How to turn off interactive wallpaper on Xiaomi: 5 working ways (including MIUI 14)

Interactive wallpaper on Xiaomi smartphones is not just a static image, but dynamic animation that responds to touch, device tilts or even weather conditions. For many users, this feature becomes an annoying factor: It drains the battery faster, distracts from basic tasks and sometimes even slows down the interface. POCO, where hardware resources are limited.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can disable interactive wallpapers, from standard MIUI settings to hidden developer and ADB command settings. You’ll learn how to remove animations from both the lock screen and the home screen, and what to do if the settings are reset after the system update. Important: some methods require superuser rights or a PC connection, so prepare the necessary tools in advance.

Why can interactive wallpaper interfere?

At first glance, animated wallpaper seems to be a harmless feature, but in practice, they create several serious problems:

• 🔋 Increased battery consumption: constant animation forces GPU work harder, which increases energy consumption by 5-15% (according to tests) XDA Developers on Xiaomi 12 Pro).
• 🐢 Lags and Brakes: On 4–6GB of RAM devices, interactive elements can conflict with background processes, causing delays when opening applications.
• 🎨 Incompatibility with theme: many wallpapers do not go well with dark themes MIUI, This makes the text on the lock screen unreadable.
• 🚫 Intrusive advertising: In some versions of the firmware, interactive wallpapers contain hidden banners (for example, in themes from the Mi Theme Store).

In addition, animations can automatically turn on after a system update or reset, due to Xiaomi’s policy of defaulting to “enhance the user experience” by activating “chips,” but not everyone likes this approach — especially owners of devices with a user experience that is not very popular. AMOLED-screens where the constant change of pixels accelerates the burnout matrix.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard MIUI settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in system tools, which is suitable for most models on MIUI 12-14, including Xiaomi 13/13T, Redmi Note 12 and POCO F5.

1. Open the Themes app (icon with brush and palette).
2. Go to the Wallpaper section → Lock screen.
3. Choose the category Static or Simple (depending on the firmware version).
4. Click on the image you like and apply it using the Install button.

If your version of MIUI does not have an explicit "Static" section, try an alternative way:

1. Hold your finger to the free space on the main screen.
2. In the bottom menu, select Wallpaper.
3. Scroll down to the Basic or Classic section.
4. Install wallpaper without marking Interactive or Dynamic.

Important: On some devices (such as Xiaomi 12 Lite) after changing the wallpaper, the animation may remain on the lock screen, in which case, restart the smartphone or reapply the wallpaper.

Method 2: Using hidden developer settings

If the standard method didn't work, try turning off animations through the developer menu. This method requires activating the developer mode, which is hidden by default.

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Find the MIUI version and click on it 7 times in a row. You will be notified of becoming a developer!
3. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.
4. Scroll down to the animation block and set all three parameters (Scale of animation, transition animation, Animator Duration) to the value No animation.

This method will not remove interactive wallpaper completely, but will significantly reduce their activity, for example, animations when unlocked will play faster, and background effects will become less noticeable.

On devices with a MediaTek processor (such as the Redmi Note 11), disabling animations through the developer menu can lead to bugs with notifications. If you notice problems, return the settings to the original state.

Method 3: Remove via Mi Theme Editor (for advanced)

If you use a custom theme with interactive elements, you can edit it manually, and you will need the Mi Theme Editor app (available on XDA Labs) and root rights (optional, but simplifies the process).

1. Download and install Mi Theme Editor (the.apk file can be found on the 4PDA or XDA forums).
2. Open the app and select the current theme in the Installed section.
3. Go to the Editor → Animations and delete files with the.zip or.mtz extension that are responsible for interactivity.
4. Save the changes and apply the theme again.

This is a good way for users who want to keep the theme design but only remove the animation, but be careful: incorrect editing can cause the theme to crash and automatically reset to standard.

💡

Before editing a theme, back it up through Settings → Themes → My Themes → Export. This will help you quickly recover the original version if you make an error.

Method 4: Disconnection through ADB-Teams (for experienced teams)

If previous methods have failed, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting your smartphone to your computer and installing Google's Platform Tools.

1. Download and unpack Platform Tools on PC.
2. Turn on your smartphone to debug by USB (Settings → For developers → debugging by USB).
3. Connect the device to your computer and open the command prompt (cmd) in the folder with the platform-tools.
4. Enter the command to check the connection: adb devices If the device appears in the list, continue.
5. Use the command to disable interactive wallpaper: adb shell settings put global wallpaper_effects_enabled 0
6. Reboot your smartphone.

Use the same command to return animations, replacing 0 with 1. This method works on most devices with MIUI 13+, but some firmware (e.g. MIUI EU) may require an additional command:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.wallpaperbackup

Warning: misuse of ADB can cause system failure.Do not change other settings unless you are sure of their purpose.

💡

ADB-commands are the most reliable way to turn off interactive wallpaper at the system level, but it requires caution. Always check the syntax of commands before executing.

Method 5: Resetting launcher settings (extreme case)

If interactive wallpapers came up after a MIUI update or a new theme was installed, and standard methods don't help, you can reset the launcher settings, which will return the standard interface without animations, but also delete:

• 📁 Location of icons on the main screen.
• 🎨 All the themes and wallpapers used.
• ⚙️ Settings of gestures and transitions.

To perform the discharge:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the MIUI Launcher (or POCO Launcher for POCO devices) app.
3. Open the Warehouse. → Clear the data.
4. Confirm the action and restart the smartphone.

⚠️ Warning: After the launcher is reset, widgets and folders with applications may disappear. Take screenshots of the current icon arrangement in advance to quickly restore it.

What if the wallpaper returns after the update?

Many users face a problem: after the MIUI update, interactive wallpapers automatically re-enable, which is because the system resets some settings to default values, to prevent animations from returning:

1. Turn off automatic themes updates: Go to Themes → Settings → Auto-Update Themes and deactivate the option.
2. Install a third-party launcher: Apps like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair ignore system wallpaper and allow static images to be used.
3. Block the update of a specific theme: In the Mi Theme Store, find the current theme, click on three dots → Cancel the update.

If the problem persists, try rolling back the firmware to a previous version or installing a custom build (e.g. xiaomi.eu), where similar "chips" are often disabled by default.

FAQ: Frequent questions about interactive wallpaper on Xiaomi