How to Add a Shortcut to Xiaomi’s Home Screen

Modern Xiaomi smartphones, which are based on the shells MIUI or the new HyperOS, provide users with the widest possible options for personalizing the interface. However, the standard logic of working with shortcuts here can differ from the usual “pure” Android, which often raises questions for beginners. Device owners often look for a way to fix a frequently used feature, a specific contact or even an entire application that somehow disappeared from view.

The shortcut process depends on whether you want to bring it to your desktop: a standard app, a widget with information, or a special shortcut link for a quick command. Understanding these differences will allow you to turn the lock screen into a powerful device management tool. We will break down all available methods, including hidden system functions.

In some cases, users are faced with a situation where, after updating the firmware, the usual icons disappear or change their behavior. This is normal practice for the Xiaomi ecosystem, which is constantly improving the user experience.

Basic addition of applications from the menu

The most obvious and common way is to move an app icon from a common program list. In the MIUI shell, the app menu can be organized differently depending on the theme or desktop mode you choose, and if you have classic mode on, all the shortcuts are already on the screens, and you just need to move them.

To start, find the app you want on the menu. Click on the icon and hold your finger until you see a vibration or a change in screen scale, at which point the system goes into editing mode. Without letting go of your finger, drag the object to the free desktop area or to the dock panel at the bottom of the screen.

If you use No Menu mode (when all apps are scattered across screens), the process of adding a new shortcut after it is installed automatically. However, if the shortcut was accidentally deleted, it can be returned through the settings or the GetApps app store.

• 📱 Find the application in the general list of programs through swipe up.
• 🖐️ Hold the icon with your finger on it. 1-2 seconds before activation of the movement mode.
• 📍 Drag the object to the free space of the home page or folder.
• ✅ Release your finger to lock the label in a new position.

It's worth noting that new versions of HyperOS have made drag and drop animations smoother, and the desktop grid allows you to place elements denser, which gives you more freedom in organizing space. If the application doesn't move, check if the screen layout is locked in the settings.

Creating shortcuts for specific functions and contacts

One of the most useful but often ignored features is the ability to bring specific functions to the desktop, rather than entire apps, such as creating a separate shortcut to turn on a flashlight, launch a camera in selfie mode, or open a specific chat in a messenger, which saves time and eliminates unnecessary clicks.

To create such a shortcut, you need to go to the settings of the desired application or use the built-in tools of the system. MIUI has a special application called Shortcuts, which allows you to create scripts, and many system utilities allow you to bring functions through long-term clicking on the icon in the application menu.

For contacts, it's even easier. Open a standard Caller, go to the contact list. Pick the right person, click three dots in the corner or click the "More" button, and select the "Create a Desktop Shortcut" option, and then an icon will appear on the screen, which will immediately be called when you click.

⚠️ Note: When creating contact shortcuts, make sure you have an active contact. SIM-map and signal network, otherwise the call will not take place and the system may give a connection error.

You can also shortcut web pages through the Chrome browser or the built-in MIUI browser. Open the site, click the menu (three dots) and select "Add to Home Screen" to turn the link into a full-fledged icon that will open the page as a separate application.

Work with widgets and their placement

Widgets are dynamic elements that display real-time information, such as weather, currency, calendar or music. Unlike static shortcuts, widgets require more space and resources, but provide much more value. In Xiaomi, they are managed through a special widget menu.

To access the widgets, you need to pinch your two fingers on your desktop (squeeze the screen) or press a blank area for a long time. The menu below will show you where you want to select "Vidgets" and it's all the available elements from the system and the installed applications. Some widget manufacturers require their apps to be installed separately from the store.

Once you select a widget, the system will tell you to choose the size of the widget, you can swipe left or right, you can change the dimensions of the item, after confirmation, the widget will appear on the desktop, it can also be moved and removed, like a regular icon, remember that too many active widgets can speed up battery life.

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Use widgets with a dark background on AMOLED-Xiaomi screens to save battery power, as black pixels in such matrixes do not consume energy.

Organization of space with folders

As shortcuts grow, the desktop becomes a mess, and to bring order to Android and MIUI, there's a folder system, and these are containers that allow you to group your apps into categories like social media, games, work. Creating a folder is intuitive, but it has its nuances.

To create a folder, just drag and drop one app shortcut on top of another. The system automatically creates a container with a name that can be changed. You can put up to a few dozen apps inside the folder, organizing them into a grid. You can also take the folder to the dock for quick access.

Newer versions of the shell include Game Accelerator, which automatically assembles all game apps into a separate shell folder, which not only organizes space, but also allows you to run games in a special mode with notifications disabled, so that the user can manually add apps to it or create their own thematic groups.

• 📂 Drag the app icon to another icon to create a group.
• ✏️ Click on the folder name to rename it at your discretion.
• 🎨 Change the background of the folder in the settings if the current one does not fit.
• 🗑️ To delete the folder, pull out all applications one by one.

It's important to understand that a folder only takes up space on one screen, but its contents are available everywhere, so you can keep the first screen clean by hiding rarely used programs in the internal pages of folders, which is a structure that increases productivity and reduces visual noise.

Solving Missing Labels Problems

Quite often, users face the problem when, after updating the system or resetting the settings, shortcuts disappear from the desktop, although the applications remain in the phone’s memory. This may be due to a launcher error (desktop shell) or the fact that the application was hidden in the privacy settings.

The first thing to do is check the hidden apps. In MIUI, there is a Hide Apps feature available through the themes or long-click settings on the blank space of the screen (swipe sideways in the editing menu). If the application is there, it will not appear in the shared list and on the desktop.

The second option is a launcher cache crash, in which case you need to clear the Louncher or Desktop system application data, which will return the screen settings to the factory settings, the icons will default, but your folders and widgets can be reset, and you should back up the layout before that, if this feature is available in your version of the software.

⚠️ Attention: Clearing the launcher data will reset all icons and widgets to factory settings. Use this method only if other methods have not helped.

Also check if the Simple Mode (for older people) mode is enabled, which changes the size of the icons and hides unnecessary items, and you can switch back in the screen settings or through a special application in the Tools folder.

Use of third-party launchers for advanced functionality

Xiaomi’s regular capabilities are great, but sometimes they’re not enough for advanced users, and third-party launchers like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher, or Smart Launcher come to the rescue, allowing you to add shortcuts with unique actions, change the grid beyond recognition, and implement complex gestures.

When you install a third-party launcher, the system will ask for permission to use it by default, and after confirmation, the interface will change, and in such shells you can create shortcuts that perform the sequence of actions, or display inactive shortcuts of applications that have been deleted but whose data remains.

However, it is worth remembering that third-party launchers can consume more resources and are not always perfectly optimized for Xiaomi hardware. In some cases, there may be micro-latency when opening menus or swipes.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

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Proper use of shortcuts and widgets turns your smartphone from a simple device into a personalized control center, saving you time for daily operations.