How to turn off the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi Redmi Note 9: The complete guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter an intrusive automatic background change feature that appears on the lock screen. On the Redmi Note 9, this option, known as the Wallpaper Carousel, can annoy users accustomed to a static picture.

Disabling this service does not require root rights or complex code manipulation, but it requires care, since the settings menu in the MIUI shell sometimes changes its location. In this article, we will discuss in detail all available ways to deactivate the service, so that your lock screen always displays only the image you choose.

Many users confuse live wallpaper and carousel, but these are different system processes. Wallpaper carousel is exactly the service that downloads content from the Internet and shows banner ads. Understanding the difference will help you to set up your device correctly and avoid accidental activation of unnecessary functions in the future.

What is a wallpaper carousel and why it turns on itself

The feature, popularly called “Carousel,” is referred to as “Glance for Mi” or simply “Wallpaper Carousel” in Xiaomi’s system settings, a service developed in partnership with InMobi that aims to show news feeds, facts and beautiful photos every time you turn on your smartphone screen.

The main reason why this option is turned on or reappears after a reset is because of the company’s aggressive monetization policy, and the system services’ advertising integrations allow Xiaomi to keep the Redmi series’ low-cost devices. The system can activate the service after a major firmware update MIUI or at the first activation of the device.

⚠️ Warning: Complete shutdown of system services through ADB This method can cause an interface to be unstable if critical components are removed. Use this method only if standard settings do not help.

It's important to understand that turning off the carousel doesn't affect the standard gallery or the ability to set your own static images. You just prevent the phone from downloading and changing pictures without your knowledge. It also has a positive impact on traffic consumption and, to some extent, on the autonomy of the device.

Basic disconnection through lock screen settings

The easiest and safest way to remove intrusive image change is to use a regular settings menu, which is suitable for most Redmi Note 9 users and does not require a computer connection. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI (12, 12.5 or 13), but the logic remains the same.

To start, unlock your smartphone and go to the main app menu. Find the Settings icon, which usually looks like a gear. In the list that opens, you need to scroll down to the section responsible for personalizing the appearance. In different versions of the firmware, it can be called “lock screen” or located inside the “Wallpaper”.

Inside the menu, find a switch called "Wallpaper Carousel" or "Glance for Mi." Near it is often an "Enable" button or slider. Your task is to turn it into "Off" position. The system can show a pop-up asking "Are you sure?" or an offer to leave a feature for beauty - feel free to agree to disconnect.

When you turn off the slider, you should lock the power button and unlock it again. If you have a standard static image on the screen, or your photo, rather than a banner ad, the procedure is successful. If the picture changes, try restarting the device.

Setup through the Topics and Security app

Sometimes the settings are duplicated in Xiaomi system applications. If you do not find the right item in the main menu, it is worth checking the built-in Security or Themes app. These system utilities have deep access rights and can control the behavior of the lock screen regardless of the general settings.

Open the Security app (green icon with shield). In the upper right corner, click on the gear icon to open the app settings. In the list of options, find the Wallpaper Carousel. Here you will see the same settings as in the main menu: the ability to turn on, the choice of frequency of changes in images and the type of content.

You should also check the Topic app, go to the user profile (human icon), then to the settings, there may be a wallpaper carousel, where you also need to uncheck the activation box, double check these parameters ensures that the service does not start in the background.

Remember, when you update your Security or Themes app, your settings can reset to factory settings, so if you notice an ad return, you need to repeat the action algorithm, which is a feature of the MIUI ecosystem that seeks to bring monetized features back to active status.

Radical Method: Disconnection through Application Settings

If the standard switches don't work or the function is turned on again, you can try to stop the process completely through the application management menu, which is deeper and actually freezes the service responsible for downloading content.

Go to Settings and select Apps. Click All Apps or Application Management. You can find a service called Wallpaper Carousel, Glance for Mi, or Mi Wallpaper Carousel, depending on your firmware region (Global, European, Chinese).

Clicking on the app name will take you to the control menu, where you need to do two things: click Stop (or Close) and then select Disable (if available). If the Disable button is not active, look for Other Permits and disable all access, especially network and location access.

⚠️ Note: When you turn off the system application through the settings, some of the visual effects of the lock screen may disappear.

Once you do this, the system will stop receiving updates for the carousel, but it's worth considering that a major firmware update to MIUI could reinstall this component, which means you'll have to go through it again, and it's effective for those who want to be guaranteed to get rid of any reminders of the service.

Using ADB to remove the service completely

For advanced users who want to securely remove the service from the system, there is a method using Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This method requires connecting the smartphone to the computer through USB-The cable and basic command line knowledge are the most reliable method, because it deletes the service packet file.

Before starting, make sure that the phone is debugging on USB. To do this, go to the Settings. → About the phone and 7 times quickly click on the version MIUI, To activate the developer mode. Then, in the advanced settings, turn on "Debugging by" USB». Connect your phone to your PC and start the command line with administrator rights.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.mishare.localserver


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.personalassistant

However, the carousel itself is most often the com.miui.misystem or region-specific com.miui.wallpaper.carousel package.

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.wallpaper.carousel

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Before removing system components through ADB, be sure to make a full backup of important data, as an error in the command can lead to unstable system operation.

If the command is successful, the service will be removed for the current user, the wallpaper carousel will disappear from the settings and stop consuming resources, and to return everything as it was, you just need to reset the phone to factory settings, since applications deleted through ADB are restored with full vipe.

Solving the problem: if the carousel returns

There are times when, despite all efforts, banner ads or wallpaper changes come back, which may be due to third-party apps you installed or cached system data.

Often the culprits are “memory cleaners,” “accelerators,” or apps for installing live wallpaper from third-party sources. They may have permissions to change the desktop and lock screen. Check access rights under Settings → Applications → Special Features → Access to the lock screen (or a similar item in your version of MIUI).

You should also clear the cache of the Themes system application, go to App Management, find Themes, select Memory, and click Clear Cache, and don't confuse it with Clear All Data, or the themes and design settings you buy will fly.

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If the carousel returns after each MIUI update, this is the normal behavior of the system, requiring a repeated manual disabling of the function in the settings.

In rare cases, changing the region in phone settings helps, switching from Russia to India or the United States and back again can throw off some of the configuration flags that enable ad services, but this is a temporary solution and may affect some local functions.

The impact of the carousel on the performance of the Redmi Note 9

Many users don’t realize that a constantly updated wallpaper carousel isn’t just pictures; it’s a full-fledged process that uses RAM and CPU time to load and render images. On the Redmi Note 9, which is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 processor, every reserved megabyte of RAM is important for multitasking.

When the carousel is active, it keeps the Internet connected to check for new content, which leads to additional battery consumption, albeit insignificant, but on a year-scale the difference can be noticeable, and background activity can cause micro-lags when unlocking the device.

By disabling this feature, you’ll notice that the phone is a little more responsive, especially when you’re out of sleep.The system will stop wasting resources on processing advertising content, directing all the power to your apps.For game mode, this is also a plus, as fewer background processes compete for resources.

So turning off the carousel is not just a matter of aesthetics and lack of advertising, but also a way to optimize the performance of the smartphone. For mid-range devices, which include the Redmi Note 9, this optimization is a smart step to extend the comfortable life of the device.