Owners of the Redmi Note 8 Pro often face a situation where the standard lock screen suddenly begins to change images every time the display is turned on. This is the Wallpaper Carousel feature, which is activated by default in the MIUI shell. While for some users it is a way to diversify the visual experience, many are annoyed by the intrusiveness of the service, the consumption of mobile traffic and the presence of banner ads on beautiful pictures.
Fortunately, Xiaomi’s system allows you to manage this process flexibly. Not only can you completely disable image change, but you can also customize content sources or remove ads. In this article, we will detail all the available methods for controlling the lock screen so that your Redmi Note 8 Pro behaves predictably and displays exactly what you need.
Disabling this feature does not require superuser rights or complex code manipulation. All settings are publicly available, but their location may not be obvious to the beginner. Let's consider an algorithm of actions that will help you regain control over the appearance of your device.
What is a wallpaper carousel and why it is needed
The wallpaper carousel is a proprietary service from Xiaomi, integrated into the MIUI shell, and its primary purpose is to automatically upload and display high-quality photos from professional photographers and partners of the company every time you use a smartphone, creating a sense of novelty and dynamism of the interface without user intervention.
But there's a downside to the coin: The service requires a constant Internet connection to upload new images, which can waste your mobile traffic. Also, images often feature sponsor logos or advertising that can overlap widgets or simply interfere with perception. For many Redmi Note 8 Pro users, stability and minimalism are more important, so they prefer a static picture.
⚠️ Warning: Disabling the carousel completely will not remove images already downloaded from the app's cache, but will stop downloading new ones.
It's important to understand the difference between a regular live wallpaper and a carousel. Live wallpaper is an animated background that works locally, and a carousel is a network service that pulls content from the cloud, and they shut down in different ways, and in this guide we focus specifically on the Wallpaper Carousel network service.
Completely shutting down the carousel through settings
The easiest and most reliable way to remove intrusive image change is to use the built-in menu of theme settings. This method does not require installing third-party software and is completely safe for the operating system of your Redmi Note 8 Pro. The algorithm of actions is quite simple, but requires careful attention when searching for the desired item.
You need to get to the Themes menu first, and you can do this in two ways: find the appropriate app in the Tools folder on your desktop, or go to Settings → Lock screen. In Themes, you can look at the bottom navigation bar where you're interested in the Profile tab.
☑️ Shutdown algorithm
Once you go to profile, click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen, and you'll see a list of service options, find the wallpaper carousel, and just switch the slider to "Off." The system can request confirmation of action, agree.
After this procedure, when you lock the screen, only one, static image, which you installed earlier as the main wallpaper, will be displayed. Auto boot will stop immediately, even if the phone is connected to Wi-Fi.
Managing Subscriptions and Content Sources
If you don't want to give up the feature entirely, but you want to clear the screen of unnecessary visual noise, you can configure subscription sources. MIUI has the option to choose which categories of images will be displayed on the lock screen, which allows you to exclude sports content, news or advertising games, leaving only landscapes or abstractions.
To manage subscriptions, go back to the wallpaper carousel settings (the path described in the previous section) and you will see a list of active categories. By removing the boxes from unnecessary sections, you will significantly reduce the variety, but not disable the feature completely. However, this does not guarantee a complete lack of advertising integrations, since some sponsored images can be marked as “Popular”.
| Parameter | Description of the system impact | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-update | Uploads new photos when connected to the network | Disconnect to save traffic |
| Notifications | Shows push notifications about new topics | Strictly turn off |
| Use of data | Allows downloading via mobile network | Allow only Wi-Fi |
| Privacy policy | Collection of usage statistics | Disable in the Mi Account settings |
Also worth paying attention to is the data usage settings. There's a merry-go-round menu that allows images to be uploaded over a mobile network. Turning off this option is critical if you have a charging Internet, because a single high-resolution image can weigh several megabytes and can accumulate dozens of images in a day.
Hidden Advertising Integrations
How to remove advertising and recommendations in the carousel
Many users want to disable the advertising component, leaving the opportunity to admire beautiful photos. In the latest versions of MIUI for the Redmi Note 8 Pro, the ability to fine-tune the displayed content. However, be realistic: the carousel was created as a marketing tool, so it is completely sterile.
In the settings of the carousel (installation "Profile» → «Settings") find the "Receive recommendations" or "Show ads." If the switch is active, deactivate it. This will remove the banners of applications and services that often appear at the bottom of the lock screen or on top of the image.
And then there's the way you train the algorithm, and if you get an ad image, you can often click on it, select a menu (three dots) and say "Don't show similar" or "Hide source," and over time, the amount of unwanted content will decrease, although this method takes time and patience.
⚠️ Attention: After major firmware updates, privacy settings may be reset to factory values. Periodically check this menu section to ensure that ads do not return unnoticed.
Another effective way to do this is to disable Xiaomi-wide ad personalization. Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Privacy → Advertising Services and disable personalization. This won’t take ads off the carousel completely, but it will make them less intrusive and relevant to your interests.
Static wallpaper settings after disconnection
Once you have successfully disabled the carousel, the question will arise: what will be displayed on the screen? by default, the last downloaded image or standard background MIUI. To make the device look neat, it makes sense to install a high-quality static image manually.
You can use the built-in gallery or download wallpaper from the Internet. The optimal resolution for the Redmi Note 8 Pro is 1080 × 2340 pixels. Using lower resolution images will result in "grain" on the screen with a high pixel density, and larger pictures the system itself scales, which can slightly change the composition of the frame.
To install, go to Settings → Wallpaper. Here you can select an image from the gallery, a system theme, or download a new one from an online directory. It is important to select the option “lock screen” or “main screen and lock screen” when installing, so that the image applies correctly.
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Use it. AMOLED-Wallpaper (mainly black) to save battery life, as the screen of your Redmi Note 8 Pro is made using technology IPS, But dark colors still reduce the overall brightness of the backlight and the load on the eyes.
Keep in mind that static wallpaper does not consume CPU resources to decode new images every time you turn on the screen, which could theoretically have a positive impact on the autonomy of the device, especially on older versions of Android.
Solution: The carousel turns on itself
Sometimes users encounter a bug when the wallpaper carousel on the Redmi Note 8 Pro turns on again on its own after the system components are updated, or when synchronized with the Mi Account if the feature is active on another device.
In this case, it is recommended to clean the data of the Themes app. Don't worry, your purchased themes will not be lost, they are tied to your account. → Annexes → All applications → Topics → Memory and press "Clear." Then re-run the procedure to turn off the carousel.
Also check for system updates. Sometimes the problem is software-based and fixes in the latest versions of MIUI. If the problem persists, try turning off the Internet before entering the merry-go-round shutdown menu so that the application does not have time to download the configuration file from the server.
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If the carousel is re-enabled, it is most often the fault of synchronization via Mi Cloud or cached data from the Themes app, which requires manual cleaning.
The influence of background processes on autonomy
Don't ignore the fact that the wallpaper carousel is a constantly active background process. It periodically turns to the network to check for new content. On the Redmi Note 8 Pro with its capacious battery, this may be invisible, but in the long run (a year or more of use), each unnecessary process affects battery wear.
By disabling the service, you free up RAM and CPU time. While the modern Snapdragon 730G installed in the Note 8 Pro is easy to cope with background tasks, minimizing system debris is a good practice for maintaining the performance of the smartphone throughout its life.
In addition, the lack of constant network access reduces the heating of the device in standby mode, which is especially true in the summer or when using a smartphone in areas with unstable signal, when the communication module is operating at increased power.