Where is the wallpaper carousel in Xiaomi Redmi 9

Users of budget smartphones from Xiaomi often encounter an intrusive feature that periodically changes the image on a locked screen, a phenomenon known as “Wallpaper Carousel” or Glance. Owners of the Redmi 9 often wonder where the standard images went or how, on the contrary, to activate this option if it was disabled. MIUI, which periodically change the menu layout.

In this article, we will take a closer look at where the carousel is hidden in the Xiaomi Redmi 9 system. You will learn not only about software switches, but also where the image files are physically stored in the device’s memory. Understanding the folder structure will allow you to manually manage content or completely clear the phone of banner ads that are often masquerading as beautiful landscapes.

We will look at several methods of accessing settings: through the standard lock menu and through deep theme setting, and will also touch on the issue of searching for system files, which is useful for advanced users who want to transfer their favorite images to the gallery. The instructions are relevant for current versions of the firmware MIUI 12 and MIUI 13, set on Redmi 9.

The main menu of screen lock settings

The easiest and most obvious way to get to control the carousel is through the standard Android settings menu. In Xiaomi smartphones, this section is usually well hidden from random changes, but the logic remains the same. You need to open the Settings app and find the item responsible for the appearance of the lock screen.

Depending on the theme version or the regional features of the firmware, the path may be slightly different, most often the item you're looking for is called Wallpaper or Lock Screen, and that's where the master switch is, which activates or deactivates automatic image change from Glance or Lock Screen Magazine services.

If you want to get rid of all the ads and change pictures, you need to find a slider called "Wallpaper Carousel" or "Enable the carousel." Turning off this item will return the static image you chose yourself. It's important to note that once you turn off the feature, new images will no longer be loaded into the phone's cache.

⚠️ Warning: After the system update, the settings may reset and the carousel will turn on again. MIUI.

You can use settings to search for the menu quickly, just type the word "carousel" or "lock screen" into the search bar, and the system will prompt you to go to the desired section, which is especially useful if the menu has been renamed to the next security patch.

Setup through the “Themes” app

In the Xiaomi ecosystem, many of the visualization features are tied to the Themes system app. If you don't find the right switch in the standard phone settings, it's worth checking out here. This is the second layer of management that often duplicates or expands the capabilities of the main menu.

Open the Themes app and look at the user profile or settings menu in the upper right corner (human icon or gears). Inside the theme settings menu, the wallpaper carousel is often hidden, and you can not only turn off the feature, but also adjust the frequency of changes in images or select interest categories.

Some versions of the firmware for Redmi 9 have control in a separate mini-app or plugin called Lock Screen Magazine, and if you see one in the installed program list, all settings are inside it, and you can clear the cache of uploaded images to make room.

• 🎨 Open the Topics app and go to profile.
• ⚙️ Find the “Settings” section in the profile menu.
• 🖼️ Choose the option “Wallpaper Carousel” or Lock Screen Magazine.
• 🚫 Switch the slider to the "Off" position to turn off.

Using the theme app gives you more flexible settings, such as the ability to select specific image sources (nature, technology, art), but for most users, it is enough to simply turn off the feature so that it stops consuming traffic and battery.

Search for system folder with wallpaper in the file system

Those who want to find the image files themselves, to save them to the gallery or use them for other purposes, will need access to the file system. Unlike older versions of Android, in modern MIUI shells, access to system folders is limited, but the path to the carousel cache remains the same.

You'll need any file manager, like Xiaomi's standard Explorer or the more advanced MIXplorer. Go to the device's internal memory. The path to the carousel images is miui/gallery/cloud/lockscreen. This is where the thumbnails and originals of the uploaded images are stored.

If the lockscreen folder is empty, it means that the carousel has not been updated or disabled, files here can have strange names consisting of numbers and letters, without extension. To open them as pictures, sometimes you have to rename the file, adding at the end of.jpg.

Also worth checking is the Android/data/com.miui.mishare.connectivity/files/lockscreen folder, although this path is less common on Redmi 9. The bulk of the data is still in the miui directory. Remember, cleaning this folder through the file manager will not disable the function itself, but only delete the downloaded images.

Differences in different versions of MIUI and regions

Redmi 9 users around the world use different versions of firmware: Global (Global), European (EEA), Indian (India) or Chinese (CN). The location of the wallpaper carousel settings can vary significantly depending on the region for which the phone is intended.

In Indian firmware, the feature is often called Lock Screen Magazine and is integrated deeper into the system, sometimes harder to disable without using special tools. In global versions, it may simply be called "Wallpaper Carousel" and have a more prominent switch. Chinese versions of MIUI may not have this feature as standard, as they use their services.

If you've been refashioning your phone or bought it off your hands, the region could be changed, which explains why your friend with a Redmi 9 looks different, and checking the firmware version in the About Phone section will help you understand which instructions to follow.

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The regional version of the firmware determines not only the name of the feature, but also the depth of its integration into the Android system.

Management through hidden settings and ADB

For advanced users who do not find standard switches or encounter interface bugs, there is a method of controlling through ADB debugging. This method allows you to forcibly disable the carousel service, even if the button in the menu does not work.

To do this, you need to turn on the developer mode by clicking 7 times on the version number MIUI. Then, in the "Development for developers" menu, activate "Debugging by USB." By connecting the phone to the computer, you can enter a command to disable the carousel package.

pm disable com.miui.mishare.connectivity

This command deactivates the component that loads and displays the advertising wallpaper. Be careful: using ADB commands requires care. Incorrectly disabling system components can lead to unstable operation of the lock screen.

• 💻 Connect Redmi 9 to a PC with installed ADB.
• 🔓 Allow debugging on the smartphone screen.
• ⌨️ Enter the command to disable the service in the terminal.
• 🔄 Restart the device to apply changes.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB commands may cancel warranty in case of system damage.

Frequent problems and their solution

Despite the simplicity of the feature, Redmi 9 users often encounter errors, such as the carousel can stop switching pictures, hanging on one image or showing a black screen instead of a photo, most often the problem lies in crowded cache or lack of Internet at the time of the update.

If the function is not working properly, the first thing you should do is to try to clear the data from the wallpaper application. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, look for Wallpaper Carousel or Lock Screen Magazine and click Clear Data. This will reset the feature to factory settings.

Another common problem is the inability to turn off the carousel, the slider returns to the "On" position, which can be a sign of malware or a conflict of system themes. Try resetting the theme to the standard (Classic) and checking the settings again.

In some cases, a complete reset of the phone’s settings helps, but this is an extreme measure.Before doing so, make sure that the problem is not solved by simply removing the “Block Screen” feature updates through the app menu.

Use of third-party launchers and widgets

If you don’t like the quality of the images or the amount of advertising you have on the Xiaomi carousel, you can use alternatives. There are many apps in the Google Play Store that mimic this feature, but with more flexible content control.

Apps like the Wallpaper Engine or specialty launchers let you set up a change of wallpaper on a schedule using your own photos from Google Photos or a local gallery, which gives you complete control over what you see when you turn on the screen.

However, installing third-party screen blockers on Redmi 9 can conflict with system security features and a fingerprint scanner.

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Use the One Tap widget for quick wallpaper change if you don’t need a built-in carousel, but want a variety.

The impact of the carousel on the autonomy of Redmi 9

Owners of budget smartphones like the Redmi 9 with a 5,000mAh battery often worry about every percentage of the charge, and the constant upload of images via the mobile Internet and the work of the processor to process them should theoretically be energy-consuming.

In practice, the energy consumption of the carousel's background service is minimal if the phone is connected to Wi-Fi. However, with 4G mobile data, the consumption can be more noticeable, especially if high-resolution images are used. Disabling the function can add a few minutes of screen life, but it will not change the situation.

The main blow to autonomy is a bright screen that lights up at every notification if the "Raise to turn" feature is turned on. Carousel has nothing to do with this, but users often blame the change in wallpaper for the quick discharge.