How to find and change wallpaper on Xiaomi phone: all the ways from standard to hidden

Have you just bought a new Xiaomi smartphone or just wanted to refresh the look of your Redmi/POCO, but can’t find where the wallpaper is hiding? Unsurprisingly, the themes and backgrounds are hidden deeper in the MIUI shell than in “pure” Android, and some collections are not visible at all at first glance. In this article, we will examine all possible ways to find and install wallpaper – from basic to little-known tricks that work even on older versions of the firmware.

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi offers multiple wallpaper sources at once: built-in themes, a gallery of custom images, cloud collections, and even hidden packages that don’t appear in the main menu. We’ll show you how to get to each of them, including exclusive wallpapers for flagship models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra or more). MIX Fold 3, which can be installed on any device, and you will also learn how to get around the restrictions. MIUI, If the standard wallpaper suddenly disappeared after the update.

1. Standard method: the menu "Themes" in MIUI

The most obvious way is through the built-in Themes app, which is on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, regardless of the MIUI version.

• 📱 Long pressing in the free place of the main screen → Choose Wallpaper (or Themes in Old Versions).
• 🎨 The section Wallpaper with tabs will open: Recommended, My Wallpaper, Live Wallpaper and Color.
• 🔍 My Wallpaper tab will show installed background images, and Recommended – cloud collections from Xiaomi.

Note that MIUI 14+ has a slightly different interface, so you can now hide the wallpaper behind the Style button in the same menu, and if you have a custom firmware POCO (like POCO Launcher), the path may be different, so look for the Topic icon in the app list.

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If a download error appears in the Themes menu, check your internet connection and turn off the VPN – Xiaomi servers may block access from some regions.

The Color tab allows you to create a gradient background of two shades — useful if you want a minimalist design without pictures. And in the Live Wallpaper, you hide animated options (like the Weather or the Clock), but they put the battery heavily — use with caution.

2. Hidden Wallpaper: How to Find Exclusive Collections

Xiaomi often hides premium flagship wallpapers in the back of the system, which can be installed on any device if you know where to look. Here are two proven ways:

1. Through APK-Topics: Some wallpapers are unpacked in.mtz format (theme archives) MIUI). You can download them from forums (for example, XDA Developers or 4PDA) and install through the application Topics: Settings → Topics → Local. → Popular packages: MiWallpaper, SuperWallpapers (for Mi 11 Ultra) or EarthWallpapers (space-themed).
2. Through system files: Most built-in wallpaper is stored along the way /system/media/theme/default_wallpaper. To extract them, you need root access or a file manager with superuser rights (such as Mixplorer). DCIM/Wallpapers.

⚠️ Warning: Installing themes from unverified sources (.mtz) can cause disruptions MIUI. Before installing, check the reviews about the package on the forum and make a backup of the data.

3. Wallpaper from the gallery: how to use your photos

If you want to put on the screen a personal photo or an image downloaded from the Internet, you can do this directly from the Gallery app:

• 🖼️ Open the photo in the Gallery, click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Set up how → Wallpaper.
• 📱 Choose where to apply: Home screen, Lock screen, or Both screens.
• ✂️ Adjust the scale and position of the picture (swipe and pinch).

MIUI automatically trims the wallpaper to screen resolution, but sometimes it spoils the composition.

1. Edit the photo in advance in any graphics editor (such as Snapseed or Lightroom) so that the aspect ratio matches the smartphone screen.
2. Use special wallpaper apps (such as Wallcraft or Zedge) where you can preview how the picture will look on the screen.

4. Third-party Wallpaper Apps: TOP-5 Verified Services

If you have a small amount of built-in wallpaper, you can use specialized applications. We selected the 5 most secure and optimized for Xiaomi:

⚠️ Note: When installing wallpaper from third-party applications MIUI It can show a warning about "unoptimized background." It's not a mistake -- just press "Install" anyway. However, it can increase battery consumption if it contains animations or bright colors on the wallpaper. AMOLED-screen.

If the wallpaper looks blurry after installation, check their resolution. FHD-screens (Redmi Note) 11, POCO X4) minimum — 1920×1080. For flagships (Xiaomi) 13, MIX 4) take 2560×1440 higher.

5. Live wallpaper: how to install and customize

Animated wallpapers add speakers to the screen, but have two drawbacks: battery consumption (up to 5-7% per hour) and slowing interfaces on weak smartphones. If you're willing to compromise, here's how to activate them:

• 🌊 Topics on the menu → Live wallpaper choose one of the standard options (for example, Ocean or City).
• 🔄 For third-party live wallpapers (e.g. from Zedge), download the.apk or.kwl file (format for the.apk file). KLWP) and install through the File Manager.
• ⚙️ Set the animation speed in Settings → Display. → Live Wallpaper (not available on all models).

For advanced customization, use the KLWP Live Wallpaper Maker app, which allows you to create your own animated wallpaper with a weather widget, time and even data from your smartphone sensors.

1. Install KLWP from Google Play.


2. Select a template (e.g. Minimal Clock).




3. Press Export → Set as Wallpaper.




4.In KLWP settings, turn off unnecessary animations to save battery.

Check the battery charge (minimum 50%)

Turn off the energy-saving mode.

Close the background applications

Make sure the screen settings have the option "Animation" enabled"-->

⚠️ Note: On devices with Snapdragon processor 4xx (Redmi 9A, POCO C31) If the phone starts to brake after installation, go back to static wallpaper or reduce the animation frame rate in the settings. KLWP.

6. Wallpaper problems: what to do if they have disappeared or are not installed

Sometimes, after updating MIUI or resetting the settings, the wallpaper disappears from the menu and new ones are not installed. Here are 4 ways to return the functionality:

• 🔄 Resetting the "Themes" app settings: Go to Settings → Annexes → Application management → Topics → Warehouse → Clear the data. Once the wallpaper is rebooted, it'll come back.
• 📥 Reinstall updates for "Themes": In Google Play, find the Themes app for MIUI, Click Remove Updates, then update again.
• 📂 System wallpaper recovery: If standard background images are missing, download the archive MiWallpaper.zip forum 4PDA and unpack it in /sdcard/MIUI/theme.
• 🛠️ Manual installation through ADB (For advanced: If the wallpaper is not applied due to a failure, follow the command: adb shell cmd overlay force-stop com.android.themes Then restart the phone.

If the problem occurs after upgrading to MIUI 14/15, check if the personalization function in Settings → Special features → Simplified mode. In some regions (for example, in the EU), Xiaomi restricts access to cloud themes due to GDPR, in which case changing the region in the Mi Account settings will help.

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Before resetting the settings of the Themes app, back up your favorite wallpapers – they are stored in the /sdcard/MIUI/theme/.data folder and can be deleted.

7.Exclusive wallpaper for flagships: how to install on any Xiaomi

Xiaomi often releases unique wallpapers for flagship series (Xiaomi 13, MIX Fold, Black Shark), which are officially unavailable on budget models.

1. Download. APK For example, for Xiaomi, for example. 13 Ultra search for the file SuperWallpapers_13Ultra.apk on XDA Developers.Install it as a regular app.
2. Use Magisk modules: Modules like MiuiHomeMods or SuperWallpapersEnabler unlock hidden wallpapers. Root and Magisk are required.
3. Remove wallpaper from firmware: Download the firmware for the flagship (e.g. Xiaomi 12S Ultra) and find the /product/media/theme/wallpaper folder in the archive. Wallpaper will be in.jpg or.webp format.

Example: The Earth and Mars wallpaper from Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 can be installed on the Redmi Note 10 if you download them separately and place them in DCIM/Wallpapers.

⚠️ Attention: Installation APK Wallpaper from other models can lead to graphic artifacts (such as cropping or stretching.

FAQ: Frequent questions about wallpaper on Xiaomi