How to turn off wallpaper on Xiaomi Redmi 9: all working ways

Xiaomi Redmi 9 is one of the most popular budget smartphones with a shell MIUI, which is known for its customization. But what to do if the standard wallpaper irritates, slows down the system or just want a minimalistic black screen? In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to disable the background pattern – from basic settings to hidden features for power users.

It's important to understand that MIUI doesn't provide a direct option to "remove wallpaper," but you can get around this limitation. We tested all methods on Redmi 9 with MIUI 12.5-14 firmware (including global and Chinese versions). If the screen turned black or artifacts appeared after the changes, don't panic, it's fixable (this will be discussed at the end of the article).

Why you might need to turn off the wallpaper

At first glance, background images seem harmless, but in practice they affect:

• 🔋 Battery consumption: Live Wallpapers increase energy consumption by 5–12% (according to tests) XDA Developers).
• 🐢 Performance: on Redmi 9 s 3/4 GB RAM static high-resolution wallpaper can cause slowdowns when opening applications.
• 👁️ Convenience: bright or colorful background drawings are distracting, especially in the dark.
• 🛠️ Technical bugs: after the update MIUI Wallpaper sometimes “fly off”, leaving black stripes or distorted colors.

Some users prefer a completely black screen. AMOLED-Displays (although Redmi 9 has a matrix) IPS, It's still a little bit of a strain on your eyes, and some people just want to get back to the standard background. MIUI After Failing Customization Experiments.

Method 1: Change wallpaper to black background through settings

The easiest and safest method is to put a solid black instead of the current wallpaper, which will not completely turn off the background, but visually it will give the same effect:

1. Open the Themes app (the icon with a brush on your desktop).
2. Go to Wallpaper section. → Colors.
3. Choose Black or Dark (depending on the MIUI version).
4. Click Apply and select Home Screen + Lock Screen (or just one of them).

If your MIUI version does not have a Color section, use the alternative:

• 📱 Download any image of solid black (e.g., from here).
• 🖼️ In the Topics app, select My Wallpaper → Gallery and download the downloaded file.
• ⚙️ In wallpaper settings, disable Blurring and Paralax Effects (if available).

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI 13+ black background can appear as dark gray due to hardware limitations IPS-It's not a bug, it's a feature of the Redmi 9 display.

Method 2: Using a third-party launcher

If the standard MIUI settings don't work, install an alternative launcher.The best options for Redmi 9 are:

Instructions for setting up (for example, Nova Launcher):

1. Install a launcher from Google Play.
2. When you first start, select it as the default launcher.
3. Press the finger free space on the desktop → Wallpaper settings.
4. Choose Colors → Black or upload your image.
5. In the section Additionally turn off Wallpaper Scrolling and Paralax Effects.

The advantage of this method is that you can only turn off wallpaper on your desktop, leaving the standard locks on the screen, and launchers also allow you to hide application icons, which adds minimalism.

💡

If after changing the launcher, weather widgets or watches are missing, return them via the MIUI settings: Settings → Applications → Smart widgets → Restore.

Method 3: Disabling wallpaper through ADB (for experienced)

If you need to completely remove system wallpaper (for example, they glitch after updating), you can use ADB. This method requires a PC connection and basic command line knowledge.

Warning: Incorrect ADB commands may disrupt MIUI. Back up your data before you start!

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI 14 disabling the system wallpaper may result in a black screen when locked.In this case, return the standard settings via ADB or-thing.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times) Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging on USB
2. Connect Redmi 9 to your PC and check the connection: Adb devices (the device should be displayed).
3. Execute the command to reset wallpaper: adb shell cmd theme reset wallpaper or to force the installation of a black background: adb shell settings put global wallpaper_color 0xFF000000
4. Reboot your phone: adb reboot

If the wallpaper hasn’t changed after the reboot, try clearing the Topic app’s cache:

adb shell pm clear com.miui.home

Method 4: Resetting themes to standard

If the wallpaper is “tracked” after updating or experimenting with themes, return the factory settings through the Topics menu:

1. Open the Topic app.
2. Go to Profile (the icon of the person in the lower right corner).
3. Click on the gear (Settings) → Restore standard themes.
4. Confirm the reset and restart the phone.

This method will return not only standard wallpaper, but also:

• 🎨 Application icons.
• 📱 Style of fonts and animations.
• 🔊 Notification sounds.

If the reset didn’t help, try clearing the Topics app data:

1. Settings → Applications → Application Management → Themes.
2. Click Clear Data and Clear Cache.
3. Reset the device.

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Resetting themes does not delete user data (photos, contacts), but can return standard alarm sounds and notifications.

Method 5: Manually remove wallpaper through file manager

For advanced users, there is a way to manually delete wallpaper files, which will help if the system wallpaper is damaged or takes up too much space.

Note: Deleting system files can cause MIUI errors. back up the folder before making changes!

1. Install a file manager with access to root folders (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Go to /data/system/users/0/wallpaper or (for older versions of MIUI): /data/data/com.android.settings/files/wallpaper
3. Delete files: wallpaper (main wallpaper), wallpaper_lock (lock-screen), wallpaper_thumb (preview).

Reboot the phone.

After removal, the system will automatically substitute the standard MIUI background (usually an abstract gradient).If you want to return the black screen, use Method 1 of this article.

⚠️ Note: Some of the folders are on the firmware /data/system/ It can be protected. Access requires root rights or commands: adb shell chmod 777 /data/system/users/0/wallpaper Use this only if you are confident in your actions!

What to do if the screen becomes black or glitchy after the changes

Sometimes after manipulation with wallpaper there are bugs:

• 🖥️ Black screen when unlocking.
• 🎨 Artifacts (stripes, distorted colors).
• 🔄 Cyclical launcher reboot.

Solutions for each case:

If none of the methods worked, do a soft reset (without data loss):

1. Press the power button + increase the volume for 10 seconds.
2. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe & Reset → Wipe All Data (Keep Media).
3. Confirm the reset and wait for the reset.

FAQ: Frequent questions about wallpaper on Redmi 9