desktop without running a heavy app, and the Calendar widget, which shows events for today and tomorrow, warning you of important meetings, is also useful.
| widget | Function | Permits required |
|---|---|---|
| Weather. | Forecast, temperature, UV index | Geolocation, Internet |
| Stepper | Step count, distance. | Motion sensors, Fitness |
| Calendar | Events, holidays | Calendar, Contacts |
| Dictaphone | Fast sound recording | Microphone |
| Scanner. | QR-codes, documents | Camera. |
Some widgets, such as Music or Smart Home Management, may require additional permissions or installing related services. If the card displays an error or is not updated, check the access rights in the application settings.
Hidden widgets
Working with news feed and recommendations
One of the most talked-about parts of the widget feed is the news unit, often called "Glance" or simply the news feed. By default, it aggregates news from various sources, offering content based on your interests. For many users, it is a source of useful information, but for others it is a distraction and a source of advertising.
The system analyzes your preferences to generate personalized results, but the algorithms are not always perfect, and sometimes the feed may contain low-quality content or in a language that is not clear, and fortunately, this process can be controlled, and you can select categories of interest (sports, technology, politics) or completely disable personalization in the feed settings.
If you are annoyed by promotional articles and recommended content, you can only turn off the news portion, leaving functional widgets (weather, calendar) active. To do this, in the widget feed management menu, find the "Content Settings" or similar, and turn off the "Recommendations" or "News" switch.
- 📰 Categories: Choose only those topics that you are really interested in to clear the tape from information noise.
- 🚫 Blocking: Some news cards have a “Not Interesting” button or three dots in the corner to hide a specific source or topic.
- 🌐 Language: Make sure the language of the content matches the language of the system, otherwise you may see news in Chinese or English.
Disabling the news feed completely is often recommended for users who value minimalism and want to keep their battery power, as constantly downloading media content consumes resources.
⚠️ Note: Newsfeeds can consume a significant amount of mobile traffic due to automatic uploading of images and videos. When using the mobile Internet, it is recommended to limit background data transmission for system services.
Third-party widgets and Google widgets
The Android ecosystem allows you to expand the functionality of the smartphone using third-party applications. Xiaomi owners can add cards from Google and other developers to the widget feed if they support the App Widgets format or a specific MIUI card format.
Google widgets like Google Photos, Google Keep or Tasks are perfectly integrated into the overall stylistics, and to add them, you usually need to pinch an empty space on your desktop or swipe right to the end of the card list and select Add widgets. The system menu will open where you will find available options in the Google section or the name of another application.
It is important to understand the difference between classic Android widgets and MIUI cards. Classic widgets often have an arbitrary size and design that can be out of the overall interface concept. MIUI cards are more standardized. However, recent versions of HyperOS have a trend towards unification, and third-party widgets look more organic.
💡
If you have installed a new app but don't see its widget in the feed, try restarting your smartphone. Some apps only register their widgets on the system after restarting.
Also worth noting are widgets from popular services like Yandex, Spotify or Telegram, which allow you to control music, see the latest messages or translate words directly from the home screen, and the presence of such widgets significantly improves the usability of your smartphone in everyday life.
Problems with the widget tape and their solution
Like any software component, the widget tape can be bugged, users sometimes complain that the tape stops opening, widgets don't update, or the system is slow to flip through cards, most of which are software-based problems that are solved without going to the service center.
One common cause of failure is the overflowing cache of the system application responsible for the desktop. This application is usually called “Themes”, “Desktop” or has a name associated with the system UI. Clearing the cache of this application often returns the tape to work. You can do this through the Settings menu → Apps → All applications.
Another possible reason is a version conflict after a firmware update: If you upgraded MIUI or HyperOS and the old widgets are not behaving properly, try removing the problematic widget from the tape and adding it again, which will force the system to recreate the widget configuration file with new parameters.
- 🔋 Battery: If the phone is running out quickly, check if any widget is stuck in an attempt to update the data.
- 📉 Performance: On older Xiaomi models, a large number of active widgets can cause interface slowdowns.
- 🔒 Permits: Make sure system services have permission to auto-start and run in the background.
In rare cases, resetting desktop settings to factory settings helps, bringing back the standard set of widgets and icon order, but solving deep interface software errors.
💡
Most widget tape problems are solved by cleaning the desktop app cache or restarting the device. Complete firmware reinstallation is extremely rare.
Optimization and Impact on the Battery
The impact of widget tape on smartphone autonomy is particularly acute, with constant data updates, weather geolocation, and animation rendering all requiring processor and communication module resources, and how much that affects the battery depends on the number of active widgets and the optimization of the system itself.
The most voracious are widgets that require constant Internet connection and GPS. For example, a weather widget with a live background or a news feed with autoplay video can significantly reduce the time of the device. If you are critical to maximum autonomy, it makes sense to leave only static widgets, such as a calendar or clock.
MIUI and HyperOS have built-in power saving mechanisms that limit application background activity. However, system widgets often take priority. To minimize consumption, you can turn off updating widgets over the mobile network, leaving it only for Wi-Fi, although standard system tools are difficult to do this - most often regulated by global traffic saving settings.
⚠️ Attention: Use of "live" widgets with a high frame refresh rate (60 Hz and above) on AMOLED-screens can cause accelerated pixel burnout in areas of permanent static image, if the function of hiding the status bar is not enabled.
To balance functionality and energy saving, it is recommended to leave the 3-4 most necessary widgets, which is enough to quickly access key information, but will not create a significant load on the battery during the day.