How to set up icons on the Xiaomi desktop: a complete guide

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face the desire to make the device interface unique, reflecting their personal style. The standard shell of MIUI, and now the new HyperOS, provides tremendous customization opportunities that are hidden from the eyes of the average user when you first turn on. Changing the appearance of the desktop is not just aesthetics, but also a way to increase the ergonomics of using the gadget in everyday life.

The process of customizing icons on devices of this brand is significantly different from “pure” Android, because it uses its own theme system. You do not need to be a programmer or have root rights to radically transform the lock screen and application menu.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can change your graphics, from basic resizing of your font and grid to completely replacing your icon pack through the Themes app, and learn how to manage indentations, hide signatures, and even create your own icon sets if the standard options stop working for you.

Basic grid settings and element size

The first thing to start with is to adjust the layout of the interfaces. A standard 5x6 or 4x6 grid might seem too dense or sparse, and to change the number of apps on the screen, you need to pinch the empty area on the desktop or pinch the two fingers on the screen.

In the desktop settings menu that opens, you'll see a slider or a grid configuration choice. Changing this setting instantly redistributes all widgets and shortcuts. If you prefer minimalism, choose a 4x5 grid that makes things bigger and more visible. For those who like to keep a lot of tools on hand, maximum density is fine.

Special attention should be paid to the size of the signature font under the icons, which many users forget that it can be adjusted regardless of the overall text size in the system, which allows you to make application names more readable or, conversely, hide them to create a clean screen effect.

• 📱 Click the blank space on the screen to enter the edit mode.
• ⚙️ Select the “Settings” option in the lower corner of the screen.
• 🔤 Adjust the sliders "Size" and "Font" to a comfortable value.
• ✅ Click on “Apply” to save the changes.

It's worth noting that resizing the grid can shift your weather or clock widgets, so once scaled, it makes sense to reposition the controls you often use.

⚠️ Note: When the icons are increased to their maximum size, they can overlap in part on low-resolution screens or on older smartphone models.

Using the Topics app to change style

The main tool for global change is the built-in Theme app, which is not just a picture directory, but a powerful platform to replace system resources, and you can find thousands of free and paid designs that change not only icons, but also the notification bar, settings menu and system sounds.

To install a new style of icons, you don’t have to change the whole theme, although this is often recommended to maintain visual integrity.In the search for an application, type in the “Icons” or “Icons” query, and the system will give you hundreds of packages that are compatible with your version of MIUI. After downloading, the the theme applies instantly.

If you liked a particular theme but wanted to leave your wallpaper or widgets, select the option “Tune theme” when using the theme. In this menu, you can only tick the icons item, leaving the rest of the items unchanged. This is a professional approach to customization, allowing you to assemble the perfect mix.

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Before applying a new theme, take a screenshot of the current location of the widgets, which often have to be reconfigured after a change of style, and the photo will help restore order quickly.

The official theme store is updated regularly, and exclusive sets from designers around the world are coming up, some of them animated: when you click on a folder or a shortcut, the icon can react with a light movement, which adds to the interface's liveliness.

Manual replacement of individual application icons

Often, there is a situation when the general theme is liked, but the design of the icon of a particular application (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram) is out of the general style. In this case, there is no need to change the entire package. Xiaomi shell allows you to replace the icons of the application selectively using images from the gallery or other sets.

To do this, go to the desktop editing menu (two finger pinch) and click on the Settings button. In the list that opens, select Replace icons. The system will offer you a list of all installed applications. Find the one you want and click on it.

Then you'll be asked to choose the source of the image, and you can take a standard icon from another set theme, or you can upload your image from the gallery, and that opens up endless possibilities for creativity, like you can put a favorite team logo, a cat photo, or any abstract drawing.

Settings → Desktop → Replace icons → Application selection → Source selection

The optimal format is a square image with a resolution of 512x512 pixels, and if you upload a rectangular photo, the system will automatically crop it in the center, which can spoil the composition.

• 🖼️ Prepare a high quality square image.
• 📂 Open the desktop settings through the editing menu.
• 🔍 Find the application you want to change in the list.
• 🎨 Select “Gallery” and specify the prepared file.

⚠️ Note: If you manually replace the icon through the gallery, updating the app itself via Google Play or GetApps may return the standard icon.

Hiding signatures and creating a minimalist interface

The trend towards minimalism has also reached mobile interfaces, with many users seeking to remove text signatures from icons to keep only graphics on the screen, making the desktop cleaner, especially if you use bright and recognizable logos, but if the icons are similar, it becomes difficult to navigate.

Xiaomi's desktop settings have a feature that allows you to hide or show app names. Usually, this switch is in the same menu where the grid size is adjusted. By disabling the signatures, you free up additional vertical space, allowing you to host another row of apps or widgets.

For those who want to go further, there are themes where icons are devoid of background (have a transparent background) or are made in a monochrome style, combined with the lack of signatures, this creates the effect of “floating” elements, but this approach requires excellent memory for the location of programs.

It is worth considering that on screens with high pixel density (Retina, AMOLED), the absence of signatures can look very impressive, but on budget models with IPS-matrixes, small details of graphics without text can be read worse.

Compatibility issues and third-party launchers

Despite the flexibility of MIUI, users sometimes find that some apps don’t fit into the theme they’ve chosen, because app developers use their own resources and don’t follow Android standards or Xiaomi rules, and in such cases, the icon remains standard, white, or simply incorrect.

The solution could be to install a third-party launcher, such as a Nova Launcher or Lawnchair, which completely replaces the desktop and offers even deeper customizations. However, on Xiaomi smartphones, this can lead to the loss of some features, such as control gestures or widgets of the system.

If you decide to use a third-party launcher, be sure to give it all the necessary permissions in the Applications → Permissions menu. In particular, you need to allow auto-start and work in the background, otherwise the system will constantly “kill” the launcher process to save battery.

Third-party solutions are only justified if standard features are severely lacking, and 90% of users have more than enough native shell functionality.

Optimization and Impact on Productivity

Many users are wondering: does the abundance of animated icons and heavy themes affect the speed of a smartphone? On modern Snapdragon or Dimensity processors, the difference is almost invisible. However, on entry-level devices or older models, complex graphic elements can cause micro-twitching of the interface.

If you notice that after installing a new theme, your smartphone is slower, try clearing the theme app cache, and avoiding live icons that constantly update data (like a weather icon that changes degrees in real time) that consume more CPU and battery resources.

For maximum performance, it is recommended to use static icon sets in PNG or WebP format. They are loaded into RAM once and do not require constant calculations to render. This is especially true for owners of devices with 3 or 4 GB of RAM.

⚠️ Warning: Avoid unverified themes..mtz (theme files) may contain malicious code, as when applying the theme, you are actually giving a third-party script access to modify the system files of the interface.

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The optimal balance between beauty and speed is to use static themes from the official store with a minimum number of widgets on the desktop.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)