Xiaomi’s mobile interface is famous for its flexibility and deep customization capabilities, which is especially important for owners of smartphones with MIUI shells and the new HyperOS. Control panel, or Quick Settings, is one of the most commonly used elements of the system, allowing you to instantly switch Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight and other functions without having to dive into deep settings menus. However, the stock control widget does not always suit users: someone does not have enough space for all the necessary switches, and someone wants to change the visual style to suit their taste.
Changing the appearance and functionality of this area of the screen can range from simply rearranging icons to completely changing the theme of the design through third-party tools. In this article, we will discuss all available methods, from built-in system tools to advanced methods using the use of the system. ADB-You'll learn how to add hidden switches, change the number of columns, and even implement controls that are not available by default in your firmware version.
It is worth noting that the procedures for modifying the system interface require care. Mistakes when working with system files or debugging commands can lead to unstable launcher operation or cyclical reboot of the device. We will consider secure methods that do not require root rights, but also mention the opportunities for experienced users who are ready for more complex manipulations.
Standard setting of notification curtain in MIUI and HyperOS
Before you resort to third-party solutions, you need to fully explore the capabilities that the operating system itself provides. In recent versions of shells from Xiaomi, the control panel editor has become significantly more user friendly. To start editing, you just need to lower the notification curtain twice to open the full list of switches, and click on the icon of a pencil or three dots in the corner of the screen.
Here you can drag and drop active elements into the quick access area or remove redundant ones. However, many users are unaware of the existence of hidden switches that do not appear in the standard list. Their activation often requires going to the Settings menu → Notifications and Status bar → Control Center. This is where key parameters that affect the logical structure of the interface are hidden.
☑️ Preparation for customization
It's important to understand the difference between a Control Center and a classic curtain. In HyperOS and the new MIUI, these elements are separated: notifications are on the left and switches are on the right, or combined into a single panel depending on the style you choose, and changing this parameter dramatically changes the ergonomics of one-handed use.
⚠️ Note: When editing a standard panel, do not remove critical system switches such as Flight Mode or Screen Time unless you are sure how to quickly restore access to them through settings.
Change the style and number of buttons through themes
The safest and most visually effective way to change the control panel is to use third-party themes from the MIUI Themes store. Developers from around the world create designs that completely replace the graphical shell of the system widgets, including brightness sliders, network icons and music control buttons.
To apply the theme, you need to go to the Themes app, find your favorite design, and click "Apply" button, but to make the theme impact the control panel, you often need to select the "Set theme" option after you use it, and you can activate Control Center, Lock Screen, and System components separately in this menu.
- 🎨 Visual uniqueness: Themes allow you to change the background color, transparency of plaques, the shape of icons and even an animation of the appearance of the menu.
- 📐 Change grid: Some themes force the number of buttons in a row from 4 to 5 or 6, which is impossible to do with standard means.
- 🔄 Dynamic elements: Individual themes add weather or battery status widgets directly to the body of the control panel.
Note that not all themes support the latest versions of Android and HyperOS. When installing an old design, the system can warn you of possible instability, in which case it is better to search for themes marked “Optimized for Android 14” or similar.
💡
If after applying the theme, the control panel looks “got” or buttons run over each other, try selecting “Components” in the theme settings and forcefully replacing only the “Control Panel” element with a standard or from another compatible theme.
Expanding functionality with Quick Settings
When the standard 25 switches are scarce, specialized module applications come to the rescue. One of the most popular and time-tested solutions is Quick Settings (often known as QS Tile Editor), which allows you to create your own tiles that are not in the system, or duplicate existing ones with new features.
Once you install the app and provide the necessary permissions (including access to special features), you can add tile to the curtain to launch applications, switch audio profiles, turn on a flashlight with a certain brightness, and even execute complex macros, which makes the control panel a powerful automation tool.
The ability to create container tiles is particularly noteworthy, because you can create a single button that opens a pop-up menu with 5-10 more actions, saving space in the main grid while maintaining quick access to dozens of functions.
| Tile function | Description of action | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| App Launcher | Launching any installed application | Permission to use |
| Toggle Flashlight | On/off flashlight with timer | Access to the camera |
| GPS Toggle | Quick geolocation activation | Location authorization |
| Reboot Phone | Reboot the device (requires ADB) | Root or ADB right |
Using ADB for hidden interface settings
For advanced users who are not afraid of the command line, there is the possibility of changing the control panel parameters, hidden even in the engineering menu, USB-cable ADB (Android Debug Bridge. On the smartphone, you need to activate the developer mode by seven times clicking on the build number in the About Phone menu, and enable debugging on the phone. USB.
With ADB, you can change the number of columns in the control panel, for example, a command to set 5 columns in landscape mode can look like entering a value into a system database. However, specific commands depend on the version of MIUI, as Xiaomi constantly changes internal resource identifiers.
adb shell settings put secure qs_tiles"wifi,bt,flashlight,location,airplane"This command (example, syntax may vary) allows you to manually write a list of active tiles, ignoring the standard editor, which is useful if some system switch is stuck or not removed through the interface.
⚠️ Note: Introduce incorrect commands through ADB This can cause all the switches to disappear from the curtain. Always have the option to reset the settings on hand. ADB or reset your phone if the interface stops responding.
You can also use ADB to disable the separation of notification curtain and control center, returning the classic look of Android, if this option is blocked by the region in the theme settings, this is done by changing the global launcher settings.
Risks of using ADB
Modification of system files through Root rights
The highest level of control over the control panel is available only to users with superuser rights (Root), obtaining root rights (usually through Magisk) allows you to modify the system. APK-The main tool here is a file manager with access to the root of the system, for example, MT Manager or Root Explorer.
The change process is to edit the file. SystemUI.apk or Framework-res.apk. Inside these archives are resources (pictures, XML-markups that determine the size of the buttons, indentations, colors and logical grid. XML-file describing the layout quick_settings_panel, can be placed 10 single-row.
- 🔧 Editing XML: Directly changing the markup code allows you to ignore any software restrictions on the number of tiles.
- 🖼️ Replacement of graphics: You can replace standard icons with any of your own, renaming files according to the original names of the resources.
- 🚫 Remove unnecessary switches: permanently remove unnecessary switches from the system (for example, “Tablet Mode” or “Hotspot”), freeing up space.
However, modification of system files carries the risk of violating the integrity of the firmware. After updating the system, all changes will be lost, and in the worst case, the phone may stop loading. TWRP Recovery.
💡
Root modification is the only way to change the physical size of the buttons and the control panel grid, but it requires high qualification and voids the warranty.
Solving Common Control Panel Problems
In the process of customization, users often encounter bugs: the control panel may not open, freeze or spontaneously close. Most often this is due to a conflict of topics or overflow of the system interface cache. The first step should always be to clean the cache of the System UI application through the application menu.
If the problem arises after installing the theme, try resetting the theme to a standard one ("Classic" or "No Theme"). In some cases, switching the region to your phone settings helps. For example, changing the region from "Russia" to "India" or "USA" can bring a different version of the system components where the bug fixes.
It’s also worth checking if RAM is overloaded: On devices with 4GB of RAM and less heavy themes, curtains can cause lags, in which case it’s better to limit yourself to minimalistic changes and avoid live wallpaper combined with a heavy theme.