Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the desire to personalize their gadget by making it look unique. The standard set of icons that the manufacturer preinstalled can seem boring or simply do not fit into the user's chosen visual style. Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide powerful tools to change the appearance of the system without the need for superuser rights.
The process of changing icons is not limited to simply replacing a picture on the desktop. Deep integration of the theme allows you to change fonts, notification style, lock screen and even animations to open applications. It turns the smartphone from a utilitarian device into an expression of the owner’s personality, allowing you to simulate the design of iOS, OnePlus or create your own futuristic concepts.
In this article, we will take a look at all the ways you can change graphical interface elements, learn how to work with an official store, how to use third-party icon packages from Google Play, and what hidden features the System Style menu hides.
Using the Themes app to change icons
The easiest and safest way to change the look of icons is to use the built-in Themes app, which is pre-installed on all of the company’s devices and has direct connection to Xiaomi’s servers, and features millions of design choices created by both official designers and independent artists from around the world.
To get started, you need to open the app and go to the Profile tab (the little man icon in the lower right corner). This is where all the designs you downloaded are stored in the My Themes section. If you want to find new options, go back to the home screen of the app and search for "Icons" or "Icons" to find packages that change only graphic elements without affecting wallpaper or system sounds.
⚠️ Note: Some topics may contain ads or require you to watch videos to unlock premium content.Be careful when downloading files from unverified sources inside the store.
Once you select your favorite theme, click Download and then Apply. The system will prompt you to select the components to install. Make sure the tick is next to the icon if you want to change only those, leaving the wallpaper the same. The application process takes a few seconds, after which the interface will be completely updated.
- 🎨 A huge base of free and paid designs from the community.
- ⚡ Quickly apply changes without restarting the device.
- 🔄 The ability to roll back changes at any time through the profile menu.
- 📱 Support for dynamic icons with animation.
Set up the style of the system and fonts in MIUI and HyperOS
Modern versions of Xiaomi firmware have introduced the System Style feature, which allows you to flexibly customize the appearance of icons without installing third-party themes. This option is especially relevant for users who prefer the standard look of applications, but want to refresh the perception of the interface. You can find this feature by way of Settings → Wallpaper and personalization → System Style.
There are several (presets) developed by Xiaomi engineers, you can choose the option with rounded corners, square shapes or completely customize the view by changing the color of accents. The depth of customization in the latest versions of HyperOS allows you to change not only the shape, but also the density of the desktop grid, which affects the size and location of icons.
Hidden possibilities of the system style
Special attention should be paid to the typeface customization, which is closely related to the perception of icons. Large or too fancy typeface can spoil the impression of even the most beautiful icons. The theme store has a section called "Fonts", where you can download free options that support Cyrillic. The use of a new typeface instantly changes the signatures under the icons, making the interface more readable or, conversely, more decorative.
- 🔧 Fine adjustment of the shape and color of icons in the system menu.
- 🔤 Synchronizing font style with icon design.
- 📐 Adjusting the size of the desktop grid to change the scale.
It is important to understand that system constraints do not allow you to change the shape of the icons of system applications (for example, “Phone” or “Messages”) through standard means, unless you use a theme that forcibly replaces the entire graphics package.
Install third-party icon packages through Google Play
If the built-in store isn't enough, third-party launchers and icon management apps come to the rescue. However, in the Android ecosystem, there is the concept of "icon packs" (Icon Packs), which work independently of the launcher, as long as the phone shell supports this feature. Xiaomi has built-in support for such packages, but it is not always obvious.
To start, download any popular icon package from the Google Play Store, such as Whicons, LineX or Viral. Once installed, launch the package app. Inside, you'll see the Apply or Apply button. Click on it and the system will suggest a list of available application methods. Select MIUI Theme or MIUI from the list.
Activation path:
1. Open the icon pack application.
2. Press the Apply button.
3. Select MIUI Theme.
4. Confirm application in the system dialogue.This method is good because it allows you to use thousands of design works not available in the official Xiaomi store.In addition, third-party packages are often updated faster and contain icons for the latest applications that have not yet appeared in the theme catalog.
⚠️ Note: When installing apps from Google Play on Chinese-based devices or in restricted regions, an additional Google Play Services service may be required.
Not all apps will be replaced automatically, but for Xiaomi system services and some banking applications, icons may remain standard, and manual selection through the desktop editing menu helps, as discussed in the next section.
- 🌐 Access to Google Play’s global design database.
- 🆕 Frequent updates from independent developers.
- 🛠 The ability to create your own mixes from different sets.
💡
If the icons haven’t changed after you’ve applied the package, try clearing the Themes app cache from the Apps menu → Application Management → Themes → Memory → Clear.
Manual replacement of icons of individual applications
Often, there is a situation where the general theme is enjoyable, but one particular icon is out of style, or you want to highlight an important application by making its icon unique. MIUI and HyperOS have a handy feature of manually changing graphics for any shortcut on the desktop.
To do this, click and hold your finger on the app icon until the context menu appears. Select Change the icon (or Change the icon). A gallery will open that will show alternatives from the current active theme. If there are few built-in options, you can select an image from your gallery by uploading any picture as an icon.
| Action. | The result | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Choice of the topic | Applying the current design style | Only if the topic supports the application |
| Photo uploading | Every image becomes an icon. | It may look sloppy without framing. |
| Default reset | Return of the original badge | No. |
This feature is especially useful for creating custom folders, such as putting all financial applications into one folder and giving them a (single) style different from entertainment content, which increases the ergonomics of smartphone use, allowing you to find the right programs faster by visual search.
When you upload your own image, the system automatically prompts you to crop the image to the desired format. It is recommended to use images with a transparent background or contrast center so that the icon reads well against any wallpaper background. PNG Alpha channel is the best choice.
☑️ Checklist for manual replacement
Working with widgets and their impact on the interface
While the question was about icons, it is impossible to ignore widgets that are an integral part of Xiaomi’s workspace: Watch, weather, music and calendar widgets often overlap icons or are in close proximity to them, forming an overall visual impression.
Newer versions of the shell offer the ability to change the style of widgets regardless of the theme, and long-term clicking on the widget allows you to go to the settings menu, where you can choose the color of the dial, the transparency of the background and the style of the font, which allows you to harmoniously fit the widget into the overall concept set by the new application icons.
There is also the option of installing third-party widgets from the Google Play store, such as OverWidget or KWGT. These tools offer almost limitless creativity, allowing you to create digital watches, calendars and switches that look like part of the operating system but have a unique design.
- 🕰 Synchronization of color widgets with color gamut of icons.
- 🎨 Using transparent widgets to keep the background clean.
- 📲 Integration of third-party widgets to expand functionality.
⚠️ Attention: A large number of active widgets, especially with frequent updates (weather, news), can significantly increase battery consumption.
Solution: problems with the application of topics
Customization is not always smooth. Users may find that after applying the theme, icons have not changed, the desktop layout has gone or signatures have been lost, most often due to conflicting versions of the theme components or errors in the system cache.
If icons are not used, first check whether the restriction on changing system elements in the theme settings is worth it. Some lightweight themes may not contain graphical resources for all applications, in which case a complete reinstallation of the theme with the pre-cleaning of the theme application data will help.
Another common problem is the appearance of black squares instead of icons, which means that the theme package lacks a graphic element for a particular application, and the system does not know how to replace it, the solution is one: use the manual replacement function of the icon described above, or choose a more complete theme.
💡
The stability of the interface depends on the quality of the theme code. Xiaomi official themes are usually optimized better than amateur builds from third-party resources.
In rare cases, you may need to reset your launcher settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → System Launcher and select Clean → Clear Everything. Be careful: this action will return the icons on your desktops to factory status, and you will have to re-arrange them.