How to change the widget tape on Xiaomi: full instruction with tips for setting up MIUI

The widget tape on Xiaomi smartphones is not just an extra screen, but a powerful tool for quickly accessing information and managing the device. MIUI It is often overloaded with unnecessary elements or, conversely, deprived of important widgets. Many users face problems: the inability to remove system widgets, chaotic arrangement of elements or the lack of necessary options in the settings menu.

In this article, we will discuss all ways to change the widget tape on Xiaomi, including hidden features. MIUI, Bypassing system constraints and recommendations for optimizing workspace, you will learn how to add new widgets, change their order, hide system elements and even restore tape after a failure. MIUI 12-15 Smartphone models (such as Redmi Note) 12 vs Xiaomi 13 Ultra).

What is Xiaomi Widget Ribbon and Why to Change It

The widget tape in MIUI — This is the left side of the desktop (swipe to the right) where you can see weather, calendar, quick contacts, notes and other apps, and unlike the classic Android, where you can see widgets on the home screen, Xiaomi has put them in a separate space. This solution has pros (clean desktop) and cons (limited customization).

The main reasons for changing the tape:

• 📱 Congestion: System widgets (such as Mi Fit or Mi Video) take up space but are not used.
• 🔍 Inconvenient order: often the widgets you need are hidden at the end of the list, and unnecessary ones at the beginning.
• ⚙️ Lack of flexibility: in MIUI There is no “Edit” button for tape, as in pure Android.
• 🔄 Failures after update: sometimes widgets disappear or duplicate after a firmware update.

It is important to understand that the widget tape is closely related to the launcher. MIUI (standard POCO Launcher for the lineup POCO). Some settings are only available through hidden menus or ADB-For example, on Xiaomi. 12T Pro MIUI 14 can completely turn off the tape, and on Redmi 10 with MIUI 13 – only hide individual elements.

How to open and manage the widget tape: basic actions

Before you change the tape, you need to learn how to interact with it.

Starting with MIUI 14, Xiaomi added the ability to resize widgets:

1. Long press the widget.
2. There will be white dots in the corners - pull them to change size.
3. Click "Ready" (on some models, saving is automatic).

💡

Suddenly disappeared after an update, try resetting the launcher settings: go to Settings → Apps → Manage apps → Launcher and select "Clear data".

How to change the order of widgets in the tape

By default, widgets in tape MIUI They're in order of adding them, but that can be fixed:

For MIUI 12-13:

1. Open the widget tape.
2. Slap the icon "⋮" (three points) in upper right corner.
3. Select "Edit."
4. Hold the widget and drag it to the right place.

For MIUI 14-15:

1. Long press on any widget.
2. You will see an edit mode – drag and drop widgets like on the home screen.
3. Press "Ready" or tap on an empty exit area.

In some models (for example, POCO F5) The order of the widgets is synchronized with the order of the applications in the All Apps menu:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select "Application Sorting."
3. Turn off the option "Sync with the widget tape".

How to remove or hide unnecessary widgets

Removal of widgets in MIUI It has limitations: system widgets (e.g. Weather, Calendar, Steps) cannot be removed by standard means:

Method 1: Hiding through launcher settings

1. Long press on the desktop → "Launcher settings".
2. Go to the "Widgets" section.
3. Turn off the switches next to the unnecessary widgets.

Method 2: Use of ADB (for power users)

If the widget is not hidden through the menu, you can force it to be disabled, for example, to hide the widget Mi Video:

adb shell pm hide com.miui.videoplayer

After you execute the command, restart the device.Warning: This method may cause related applications (e.g., gallery) to fail.

Method 3: Installation of an alternative launcher

Launchers like Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher allow you to completely disable the widget tape MIUI Or replace it with classic Android widgets, and the downside is the loss of some features. MIUI (For example, integration with Mi Account).

Backup the main screen (screenshot or through Settings) → Additionally. → Backup)

Check if the widget is associated with important notifications (for example, the weather may show storm warnings)

Make sure that an alternative way to access the function exists (for example, you can use the app shortcut instead of the Calendar widget)-->

Adding new widgets: instructions for different versions MIUI

The process of adding widgets to MIUI It's different from standard Android. Here are the step-by-step instructions for different scenarios:

Standard way (MIUI 12-15):

1. Open the widget tape (swipe to the right).
2. Scroll down to the "Add widgets" button (or "Edit" → Add").
3. Select the app from the list.
4. Select the size of the widget (if there are several options available).

If the app widget is not listed:

• 🔄 Update the app via Google Play – sometimes widgets appear after the update.
• 📥 Install. APK with a widget (for example, for Spotify or Google Keep there are separate APK widget-enabled).
• ⚙️ Enable widgets in the app settings (for example, in Google App you need to allow the widget "Google Search").

For MIUI 14+ smart widget-enabled":

New versions MIUI They offer dynamic widgets that change depending on the context (time of day, location, etc.) to add them:

1. Open the widget tape.
2. Slap the icon "+" top-corner.
3. Select the category "Smart Widgets".
4. Configure the display settings (for example, for the Weather widget, you can select to display only temperature).

💡

In the models with MIUI for POCO (for example, POCO X5 Pro) widgets are added through a separate menu "POCO Launcher Settings. Here are unique options such as changing the transparency of the background tape.

Restore Widget Ribbon After Failure or Update

Frequent issue after update MIUI — Disappearance of widgets or resetting their order:

Method 1: Resetting the launcher settings

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find "Launcher" (or "POCO Launcher") and select it.
3. Press "Storage" → "Clear the data".
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: This method will reset all desktop settings, including folders and icon locations.

Method 2: Recovery through backup

If you have previously created a backup through Settings → Additionally. → Backup:

1. Open the backup menu.
2. Select the last backup (before the update).
3. Check "System settings" and "Application data".
4. Press "Restore."

Method 3: Manual recovery through ADB

If the widgets are missing after updating to MIUI 15, you can try to force the tape to be on the command:

adb shell settings put secure widget_panel_enabled 1

Then restart the device. If the tape doesn't show up, check if it's disabled in Settings. → Desktop → Widget tape.

Advanced Customization: Hidden Features and Tricks

For users who have standard features MIUI Not enough, there are several advanced methods of customizing the widget tape:

1. Change the number of widgets in a row

By default, the tape displays 4 widgets in a row, but this can be changed:

adb shell settings put global widget_panel_columns 5

Where 5 is the desired number of speakers (maximum 6). After completing the command, restart the launcher (or device).

2. Disable animations when opening the tape

If the tape opens with a delay, turn off the animation:

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0.5


adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0.5

3. Replacement of the standard tape with Google Discover

On some models (for example, Xiaomi 13) you can replace the tape MIUI Google Discover:

1. Install Google App from Play Market.
2. Long press on the desktop → "Launcher settings".
3. Select "Google Tape" instead of "Tape" MIUI".

⚠️ Note: On firmware for the Chinese market (China) ROM) This method does not work due to the lack of Google services.

4. Creating custom widgets using KWGT

Kustom Widget Maker app (KWGT) It allows you to create unique widgets from scratch, to add them to the tape. MIUI:

1. Download. KWGT And create a widget.
2. Export it like APK.
3. Install. APK Add the widget through the standard menu MIUI.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When using Xiaomi widget tape, users experience common mistakes, and here are the most common ways to fix them:

If none of the methods worked, check the integrity of the system files:

1. Open the Security app (Security).
2. Go to Optimization" → "Deep cleaning".
3. Select "System Check" and wait until it is completed.