How to Change the Size of Xiaomi Icons: A Complete Guide to Setup an Interface

Modern Xiaomi smartphones offer users incredible flexibility in customizing the appearance, but standard settings often leave much to be desired. Many owners of Redmi and POCO devices face a situation where app icons seem too small on huge displays or, conversely, take up too much space to allow you to place the right widgets. Changing the size of icons is not just a matter of aesthetics, but also a way to increase the ergonomics of using a gadget with one hand.

The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have a lot of personalization tools, but they are scattered across menus or hidden from the eyes of the average user. In this article, we will detail all the known ways to scale up interface elements, from standard settings to advanced methods through an engineering menu, learn how to manage pixel density and create a unique desktop grid.

Before making changes, it is worth noting that different models may have different menu items, but the overall logic of the system remains the same for all devices of the Chinese giant.

Standard theme settings and screen grids

The easiest and safest way to affect the visual perception of icons is to change the density of their placement on the desktop. In the MIUI shell, this parameter is directly related to the number of rows and columns. The more cells you choose, the smaller the icons themselves will appear, and vice versa. To access these settings, you need to pinch the empty space on the home screen and select Settings in the lower right corner.

Here you'll see a slider or a grid to choose a configuration. The standard option is usually 4x5 or 5x6, but on large flagship screens you can choose 6x9 or more. Changing the grid instantly rebuilds the entire desktop, shifting widgets and folders. This is a baseline that is available to every user without having to get superuser rights.

However, if standard options aren't enough, it's worth paying attention to the theme of the decoration.Some third-party themes in the Themes store have modified icon graphics that are larger or smaller than stock by default.

• 📱 Click the empty area on the desktop to enter the editing menu.
• 🎨 Select Settings and experiment with the number of rows and columns.
• 📥 Visit the store to find styles with increased graphics elements.

⚠️ Note: When switching to a theme with a different set of icons, some system applications may retain their standard look unless the theme author has specifically drawn them.

It's important to understand that changing the grid affects not only icons, but also the space available. If you choose the minimum number of cells, the icons will become large, but less content will fit on the screen.

Adjusting font size and interface elements

On Android, which runs Xiaomi smartphones, the size of the text tags under the icons and the size of the graphics elements themselves are often interrelated through a global zoom parameter. To access these settings, go to the Settings menu, then select the Screen section and find Text and Display Size.

There are two main sliders here: one for the size of the font, the other for the size of the interface elements. Moving the Size slider to the right not only increases the text, but also the indentations between the elements, which visually makes app icons more massive and noticeable, and this is especially true for visually impaired users or those who use a smartphone in bright light conditions.

It's worth noting that over-magnification can cause some interface elements in applications to crop or display incorrectly. The system tries to adapt the layout, but not all developers take such scenarios into account.

In addition, the “Advanced” section sometimes hides the possibility of changing the DPI (dots per inch), although in pure form on Xiaomi this feature is often hidden or limited.

Using Developer Mode to Accurately Set Up

For users who lack standard sliders, there is a more powerful tool, the developer mode, which hides the Smallest Width setting, which directly affects the density of the output image, and changing this value allows icons to be significantly larger or smaller than normal settings allow.

To activate the developer mode, you need to go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the version of MIUI or HyperOS seven times. After the notification “You became a developer” appears in the settings menu, a new section Additional → For developers. In the list that opens, you need to find the option “Minimum width” (usually the default value is about 360-400 dp).

Reducing the DPI (e.g., to 320) will make all elements, including icons, larger. Increasing the value (to 450-500) drastically reduces their size, allowing you to fit a huge amount of information on the screen. Be careful: setting extreme values can make the interface unreadable.

Once you change the setting, the screen blinks, and the system applies new scale settings, which affects all applications at once, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage of the method.

• 🛠 Activate the developer mode with seven times pressing the OS version.
• 📏 Find the “Minimum Width” option in the advanced settings.
• ⚖️ Experiment with step-in 10-20 to find a comfortable balance.

⚠️ WARNING: Write down the current minimum width value is a must! If you set it too low or high, the interface can become unusable, and it can be difficult to get everything back without resetting the settings.

Comparison of scaling methods in MIUI and HyperOS

With the release of the new HyperOS shell, Xiaomi has changed the logic of working with the interface somewhat, although the basic principles remain the same. It is important for users to understand the differences, since the layout of the menu and the availability of features can vary depending on the version of the software.

The table below compares the options for adjusting the size of icons in different versions of firmware, which will help you choose the best method for your device.

As you can see from the table, the developer mode remains the most versatile tool, working the same on all versions, but HyperOS has improved the mesh experience, allowing you to create denser layouts without losing readability.

It’s also worth mentioning that newer firmware versions introduce more restrictions on installing themes from third-party sources, which can make it harder to use custom icons to change their visual weight.

Hidden opportunities through ADB and third-party launchers

If the standard tools and developer mode don’t work, advanced methods come to the rescue, and one of the most effective ways is to use a computer and an ADB (Android Debug Bridge) utility, which allows you to change the system density settings (DPI) more flexibly than through a phone menu.

This requires connecting your smartphone to your PC, enabling USB debugging, and entering a command to change density, such as wm size density 320 setting a density at which the elements will become larger, and using a reset command to return standard values.

adb shell wm density 360

An alternative and often more convenient solution is to install a third-party launcher such as Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Smart Launcher.These apps completely replace the standard desktop and provide detailed control over the size of each icon, indentations and grid.

Third-party launchers allow you to size icons as a percentage of the standard, which gives you perfect accuracy. You can make icons 120% or 85% of the original, which is not how standard MIUI can do.

• 💻 Connect your phone to your computer for use ADB team.
• 📲 Install an alternative launcher from Google Play for flexible customization.
• 🔧 Use the wm size and wm density commands for fine calibration.

⚠️ Note: When installing a third-party launcher, some features of Xiaomi’s branded shell, such as “Wallpaper Carousel” or gestures in certain areas, may not work properly or require additional customization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This section provides answers to the most popular questions users have when trying to resize interface elements on Redmi and POCO devices.

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The best way to change the size of icons is to combine setting up the screen grid and selecting a quality theme, which does not require interference with system files.

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If you change themes frequently, take a screenshot of the current DPI settings and grids to quickly restore the interface to its familiar look after experiments.