Budget smartphone owners often face interface changes made by the manufacturer. Users looking for where the wallpaper carousel on the Xiaomi Redmi 9 is usually looking to diversify the look of their device without installing third-party software.This feature, known as Glance or "Wallpaper Carousel," automatically changes the image on the lock screen, creating a sense of novelty every time you pick up the phone.
You can find this option in your system settings, but the location and name may vary depending on the version of the MIUI firmware and the region for which the device is released. In some cases, the feature is hidden deep in the security menu, in others it is brought to a separate application. Understanding the logic of the MIUI system will help you quickly find the right switch and adjust the settings for changing images to your preferences.
Notably, not all users approve of carousel ads, so in this article we’ll also look at how to turn them off if you don’t need them, and we’ll look at standard access paths through screen settings and the Security app, and you’ll learn how to manage content uploads and select specific categories of images that will be displayed on your Redmi 9.
The standard way through screen settings
The most obvious way to find control of the carousel is to go through the main menu of operating system settings. Android interface in the shell MIUI is structured logically, so the design options are usually in the corresponding section. You need to open the Settings app and find the item responsible for the appearance of the interface.
Depending on the software version, this section may be called “Lock Screen” or “Always Screen and Lock” and this is where all the key settings related to what the user sees when the device wakes up are concentrated. If you don’t see the right item right away, try searching by settings by typing in “carousel”.
Inside the lock screen control menu, you should look for an option called "Wallpaper Carousel" or "Glance for Mi." Activation of this slider triggers the mechanism for automatically loading and changing background images. Once turned on, the system can request permission to use mobile traffic or access geolocation to show relevant content.
- 📱 Open “Settings” and go to the “Block screen” section».
- 🖼️ Find the "Wallpaper Carousel" item and activate the switch.
- ⚙️ Click on the function name to access advanced options.
- 🌐 Choose categories of images that interest you.
⚠️ Warning: After the carousel is turned on, the first image may not load immediately. Make sure your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network or has a stable mobile connection for initial synchronization.
It is important to understand that activating this feature may slightly increase battery consumption, since background processes will periodically contact the servers to receive new images. However, on the Redmi 9 model with its large battery, this change is almost invisible in everyday use. If you notice an increased discharge, you can always go back to settings and limit the frequency of updates.
Search for function through the Security application
A unique feature of the MIUI shell is the availability of the System Security app, which combines many utilities to optimize the operation of the smartphone. This is where settings related to memory cleaning, antivirus, and wallpaper carousel are often hidden, and this method is especially relevant if you do not find the right options in the standard settings menu.
Run the Security app on your device. At the bottom of the screen or in the optional tool menu (often indicated by three dots or a box icon), you need to find the Wallpaper Carousel item. In some firmware versions, it can be displayed on the main screen of the application in the form of a widget.
Inside this section, you'll have access to full content management, where you can not only turn the feature on or off, but also select the themes that will be displayed. The system offers a wide range of categories, from nature and architecture to cars and abstract patterns. You can deselect all unnecessary categories, leaving only the ones you really like.
☑️ Checking the carousel settings
Using the Security app to manage wallpaper gives you more detailed control over the process, for example, the Get References feature is often available here, which analyzes your preferences and suggests more relevant content, and you can see how much traffic was used to upload images over a given period.
Category management and content customization
Once you have found where the wallpaper carousel is on the Xiaomi Redmi 9, it is important to adjust its contents correctly. By default, the system can offer a wide range of images, including banner ads and news. To make the lock screen pleasing to the eye, rather than annoying, you need to manually filter categories.
In the carousel control menu, you'll see a list of available themes. Each theme has a switch. Turn off all categories that you don't care about, like News, City Life, or Technology, if you prefer only natural landscapes, and that will help personalize your smartphone experience.
| Category | Description of the contents | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Nature. | Landscapes, animals, plants | Recommended for relaxation |
| Architecture | Buildings, bridges, interiors | For urban lovers |
| Art | Paintings, graphics, abstractions | For creative people |
| Advertising | Brand promotional materials | Better turn it off. |
Special attention should be paid to adjusting the frequency of changes in images. You can choose whether the wallpaper will change every time you turn on the screen, once per hour or once per day. To save the resources of the Redmi 9 processor, you should choose the option of changing “When turning on the screen” or “Once per day”.
💡
If you want a particular image from the carousel to be saved, don't lock the screen immediately after it appears. Give the system a few seconds to upload it to the cache, then take a screenshot or save through the carousel settings if such an option is available.
Display problems and their solution
Users sometimes experience a wallpaper carousel that stops working or images don't change, which can be due to system service errors, lack of free memory, or network connectivity issues, and a series of simple diagnostic steps are needed before panicking.
The first thing you need to do is check for updates to the wallpaper carousel app or the Glance system component, go to the app settings, find the process, and see the version. If there's an Update button, click it. Often bugs are fixed in new versions of the software.
Step two is to clear the cache. Accumulated temporary files can conflict with the upload of new images. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Wallpaper Carousel and select Clear Cache. Don't confuse it with Clear Data, as this will reset all your category settings.
⚠️ Warning: If the carousel stopped loading images after cleaning the cache, check the date and time settings. Incorrect system time can block the connection to the image download server.
Also, make sure that the energy saving settings are not severely constrained for system applications, Super-Savings mode can completely block the background activity of the carousel, and Standard Power Saving mode is better for stable operation.
Differences between Glance and Wallpaper Carousel
Xiaomi owners are often confused in terms as the company uses different names for similar features in different regions. Global firmware versions often use the branded name "Glance", while in Russian and Chinese versions it may simply be called "Wallpaper Carousel".
Glance is often integrated deeper into the system and can provide news and weather widgets right on the lock screen, beyond just changing pictures. The standard carousel is usually limited to visual design only. Understanding this difference will help you find the menu that matches your version of the software.
What is the technical difference between content sources?
If you don't like the behavior of one of the services, you can try changing the region of the device in the settings. Sometimes switching from Russia to India or Global changes the name and functionality of the available screen locking services, allowing you to choose the most convenient option.
How to completely disable the carousel
If you realize that you don't need dynamic background change, or it consumes too much traffic, the function can be easily deactivated.This will return the static image you installed as the main wallpaper.The shutdown process is similar to turning on and takes a few seconds.
Just go back to the menu where you previously activated the carousel (via Settings or Security), and move the switch to the Off position. The system may show a pop-up asking if you are confident in your decision, or suggest you choose other topics before exiting.
After turning off the carousel, it is recommended to manually install static wallpaper so that the lock screen does not remain black or standard gray. Go to Settings → Wallpaper and select any image from the gallery or the options offered by the system. This will ensure stable operation of the interface without background data loading.
⚠️ Warning: Once the carousel is turned off, old uploaded images may remain in the phone's memory. To make room, find a folder called "wallpaper" or "glance" in the file manager and delete its contents.
Using third-party applications to replace
The regular wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi Redmi 9 may not suit some users with the quality of content or the presence of advertising, in which case the Google Play market offers many alternatives. Apps like Wallpaper Changer or Background Changer allow you to create your own slideshows from your photos.
The main advantage of third-party solutions is that you have full control over the source of the images, so you can set up a photo change from a specific folder in the gallery, eliminating any advertising content, but these applications require permanent permissions to access files and work in the background, which is worth considering.
When installing a third-party replacement, the Xiaomi carousel must be turned off, otherwise the two apps will conflict, trying to change the image on the lock screen at the same time. This can lead to an interface freeze or a quick battery drain.
💡
The regular carousel is convenient for those who like variety without unnecessary actions, but requires humility with advertising. Third-party apps give full control, but require manual adjustment and uploading photos.
The choice between built-in features and third-party software depends on your priorities: automation and novelty versus personalization and no advertising. In any case, Redmi 9 has enough performance to work with any options for the design of the lock screen.