How to disable the theme on the lock screen Xiaomi: 5 working ways

Xiaomi’s lock screen is the first thing you see when you turn on a smartphone, and its design can significantly affect the overall experience of the device. Many users face a situation where, after installing a new theme from MIUI Themes or accidentally pressing the lock background, the lock is changed to an uncomfortable or too bright option. Worse, some themes add banner ads or animations that drain the battery and distract.

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to return the standard look of the lock screen or completely disable imposed themes. The instructions are relevant for all modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones based on MIUI 12-14 (including global and Chinese versions of firmware).

Why does the theme on the lock screen change itself?

Most often, unwanted changes in the background image or lock style occur for three reasons:

• 🔄 Automatic update of topics — MIUI It syncs themes with Xiaomi servers by default and can apply them without your knowledge, especially if you have previously installed custom packages.
• 📱 Reset theme settings – after updating the firmware or resetting to factory settings, the system sometimes returns “advertising” themes from partners (for example, Mi Browser or Mi Video).
• 🎨 Conflict of topics – if you have installed themes from third-party sources (APK-files, they can overwrite the system lock settings.

It’s important to understand that lock screen and screensaver (AOD) are two different elements. Disabling theme on lock doesn’t always affect Always On Display, and vice versa. If you have problems with AOD, you’ll need a separate setup in Settings → Display → Screensaver.

⚠️ Note: Some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12) may reset desktop wallpaper after disabling the theme.

Method 1: Disable theme through standard MIUI settings

The easiest method is to return a standard theme through the personalization menu, which works on 90% of devices and does not require additional manipulation:

1. Open the settings (cog icon on the desktop).
2. Go to the Topics section (or Wallpaper and Themes on new MIUI versions).
3. Select My Themes → Find the "Standard" option (usually the first one on the list).
4. Click Apply and confirm the change.

If the standard theme is not on the list, try:

• 🔍 Manually find it on the request of "default" in search of topics.
• 📥 Download the official theme MIUI Default from the Theme Store (free).

On some firmware (e.g. MIUI 14 for POCO F5), the standard theme may be called Basic or Classic. If the lock background has not changed after applying, go to Settings → Display → Lock screen and manually select wallpaper.

Method 2: Reset theme settings to factory

If a standard theme doesn't apply or isn't listed, a complete reset of personalization options will help, which removes all custom themes and returns default system settings:

1. Open Settings → Themes.
2. Tap the three-point menu (⋮) top-right.
3. Select Reset (or Reset by default).
4. Confirm the action - the system will restart.

After the reboot:

• 🔄 The background lock will be dropped to factory (usually black or gradient).
• 📁 All downloaded themes will remain in memory, but will be deactivated.
• ⚙️ The font, icon and sound settings will also return to standard.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 13+ The reset can temporarily disable Always On Display to return AOD, Go to Settings. → Display. → Screensaver and turn on the function again.

Method 3: Manually remove themes through file manager

For power users, there is a method of manually removing unnecessary themes through system folders, which will help if:

• 🚫 Standard Themes are not applied due to an error.
• 📦 There are many unnecessary topics in the system that occupy memory.
• 🔧 You want to completely clear the cache theme.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with access to system folders (such as MiXplorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/theme/ All custom themes in.mtz format are stored here.
3. Delete files to those you want to delete (for example, recommend_*.mtz are advertising themes).
4. Clear the cache folder: /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/theme/.cache/
5. Reset the device.

After cleaning the folders, go to Settings → Themes and apply the standard theme again. If the lock background has not changed, try clearing the cache of the Themes app:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Themes app (or MIUI Themes).
3. Select Warehouse. → Clear the cache.

Method 4: Disabling Automatic Theme Application

MIUI can automatically set "recommended" themes by default, especially if you use a Mi Account.

1. Open Settings → Themes.
2. Go to the theme settings (cog in the upper right corner).
3. Turn off the options: 🔄 Automatic update of topics 📡 Recommend topics 🌐 Synchronization of topics with Mi Account

Save the changes.

On some firmware (e.g. MIUI 14 for Redmi K50), these options may be hidden.

• 📵 Turn off mobile data and Wi-Fi before entering the theme settings – this sometimes blocks download recommendations.
• 🔧 Use Developer Mode to disable com.android.themes application background processes (instruction below).

💡

If the themes still apply after disabling automatic updates, check your Mi Account settings on account.xiaomi.com – personalization synchronization may be enabled there.

Method 5: Using ADB to disable themes completely (advanced)

If all previous methods failed, you can block the Theme system application through ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

• ✅ Completely disables theme change.
• ✅ Remove Advertising in Personalization Settings.
• ⚠️ Will prevent you from setting any topics (including wallpaper).

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version.

Settings → Additional → For Developers

USB debugging

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

Reset the device.

To return the opportunity to change topics, do:

adb shell pm enable com.android.themes

⚠️ Attention: MIUI 14 Disabling com.android.themes may cause a failure in Always On Display. Before executing the command, check if your model depends on this package to display time on the screen off.

💡

Disabling themes through ADB is an irreversible process until the next reboot. If the lock screen turns black after the command without the possibility of changing, return the application with the pm enable command.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If none of these methods worked, the problem may be related to:

• 🐛 Firmware error on some beta versions MIUI Solution: Reverse to stable version.
• 🔒 Operator policy - some firmware for operators (for example, Redmi with a proprietary MegaFon shell) block the change of topics.
• 📱 Hardware failure - if after resetting to factory settings, the problem remains, perhaps, damaged device memory.

The last option is a complete reset to the factory settings:

1. Save all data (photos, contacts, messages).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Choose to erase all data and confirm.

After discharge:

• 📵 Do not restore settings from backup – this can return the problem.
• 🔧 Do not install themes from third-party sources in the first hours after resetting.

FAQ: Frequent questions on Xiaomi lock screen topics