How to change the wallpaper on the lock screen Xiaomi: all ways for MIUI

The lock screen is the first thing you see when you turn on a smartphone, and its appearance directly affects the perception of the device. On Xiaomi smartphones (including the Redmi and POCO lines), you can change the lock wallpaper in several ways, but not all of them are obvious to users, especially for owners of devices with MIUI 14 and later, where the manufacturer has tightened restrictions on customization.

In this article, we will explore all the available methods, from standard settings to bypassing system constraints with third-party tools, how to set static or dynamic wallpapers, why some images do not display correctly, and what to do if the system does not save changes, and pay special attention to the hidden features of MIUI, which allow you to customize unlock animations and adaptive wallpapers during the day.

If you've tried to change wallpaper through a gallery before, but it didn't work out, don't be quick to blame yourself. The fact is that Xiaomi artificially restricts the selection of images for the lock screen, offering only pre-installed options, but there are legal ways to get around this restriction without root rights or complex manipulation.

1. Standard method through MIUI settings

The easiest method is to use built-in shell tools, and it works for most models, including Xiaomi. 13/14, Redmi Note 12/11 and POCO F5/X5. Please note that in the latest versions MIUI function was reduced.

To change the wallpaper through the standard menu:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to the Lock Screen section (or Wallpaper → Lock screen in older versions).
3. Select the category of wallpaper: Dynamic, Static or Super Wallpaper (not available on all models).
4. Click on the image you like and confirm the choice with the Apply button.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14+ Some users encounter a bug when the wallpaper is reset after rebooting, which is due to optimizing power consumption. To fix the problem, turn off Adaptive Brightness in the screen settings for 10 minutes after changing the wallpaper.

Turn off adaptive brightness

Close all background applications

Connect to Wi-Fi (to load dynamic wallpaper)

Reboot the phone after the changes are applied-->

If the proposed options do not have a suitable image, you can try to download wallpaper from the MIUI Theme:

• 🎨 Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
• 🔍 In the search bar, type a query, for example, “abstract wallpaper” or “minimalism».
• 📲 Choose your favorite theme and click Apply → Lock screen only.

Note: Many of the themes from the official store require an internet connection and can weigh up to 50–100 MB. If you have limited traffic, download wallpaper only via Wi-Fi.

2.Use of the Gallery (bypassing the MIUI restrictions)

Unlike Samsung or Google Pixel, where lock wallpaper changes directly from the gallery, Xiaomi blocks this feature.However, there is a workaround that works on most devices with MIUI 12-14.

Instructions:

1. Open the gallery and select the image you want.
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Set as.
3. In the menu that appears, tap on the wallpaper of the lock screen (if there is no such item, read the next section).
4. Confirm the choice and wait for the changes to be implemented.

If you don't have Wallpaper, your model is using a very tight constraint, and then you can use the following solution:

⚠️ Attention: Some users complain that after such a bypass, the wallpaper is displayed blurry or with improper cropping. MIUI It automatically zooms to the screen resolution. To avoid distortion, use wallpaper with a resolution at least lower than the screen resolution. 1080×2400 pixels (for most modern smartphones).

Once a week.

Once a month

Only when buying a new phone

Never change.-->

3. Installation of wallpaper through third-party applications

If the standard methods don't work, third-party utilities come to the rescue, and we tested several apps and selected the most reliable ones for Xiaomi.

Top.-3 lock-up:

To install wallpaper through Wallpaper Craft or Zedge:

• 📥 Download the app from Google Play.
• 🔍 Find your favorite wallpaper and click Set.
• 🔄 In the menu that appears, select Only the lock screen (if there is no such option, use the bypass through the settings). MIUI, as in the first section).
• ✅ Confirm the changes and restart the phone.

⚠️ Note: Apps like Muzei can conflict with system wallpaper MIUI. If the lock screen has turned black or is displayed with artifacts after installation, return the standard settings via Settings. → Wallpaper. → Restore by default.

💡

If wallpaper from a third-party application does not apply, try first to install them as home screen wallpaper, and then transfer them to the lock screen through the MIUI settings.

4. Dynamic and "live" wallpaper: how to install

Dynamic wallpapers (or Live Wallpapers) add animation or gesture response to the lock screen, and Xiaomi has nuanced installations due to MIUI optimizations.

Methods of installation:

• 🌊 Through settings MIUI: Go to Settings. → Wallpaper. → Dynamic. Standard animations are available here (e.g. Ocean or Space»).
• 📱 Through Live Wallpapers Picker app: The utility allows you to install third-party live wallpapers, but requires permissions to access storage.
• 🎮 Through ADB (Adb shell cmd overlay enable-exclusive com.android.theme.livewallpaper can unlock hidden settings.

If the dynamic wallpaper does not work after installation:

1. Check if animation is included in Settings → Additional → System animation (should be 1x or System).
2. Turn off the power saving mode – it blocks the background animation processes.
3. Restart your phone (sometimes the animation only starts after the reboot).

⚠️ Attention: On devices with AMOLED-screens (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi) K60) Dynamic wallpaper can cause pixels to burn out over long periods of use. To minimize the risk, install dark themes or wallpapers with frequent changes in the image.

💡

Dynamic wallpaper reduces battery life by 5-15%, and if you want a battery, use it only when you're connected to a charger.

5 Manually modifying wallpaper through the file system (no root)

For power users, there's a method of replacing wallpaper by directly editing system files, which doesn't require root rights, but involves working with ADB.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable USB Debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – press 7 times, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Download ADB Tools and open the command line in the folder with utilities.
3. Enter the command to copy wallpaper to the system folder: adb push /path/to/your/wallpaper.jpg /sdcard/MIUI/Wallpaper/ Here /path/to/your/wallpaper.jpg is the path to your image on PC.
4. Rename the file to lockscreen_wallpaper.jpg: adb shell mv /sdcard/MIUI/Wallpaper/wallpaper.jpg /sdcard/MIUI/Wallpaper/lockscreen_wallpaper.jpg
5. Reboot the phone. The new wallpaper will apply automatically.

⚠️ Note: This method may not work on devices with MIUI 14 because of a changed folder structure. If the wallpaper hasn't changed since the reboot, check the file permissions with the command:

adb shell ls -l /sdcard/MIUI/Wallpaper/

The file must have the rights rw-rw-r--. If not, change them by command:

adb shell chmod 664 /sdcard/MIUI/Wallpaper/lockscreen_wallpaper.jpg

Also note that your wallpaper may reset when you next update MIUI. To avoid this, back up your file on your PC.

6 Problems and Solutions: Why Wallpaper Doesn't Change

Even after completing all the instructions, users often encounter errors, and let's look at the most common problems and ways to solve them.

Typical errors and fixes:

If none of the methods helped, try resetting the wallpaper settings to standard:

• Go to Settings → Wallpaper.
• Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Restore by default.
• Reboot your phone and try changing the wallpaper again.

In extreme cases, the resetting of the Topic app cache can help:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Themes app and click Warehouse.
3. Select Clear the cache and confirm the action.

💡

If the wallpaper still doesn't change, check if there's a third-party launcher on the phone (like Nova Launcher or Hyperion).

7. Additional chips: adaptive wallpaper and customization

MIUI offers a few hidden features for advanced lock screen settings, and here are the most useful ones:

Adaptive wallpaper by time of day:

• 🌅 Set a topic marked “Day/Night Subjects.

Setup of Unlock animation:

• 🎬 Go to Settings. → Lock screen → Unlock animation.
• 🔄 Choose one of the options: Smooth, Instant or Fog Effect.

Add widgets to the lock screen:

For devices with Always-On Display (AOD) (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Redmi K50), additional settings are available:

• 🔋 Turn it on. AOD In Settings → Lock screen → Always-On Display.
• 🎨 Choose the display style: Digital watch, Analog watch or Castom.
• ⚡ Turn it off. AOD in energy saving mode to save charge.

FAQ: Frequent questions about lock wallpaper on Xiaomi