How to set up the lock screen on Xiaomi Redmi 9: from wallpaper to hidden features

Why Change the Standard Lock Screen and What You Can Configure

The lock screen of the Xiaomi Redmi 9 is not just a barrier to your smartphone, but a full-fledged information hub. The standard MIUI theme with a corn logo and gray wallpaper quickly gets boring, especially if you use the phone daily. Meanwhile, even without superuser rights (ROOT), you can change almost everything here, from the background image to the location of the clock, weather widgets and notifications.

But it's not just aesthetics. A properly configured lock screen makes it easier to access frequently used features. For example, you can add a flashlight or camera shortcut directly to a locked screen so you don't waste time unlocking. Or, if you like minimalism, remove all the extra elements, leaving only time and date. In this article, we'll look at all the official and semi-official ways to customize the lock screen on Redmi 9, including the hidden settings of MIUI 12/13/14.

It’s important to understand that features depend on the firmware version. On Redmi 9 (codenamed lancelot) with MIUI Global/EEA, most features are available out of the box, but some options may not be available in regional versions (for example, Chinese firmware has more animation options). If your phone is upgraded to MIUI 14, you’ll get additional design styles and dynamic wallpapers.

Method 1: Change wallpaper through standard settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI theme gallery, which requires no third-party apps to install, and works on any firmware version.

1. Open the Settings → Lock screen.
2. Click on the lock screen wallpaper.
3. Choose one of the proposed options: 🌄 Dynamic wallpaper - animated backgrounds that react to the time of day (available from the MIUI 12.5+). 🏞️ Static images – standard wallpaper from Xiaomi or your photos from the gallery. 🎨 Color gradients – abstract color transitions (the option may not be available in older versions) MIUI).

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Note that if you choose a high-resolution wallpaper (like 4K), the system automatically optimizes it for the Redmi 9 screen (1600×720 resolution), but this can take a few seconds. Also note that dynamic wallpaper slightly increases battery consumption - by 2-5% in 8 hours according to XDA Developers tests.

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If the wallpaper looks blurry, try turning off the "Blurr Background" option in the lock screen settings, which is especially true for photos with small details.

Method 2: Install third-party themes from MIUI Themes

MIUI Themes offers thousands of free and paid lock screen styles, including animations, custom fonts, and even modified notification logic. Here's how to use them:

1. Open the Themes app (the icon with a brush on your desktop).
2. Go to the Lock screen tab.
3. Scroll through the list of topics or search for keywords (e.g., “minimal”, “dark”, “ios”).
4. Click on your favorite topic and select Apply. Some themes require downloading up to 50MB of additional resources.

To customize the widgets:

1. Go to Settings → Lock screen → Widgets.
2. Activate the switches next to the desired elements.
3. To change the order, hold the widget and drag it to the right place.

On the Redmi 9 with MIUI 13+, the option "Double tap to wake up" (Settings → Display → Screen Wake up) is available, which allows you to turn on the screen with two taps on it, even if the phone is lying on the table.

Method 4: Change the style of the clock and date (hidden settings)

Few people know, but MIUI has hidden options for changing the style of displaying time and date on the lock screen. These settings are not documented, but work on most versions of the firmware for Redmi 9:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to About Phone and tap 5 times on the MIUI version to activate the Developer Mode.
3. Return to the main settings menu and open Additional → Special features → Lock screen settings (the path may vary depending on the version of MIUI).
4. Here you'll find the options: 🕒 Time format — 12/24 hour, display of seconds. 📅 Date format - day of the week, full date, short format. 🎨 Color of text - white, black, automatic (depending on wallpaper). 🔤 Font - system, handwritten, monowire (available not in all regional firmware).

The Redmi 9 with MIUI 14 has a feature called Clock Animation, which adds a smooth change in numbers as time changes, but it significantly increases the CPU load (according to Geekbench, up to 7% growth in CPU consumption in standby mode). If you notice that the phone is warming up in your pocket, you better turn it off.

Make sure that MIUI is at least 12.0.2 (otherwise options may not be available)

Take a screenshot of the current settings (in case of reset)

Check the battery (some animations discharge the phone faster)

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Method 5: Advanced customization with ADB (without ROOT)

If standard settings are not enough, you can use ADB-This method doesn't require superuser rights, but it requires a computer and a computer. USB-That's what you can change:

• 🔓 Remove the prompts of swipes (arrows "Swipe up to unlock").
• 📱 Disable notifications on the lock screen (useful for privacy).
• 🎛️ Change the transparency of the notification panel.
• 🔄 Set up an alternative way to unlock (e.g., double tap).

Instructions for using ADB:

1. Turn on USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (tap 7 times, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect Redmi 9 to your computer and confirm your debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (macOS/Linux) Enter adb shell settings put secure lock_screen_show_notifications 0 This command will turn off the notifications on the lock screen. To return them back, replace them. 0 on 1.

Complete list ADB-commands for customizing the lock screen:

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Using ADB does not void Xiaomi’s warranty, as it does not require unlocking the bootloader or getting a ROOT. However, incorrect commands can lead to interface failures.

⚠️ Attention: After application ADB-commands some settings may reset after updating MIUI. To avoid this, save the commands used in a text file and apply them again after the update.

Problem Solving: What to do if the settings do not apply

Sometimes the lock screen changes don't persist or don't work properly, and here are the typical problems and solutions.

• 🔄 Settings reset after rebooting: Reason: conflict with optimizer MIUI. Solution: Turn off Auto-Optimization in Settings → Battery. → Battery Optimization and Add Themes to Exceptions.
• 🖼️ Wallpaper displayed blurred: Reason: automatic blurring in MIUI. Solution: Turn off the background blur option in the lock screen settings or select wallpaper with resolution just under the screen (1600×720).
• ⚡ Animations slow down: Reason: high CPU load. Solution: turn off Clock animation or go to static wallpaper. Also check if the phone is overheating (use the app). CPU Monitor).
• 🔒 Widgets do not work: Reason: Launcher malfunction. Solution: Clear the Topic app cache (Settings) → Annexes → Application management → Topics → Clear the cache).

If none of these methods helped, try resetting the lock screen settings to the standard:

1. Go to Settings → System → Resetting settings.
2. Select Reset the Lock screen settings (not to be confused with a full phone reset!).
3. Confirm the action and restart the device.

⚠️ Note: Some firmware (e.g., Chinese version) MIUI) Resetting your lock screen settings may require you to enter your Mi-account password.Make sure you remember your Xiaomi account details, or you risk losing access to your phone.

FAQ: Frequent questions about setting up the lock screen