Xiaomi’s MIUI-based desktop offers flexible customization capabilities, and widgets play a key role in providing quick access to information from weather and calendar to smart home management directly from the home screen, but not everyone knows how to add a widget correctly, especially if it’s a custom solution or a third-party application.
In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to install widgets on Xiaomi (including the Redmi, POCO and Black Shark models), taking into account the features of the latest versions of MIUI 14 and MIUI 15. You will learn how to work with standard system widgets, add elements from third-party applications (for example, Google or Yandex), and also solve typical problems when the widget does not display or works incorrectly.
What widgets are available on Xiaomi by default
MIUI firmware includes a set of pre-installed widgets, which are divided into several categories:
- 📅 Information: weather (Mi Weather), calendar, clock, exchange rates.
- 🎵 Multimedia: Mi Music player, quick settings for camera.
- 🏠 Smart Home: Managing Mi Home Devices (if connected).
- 📊 System: monitoring traffic, battery charge, memory employment.
MIUI 15 has dynamic widgets with animation support, such as animated watches or weather with a changing background depending on the time of day, and expanded the functionality of widgets for Mi Fit (picture steps, pulse) and Mi Browser (fast bookmarks).
To see the full list of available widgets, make a long tap on the free desktop space and select the widgets. Here they are grouped by application. Note: some widgets (for example, for Google Keep or Spotify) may not appear if the corresponding application is not installed.
The standard way to add a widget to the desktop
The basic method works on all Xiaomi devices regardless of the model and version of MIUI:
- Press and hold your finger on the free desktop space (not on the icon!).
- In the menu that appears, select Widgets (on some firmware - Elements).
- Scroll through the list and find the widget you want, like the Mi Weather for the weather.
- Press the widget and drag it to your desktop, and release your finger when the green frame appears.
- If necessary, change the size of the widget by pulling the corner markers.
If the widget is not added, check:
- 🔄 Free screen space – some widgets (like a calendar for a month) require 4×2 cell.
- 🔒 Restrictions of the launcher: in Settings → Desktop → In addition, the item Allow widgets should be included.
- 📱 Version MIUI: on old firmware (below) MIUI 12) the addendum interface may differ.
Check the free space on the screen
Update MIUI to the latest version
Make sure the widget application is installed
Disable energy saving mode (may block data updates)-->
How to add a widget from a third-party application
Many popular apps — Google, Yandex, Spotify, Telegram — offer their own widgets.
- Install an app from Google Play (like Google App for a search widget).
- Follow the standard add procedure (see the previous section), but select the widget from the Others section or under the app name.
- Some widgets (e.g. Yandex.Weather) will require permission to access the location.
An important nuance: Google widgets (search, calendar, Keep) may not work on Xiaomi without first configuring:
⚠️ Note: If the Google widget appears empty after adding, go to Settings → Annexes → Application management → Google and enable auto-start, and allow the background to work. MIUI.
Social media widgets (such as VK or Telegram) may require:
- 🔄 Update the application to the latest version.
- 🔒 Manually allow display over other windows (Settings) → Special permits).
- 📶 Connect to the Internet – some widgets do not cache data offline.
Widget problems and solutions
Even after installing the widgets on Xiaomi correctly, we will consider common errors and ways to fix them:
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Widget does not update data | Limitations of background activity | Enable auto-run for the widget application in Settings → Battery |
| The widget disappears after the reboot | Resetting launcher settings | Set the launcher by default (Settings → Applications → Default) |
| The widget is displayed empty | No access to the Internet or location | Check the permissions in Settings → Applications → [Application Name] |
| You can't change the size of the widget. | Limitation of the widget itself | Try a different widget from the same app (e.g. 4×1 Weather instead of 2×2) |
If the widget stopped working after the MIUI update, try:
- Clear the launcher cache (Settings → Applications → Launcher → Storage → Clear the cache).
- Reinstall the application to which the widget belongs.
- Reset the desktop settings (Settings → Desktop → Reset).
What do I do if the widget freezes?
Hidden Widgets in MIUI 15
The latest major update to MIUI 15 brought a few hidden features for widgets that many are unaware of:
- 🎨 Dynamic themes: weather and watch widgets automatically adjust to wallpaper (works only with standard Xiaomi themes).
- 🔄 Quick Update: Twice tap the weather widget to force data updates.
- 📊 Usage statistics: Security Center widget now shows screen time by app per day.
- 🔗 Interactive elements: in the Mi Home widget, you can turn on / off smart home devices directly from the desktop.
To activate these functions:
- Add the widget to the desktop in the standard way.
- Click on the widget and hold for 2 seconds – a menu of additional settings will appear (if supported).
- For weather widgets and watches, enable Dynamic Design in their settings.
MIUI 15 also has support for transparent background widgets, to enable this mode:
Settings → Desktop → Style of widgets → Transparent background💡
If the Google Search widget doesn't appear in the list, try installing Google App manually from an APK (like the APKMirror site).
How to create your own widget with the help of applications
If standard widgets aren't enough, you can create custom widgets with third-party tools.
- 🛠️ KWGT Kustom Widget Maker – a designer with support for animation and scripts.
- 🎨 UCCW — Simple editor for creating watch widgets, weather, etc.
- 📱 Zoom – for variable scale widgets (useful for large screens).
Instructions for creating a widget in KWGT:
- Install KWGT and KWGT Pro Key (to unlock all features).
- Launch the app and select Add a widget.
- Select a size (e.g. 4×2) and click Create.
- In the editor, drag and drop elements (text, images, progress bars) and customize their appearance.
- Save the widget and add it to your desktop via the widget menu (it will appear in the KWGT section).
For data bundle (e.g., weather output from OpenWeatherMap), use formulas such as:
$wi(temp, true, F, 1)$°FWhere wi() is a function for working with the weather, and the parameters specify the display format.
⚠️ Caution: Castom widgets may consume more battery, especially if they use frequent data updates. → Battery → Use of the.
Widgets for specific tasks: smart home, fitness, productivity
On Xiaomi devices, widgets can be used to solve highly specialized tasks.
| The challenge | Recommended widget | Example of use |
|---|---|---|
| Smart home. | Mi Home (4×1 or 4×2) | Quick control of Yeelight lamps or Mi Robot vacuum cleaner |
| Fitness tracker | Mi Fit or Zepp | Showing steps, pulse and stress levels in real time |
| Productivity | Google Keep or TickTick | To-do list with the ability to mark completed tasks directly from the screen |
| Monitoring of the system | CPU Monitor (third-party) | Control of processor load, RAM and temperature in real time |
For widgets of the smart home (Mi Home) are available additional settings:
- 🔧 Configure the display devices: in the widget you can choose which gadgets to show (for example, only lamps or only sensors).
- 🔄 Automatic scripts: The widget can run scripts (e.g., "Leaving for Work" or "Sleeping").
- 📊 Data history: For sensors (temperature, humidity) a schedule of changes per day is available.
If the Mi Home widget does not display devices:
- Check that the gadgets are connected to the same Xiaomi account as the phone.
- Update the firmware of smart home devices through the Mi Home app.
- Enable the option to Show all devices (even offline) in the widget settings.
💡
Mi Home widgets only work when you are actively connected to the Internet. If smart home devices are managed over a local network, the widget may not update their status.