Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter an intrusive feature that regularly changes wallpaper on a locked screen and displays various articles, news or “interesting facts.”This system, known as Wallpaper Carousel, can annoy users who prefer a static image or their own photos.
Fortunately, the developers have made it possible to completely disable this feature, although it is not always obvious. Depending on the version of the MIUI operating system or the new HyperOS, the path to settings may vary slightly, but the principle remains the same. You do not need superuser rights or complex engineering menus.
In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to deactivate ads and carousels, including hidden methods for those cases where standard switches don’t work. We’ll also look at how to clear the service’s cache to remove already downloaded materials and free up space in the device’s memory.
What is a wallpaper carousel and why it is turned off
A feature popularly called “facts of interest,” officially called the Wallpaper Carousel (or Glance by Mi in some regions), which automatically uploads new background images and information cards every time you wake up on a smartphone screen, originally conceived as a way to personalize, in practice it often turns into a channel for delivering advertising content.
Users tend to turn it off for several reasons: First, flashing images is distracting and prevents them from quickly finding unlock or seeing the time; and second, the service actively uses mobile internet or Wi-Fi to download high-resolution content, which can be critical with limited traffic.
⚠️ Warning: Turning off the wallpaper carousel does not affect the main widgets or live wallpaper you installed yourself.
And then, you can see that when you turn on this feature, the battery starts to run out a little bit faster, and the mishell or msa background process (depending on the firmware version) is constantly active, tracking geolocation to show local news or just updating the feed, and turning off the service allows you to return the system to its previous responsiveness.
Disconnection through standard screen settings
The easiest and safest way to remove "facts of interest" is to find the appropriate switch in the settings menu. In most current versions of the MIUI 12, 13, 14 and HyperOS shells, this item is in the section responsible for the appearance of the lock. The algorithm of actions is simple enough, but requires care, since the names of the items can vary.
First, you need to open the main settings menu of your device. Find the Always On and Lock (or just Lock Screen) section. Inside this menu, look for an item called Wallpaper Carousel. This is where you hide all subscriptions and automatic background updates.
Once you log into the Carousel menu, you'll see a switch at the top of the screen, which needs to be put in an inactive position, and the system can ask for confirmation or ask you to choose the reason for the outage, which is a standard statistical collection procedure that you can ignore.
☑️ Shutdown algorithm
It is important to note that in some regions (e.g. India or Europe) item names may be localized differently. If you do not find a precise match, look for the words "Glance", "Wallpaper" or "Tape". Once the switch is turned off, it is recommended to completely close the settings menu and reboot the smartphone for the application of changes.
Management through the Topics app
If you don't find the right switch in the basic settings of the phone, the second place you hide control of this feature is the Themes system app. This is the standard design store from Xiaomi, which also manages Carousel profiles.
To start, open the Themes app on your desktop. In the lower right corner, click on the profile icon (usually a person image). In the menu that opens, look for Settings. This is often where the hidden switch is located, which duplicates the system one, but sometimes works more stably.
Inside the settings, find the wallpaper carousel section, and here you will be offered several options:
- 📉 Disconnection - complete termination of service.
- 🔄 Update frequency – adjust the picture change interval (unless you want to turn off completely).
- 🌐 Region – Country choice for content (affects language and facts).
⚠️ Note: When you disconnect through the Topic app, it may be necessary to clear the app’s cache so that the changes take effect immediately.
Some users note that after updating the firmware settings in the application, Topics can be reset, in which case the procedure must be repeated, and you can see which categories of news you were offered, and unsubscribe from them individually if you do not need to completely disconnect.
Hidden settings in the app Topics
Comparison of disabling methods in different versions of MIUI
The interface between the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS is constantly changing, and the location of settings can migrate. Understanding the differences between versions will help you find the item you want faster, even if the menu names have been changed by the developers.
In older versions, such as MIUI 11 and MIUI 12, management was often deep in the menu (Alternatively inside the lock screen settings). In newer versions (MIUI 13/14), this item was brought to the first layer of nesting, making it more noticeable. HyperOS has a tendency to combine personalization settings into a single center.
Below is a table that will help you navigate where to look for a switch depending on your version of the system:
| System version | The path to adjustment | Title of paragraph | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIUI 11-12 | Settings → Lock screen → Additional | Wallpaper carousel | Often hidden in the submenu |
| MIUI 13-14 | Settings → Always on screen and lock | Wallpaper carousel | The obvious switch at the top |
| HyperOS 1.0 | Settings → Wallpaper and personalization | Wallpaper carousel/Ribbon | Integration with widgets |
| Global versions | Settings → Screen locking | Glance for Mi | Could be called something else. |
If you've recently upgraded and can't find a new item, search by settings. Type the word "Carousel" or "Wallpaper" in the menu search box, and the system will suggest you move to the desired section. It's a universal method that works on any version of Android.
💡
Use the search in the settings (lamp at the top of the screen), entering the queries "Carousel", "Glance" or "Block" to instantly find the desired menu item.
Forced Disconnection through Application Management
There are times when the switch in the settings does not work, is locked or the function is turned on again after a restart, this can be due to system errors or the specifics of the regional firmware, in which case the forced stop of the system component responsible for the operation of the carousel helps.
To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. You need to find a system application in the list, it can be called Wallpaper Carousel, Glance, Mi Video (sometimes the function is sewn there), or have a technical name like com.miui.misystem (be careful with system processes).
After finding the desired application, perform the following actions:
- 🛑 Press the Stop button (or Forced Stop).
- 🗑️ Select Clear Data and confirm the action (this will remove uploaded images).
- 🚫 If possible, click Disable or Remove Updates.
This method ensures that the process does not start until you activate it again in the settings, but it is worth remembering that after a major system update, the settings may reset and the procedure will have to be repeated.
⚠️ Warning: Do not confuse the Carousel system application with a gallery or desktop. Stopping critical system processes can lead to unstable interface operation.
Clearing the cache and removing downloaded content
Even after the function is disabled, hundreds of megabytes of junk files can remain on the device — these are cached images and texts of “interesting facts.” To free up space in the memory of a smartphone, you need to manually clear the cache of the corresponding service.
Go to the App menu again → App management. Search the Wallpaper Carousel (or Glance) in the list. Go to Memory. Here you will see two parameters: memory (memory occupied) and cache.
Press the Clean (usually broomsticks) button, which is a safe and temporary action that will only delete temporary files without affecting your personal photos or system settings. Once cleaned, the storage will be cleaner and the potential source of background load will disappear permanently.
💡
Regularly cleaning the wallpaper carousel cache can free up 100MB to 500MB of memory, which often takes up high-resolution advertising images.
If you use third-party file managers, you can also check the /MIUI/daemon or /Android/data/com.miui.mishell folder (the name may vary), but standard cleaning through application settings is usually enough for the average user.