How to change the format of time on the lock screen Xiaomi: all the ways and hidden settings

Why Xiaomi’s lock screen time format is more important than you think

The lock screen is the first thing you see when you turn on a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone, and if the date is displayed inconveniently over time, it's annoying every day. Someone is used to the 24-hour format, someone needs seconds or a day of the week, and some want to hide the date altogether. But in standard MIUI settings, these options are often hidden or not working clearly.

The problem is complicated by the fact that Xiaomi regularly changes the location of settings in new versions. MIUI 12/13/14. What worked on the Redmi Note 10, You may not be on Xiaomi. 13 In this article, we will discuss all the available methods, from the basic to the hidden, including: ADB-You'll also find out why, after the update, MIUI Time format can reset and how to prevent it.

Method 1: Standard MIUI settings (works on 90% of devices)

On most Xiaomi smartphones, the time format on the lock screen is tied to the system settings of the date and time, you can change it without additional applications, but with nuances:

1. Open Settings → Additional → Date and time.
2. Activate the 24-hour format switch (if you need to switch from AM/PM).
3. Click the date format and select one of the options offered (e.g. DD.MM.YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY).

⚠️ Note: On certain devices (e.g, POCO F5 s MIUI 14) these settings do not affect the lock screen. If the format has not changed after the changes, proceed to Method 2.

Method 2: Configure through themes (hidden options)

MIUI allows you to customize the lock screen through built-in themes, which works even where standard settings are ignored by the system:

1. Click the blank space on the home screen and select Themes.
2. Go to the Lock Screen section.
3. Choose one of the suggested themes (e.g. Digital Watches or Minimalism).
4. Click Set up → Watch Style and select the appropriate format.

🔹 Secret Lifehack: If there is no suitable option in the list of themes, install a third-party theme from the list of themes MIUI Theme Store (like iOS Style Lockscreen or Digital Clock Pro) Many of them offer advanced time settings, including:

• 🕒 Second mapping
• 📅 Date position (top/bottom)
• 🎨 Colour and font of numerals
• 🌙 Automatic day/night switching

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If the lock screen time hasn't changed after you change the theme, reboot the device. Sometimes MIUI caches the old settings.

Method 3: ADB-Teams for Advanced Users

If none of the previous methods worked, it is still possible to manually change system parameters via ADB. This method requires debugging over USB and works on all versions of MIUI, including MIUI 14.

📌 Step-by-step instruction:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac/Linux) Enter adb shell settings put system time_12_24 24 To return to 12-Use the following: Adb shell settings put system time_12_24 12

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T) These commands can reset after the reset. To record the changes, add a parameter. --user 0:

adb shell settings put --user 0 system time_12_24 24

Table: Compatibility of methods with popular Xiaomi models

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after successfully changing the format of the time, users are faced with bugs.-5 problems and solutions:

• ⏳ The format is reset after the update MIUI This is because Xiaomi resets custom settings when major updates.Solution: Once updated, reapply ADB-Team or select the topic again.
• 🔄 Lock time and status bar time are different This is due to a conflict of system and theme settings. Go to Settings → Screen. → Lock screen and reset style to standard.
• 🌍 Date displayed in English Check the language of the system: Settings → Additionally. → Language and input: If the primary language is English, the date will be Mon, Jan 1.

Make sure your phone is over 30% charged | Backup settings in Settings → About Phone → Backup | Turn off VPN (it can block access to MIUI Theme Store) | Check the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone

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How to Restore the Standard Time Format

If experiments with settings have led to an unreadable format (for example, 13:45:22 01.01.2023 PC takes half the screen), you can return everything back as follows:

1. Reset the block theme: Topics → Lock screen → Standard.
2. Return the default system settings: adb shell settings delete system time_12_24
3. Reset the device.

🔹 Important: On some firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.EU), theme reset can remove all custom icons and widgets. Before reset, export the settings through Settings → Topics → My subjects. → Exports.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions

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On devices with Always-on Display (such as Xiaomi 13 Pro), the time format is set separately in the Settings menu → Screen → Always-on Display.