How to turn off double clocks on Xiaomi smartphones: 5 proven ways

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi screen displays the same clock twice - in the status bar and in the notification bar? or duplicate time appeared on the lock screen after the MIUI update? This problem occurs on devices with MIUI 12-15 firmware and is most often associated with system widget conflict, settings of the theme or time synchronization errors.

In most cases, double watches are not a critical error, but they take up extra space on the screen, spoil the appearance of the interface and can signal deeper firmware problems. In this article, we will analyze all possible causes of duplication of time and offer 5 working ways to eliminate it, including hidden MIUI settings, reset widgets and manually editing configuration files.

Important: If the double watch comes after you install a custom theme or upgrade, try returning the standard theme (Settings → Screen → Themes) first, which solves the problem 60% of the time.

Why is there a double watch on Xiaomi?

Duplicating time on the Xiaomi screen is not an accident, but a consequence of specific user actions or MIUI malfunctions.

• 🔄 Widget conflict: Simultaneously active system widget watch and widget from a third-party theme or launcher (for example, Nova Launcher).
• 📱 Error after update: B MIUI 14/15 The double-clock bug appears after OTA-updates due to incorrect cache of system applications.
• ⚙️ Developer settings: Show the clock in the status bar (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap → For developers → Status line).
• 🎨 Custom themes: Some themes from the Mi Theme Store contain built-in watch widgets that duplicate system themes.
• 🔧 Resetting: After resetting to factory settings, the cache of the old watch widget may remain.

According to the community XDA Developers, the problem most often occurs on Redmi Note models 10/11 Pro, POCO X3/X4 mi 11 Lite after upgrading to Android 12/13. If you have one of these models, start with the method. №2 (widget-dropping).

Method 1: Disable the clock in the status bar through the developer settings

The fastest method is to hide the watch in the status bar if it is duplicated with a widget on the home screen.

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Find the MIUI version and tap it 7 times until you become a developer!
3. Return to the main settings menu and select Additional → For developers.
4. Scroll down to Status bar and turn off the option to Show the clock.

If after that the watch disappeared only in the status bar, but remained on the lock screen – go to the method. №3.

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Can't find the "Developers" item? Try to search for settings to type "Developer" - the system will show a hidden menu.

Method 2: Reset system widgets (without data loss)

Double watches often appear because of a system widget malfunction, to reset them without completely resetting the phone:

1. Press any widget on the home screen with your finger and drag it up to open the delete menu.
2. Remove all watch widgets, including system and third-party.
3. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
4. Find the MIUI System Interface (or MIUI System) application, open its settings and click Storage → Clear cache.
5. Reboot the phone.

After the reboot, the watch widgets should appear in their original form (without dubbing). If the problem persists, try adding the watch widget manually:

• 📱 Long-term pressing on the main screen → Widgets.
• 🔍 Find the Watch widget (from Xiaomi) and drag it to the screen.
• ⚙️ If the widget is not added, go back to the method. №4 (thematic resetting).

Method 3: Returning the standard MIUI theme

Many custom themes from the Mi Theme Store contain their own watch widgets that conflict with the system ones, to bring back the original time display:

1. Open the settings → Screen → Themes.
2. Select a standard theme (e.g. MIUI Default or Classic).
3. Confirm the application of the theme and wait for the process to be completed.
4. Reset the device.

If the clock is still duplicated after changing the theme, check the lock screen settings:

1. Go to Settings → Lock screen.
2. Select a Lock Style and try changing it to another one (e.g., Digital Watches to Analog Watches).
3. Turn off the option to show date and time if it is active.

Method 4: Manually delete cache files (for advanced users)

If previous methods failed, the problem may lie in corrupted cache files of system applications, and this requires a superuser or ADB access.

Instructions for ADB (without root):

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable USB Debugging (Settings → Developer).
2. Open the command line on the PC and type:

adb shell pm clear com.android.systemui


adb shell pm clear com.miui.home

For users with root access:

1. Use a root-enabled file manager (such as Root Explorer).
2. Go to /data/system/users/0/.
3. Delete the files:

widget_prefs.xml


miui_widget_prefs.xml

Then restart the phone. The system widgets will reset to factory settings.

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If after cleaning the cache, the watch is completely lost - add the watch widget manually through a long press on the main screen.

Method 5: Reset the lock screen settings

If the double clock only appears on the lock screen, reset its settings:

1. Go to Settings → Lock screen → More.
2. Select Reset the lock settings (or Reset by default).
3. Confirm the action and enter the password (if required).

If there is no reset option, try an alternative method:

1. Install a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher).
2. In the launcher settings, turn off the display of the clock on the lock screen.
3. Return to the standard MIUI launcher.

This will force the system to recreate the lock screen configuration files.

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If the watch has disappeared completely after reset, add it back through Settings → Lock screen → Watch style.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If none of the methods corrected the problem, the reasons may be:

• 🐛 Deep firmware failure: Requires flashing via Fastboot or Recovery.
• 📦 Magisk module conflict: Disable all modules in Magisk Manager and check the display of the watch.
• 🔄 Time synchronization error: Go to Settings → Additionally. → Date and time and disable/enable Autodetermination.

In extreme cases, perform a soft reset (without data loss):

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Reset all settings (not Reset to factory!).
3. Confirm the action.

This will return all system settings to factory settings, but save your files and applications.

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Before reset, back up via Settings → Google → Backup or Mi Cloud!

Table: Compatibility of methods with MIUI versions

Note: B MIUI 15 resetting the lock screen may not work due to the changed system application architecture. №4 (manual cache cleaning).

FAQ: Frequent questions about double watches on Xiaomi

If none of the proposed methods worked, the problem may be related to a hardware failure (for example, damage to the /system partition).In this case, contact the Xiaomi service center or perform a complete flashing of the device through the Mi Flash Tool.