How to Add a Shortcut to Xiaomi’s Home Screen: All Ways to Get MIUI 14 and 15

Adding shortcuts to Xiaomi’s home screen is one of the most popular features among users of Redmi, POCO and Mi smartphones. Despite the apparent simplicity, many face difficulties: the app icon does not appear in the widget menu, the browser does not offer the option “On the screen”, then after the MIUI update, the usual actions stop working. This article covers all the current ways to create shortcuts in 2026, including hidden shell functions and workarounds for non-standard scenarios.

We will not only discuss basic methods (for applications and contacts), but also advanced ones – for example, how to fix a website as a separate application or create a shortcut for a specific action within the program (for example, direct taxi call in Yandex.Maps), special attention is paid to the differences between the versions of MIUI 14 and MIUI 15, as well as the nuances of working on Android 13/14. If you have ever lost your Launche settings or could not find the option “Add to the home screen”, this guide will become your cheat sheet.

Basic method: adding an app shortcut

The most obvious method is to move the program icon from the menu of all applications, and in MIUI, this is done intuitively, but there are nuances for different versions of the shell.

The MIUI 14/15 algorithm is as follows:

1. Tap the All Apps icon** (usually in a dock panel or swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen).
2. Find the right app in the list.
3. Press the icon for 1-2 seconds and the context menu will appear.
4. Select Add to the main screen (or drag the icon manually).

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g, POCO F5 Or Redmi Note 12) after a long tap, you drag and drop, and if the menu doesn't show up, just move the icon to the free desktop space.

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If the app is not listed in All Apps, check the Hidden folder in the app menu or Settings section → Applications → Application Management

2. Creating a Website Shortcut (PWA)

Progressive Web Apps (PWA) allow you to “install” your site as a separate application. In Xiaomi, this works through a standard browser or Google Chrome, but with reservations.

Instructions for Chrome:

• 🌐 Open the site you want to anchor (e.g. vk.com or web.telegram.org).
• 🔍 Click on three dots in the upper right corner → Add to the main screen.
• 📝 If necessary, edit the name of the label.
• ✅ Confirm the addition.

In a standard browser MIUI (Browser) option may not be available.

1. Open your site in Chrome (download it from the Play Market if removed).
2. Use the method above.

3. Contact and Quick Action Labels

Creating a shortcut for a quick call or message to a contact is a useful feature that many people miss. In MIUI, this is implemented through widgets.

Step-by-step:

1. Click the empty space on the main screen → Widgets.
2. Scroll to Contacts (or Direct Dial/Direct Message)
3. Select the desired widget and drag to the screen.
4. In the window that appears, select the contact.

⚠️ Attention: MIUI 15 contact widgets can be hidden. To find them, tap the icon. ⚙️ in the upper right corner of the widget menu and enable the display of system widgets.

Check that the contact is saved in the phone book.

Update the Contacts app in the Play Market

Reboot your smartphone if the widgets don’t show up

Turn off the "Light" mode in the settings MIUI (if it's on)-->

4. Hidden capabilities: shortcuts for specific application functions

Few people know that MIUI can create a shortcut not only to run an app, but also for a specific action inside it, such as direct calling the camera in selfie mode or opening the shopping cart in the Gallery.

How to do this:

• 📱 Press the app icon on the home screen or menu.
• 🔧 In the context menu, select Shortcuts (if available).
• 🎯 Select the desired action (for example, a new message in Telegram or a selfie in the Camera).
• 📌 Drag the shortcut to the main screen.

List of applications with support for action shortcuts:

• 📸 Camera: selfie, video, portrait mode.
• 💬 Telegram: New message, saved messages.
• 📧 Gmail: Write a letter, search.
• 🎵 Music: The Last Track Listened to.

5. Manual shortcut creation through ADB (for experienced)

If standard methods don’t work (for example, for system applications), you can use ADB. This method requires connecting to a PC and enabling debugging over USB.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (tap 7 times to unlock the developer options).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command:

adb shell pm create-shortcut --package com.example.app --activity com.example.app.MainActivity --name "Tag name"

Replace com.example.app with a real application package (you can find out through App Inspector or adb shell pm list packages).

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ADB-This method is suitable for recovering shortcuts of system applications (e.g. Calendar or Notes) that were accidentally removed from the home screen.

6. Problem Solving: Why a Label is Not Created

If none of these methods worked, check out these points:

⚠️ Note: Some firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.EU) has disabled the function of adding widgets to the main screen, in which case only the flashing on the official version will help. MIUI.

Alternative methods: third-party applications

If the built-in MIUI tools are not satisfied, you can use third-party utilities:

• 🛠️ Nova Launcher: Flexible shortcuts and gestures.
• 🌟 Shortcut Maker: Creating custom shortcuts for any action.
• 🔗 Tasker: Automation of shortcuts under the terms.

Example of Shortcut Maker:

1. Install an app from the Play Market.
2. Select the shortcut type (Activity, Intent or Application Shortcut).
3. Specify the target application and action.
4. Save the label on the main screen.

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g. Tasker) require the right to ADB or root to create shortcuts to system functions (e.g., reboot or enable mobile data).

FAQ: Frequent questions