How to completely disable live wallpaper on Xiaomi smartphones: all ways

Live wallpaper on Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark models) often causes increased battery consumption, device overheating and occasional interface lag. Despite its visual appeal, animated background images consume up to 15-20% of the additional power in standby mode and can conflict with the MIUI shell, especially in versions 12-14. In this article, you will find topical ways to turn off live wallpaper – from standard settings to hidden developer features.

The problem is compounded by Xiaomi integrating animated wallpapers into system themes, and some models (such as the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ or Xiaomi 13 Ultra) automatically install them after the MIUI update. We tested all methods on Android 11-14 devices and found that even after manually shutting down animations can resume when changing the theme or rebooting.

Why live wallpaper is harmful to the smartphone Xiaomi

Animated background images are not just an aesthetic element, but a complete process that consumes the resources of the device. According to XDA Developers, live wallpaper in MIUI:

• 🔋 Increase battery consumption by 8-12% per hour (with active use - up to 25%) Due to the constant operation of the Adreno or Mali graphics processor.
• 🐢 Cause delays when opening applications due to conflict with the animation system MIUI Animation Framework.
• 🔥 Increase the temperature of the chipset by 3-5°C, which is critical for passive cooling devices (e.g, POCO X5 Pro).
• 📱 Can be reset after OS updates if the wallpaper is tied to the system theme (for example, Super Wallpapers in the OS). MIUI 13+).

The problem is particularly acute on budget models with Snapdragon 6xx or Helio Gxx processors, where the graphics subsystem is not optimized for background animation. At the same time, flagships (Xiaomi 14, Black Shark 6 Pro) cope better, but even they lose up to 1.5 hours of autonomy with constant use of live wallpaper.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard MIUI settings

The most obvious method is to use built-in shell tools, which is suitable for most MIUI 12-14 devices and does not require superuser rights.

1. Open the Themes app (the icon with a brush on your desktop).
2. Go to Wallpaper section. → Live wallpaper.
3. Click on the current live wallpaper and select Remove or Disable.
4. Return to the main Wallpaper menu and set a static image from the gallery or system templates.

If you don't have a live wallpaper, it means the animation is integrated into the system theme.

• 🎨 Go to Topics. → My subjects. → Current theme.
• 🔄 Click Reset on Standard (this will disable all customizations, including wallpaper).

Take a screenshot of the current desktop (in case of reset)

Close all applications (background processes may interfere with wallpaper change)

Connect the charger (at low charge, MIUI blocks theme changes)

Check the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone (the steps depend on it)

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Important! On some devices (e.g. Redmi K50 Gaming) live wallpaper is tied to game mode. If the animation returns after the shutdown, check the settings in Settings → Special Features → Game Wallpaper.

Method 2: Disconnect through the developer settings

If the standard method doesn’t work, you’ll have to use hidden Android options, which is effective for devices with MIUI 13+, where live wallpaper is embedded at the system level.

First, activate the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on the MIUI version (you will be notified “You are a developer”).
3. Return to the main Settings menu and open a new section for developers.

Now turn off the animation:

• 🔍 Find the window: scale animation and install animation disabled.
• 🔍 Do the same for the Transition: scale of animation and duration of animation.
• 🔧 To completely disable live wallpaper find debugging → Turn off the wallpaper. MIUI (If there is no paragraph, skip this step).

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After you turn off the animation in developer mode, restart the device, which will reset the cache of the system wallpaper and prevent them from spontaneously turning on.

Warning: Changing the developer settings can affect gestures and system transitions. If the interface starts to twitch after the animation is turned off, return the animation scale to 1x.

Method 3: Remove via ADB (for power users)

If live wallpaper is embedded in system applications (e.g. com.miui.miwallpaper), it can be disabled using Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that requires a computer and basic command line knowledge.

Connect your smartphone to your PC and execute the commands:

adb shell


pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper




pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.wallpaperbackup

If the first command fails (due to MIUI limitations), try the alternative:

adb shell cmd package disable-user --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper

Attention! Using ADB can cause MIUI to crash if you remove critical system components. Before executing commands, back up your data via Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.

Method 4: Reset theme settings to factory

If the live wallpaper comes back after the reboot, the problem may lie in the damaged theme settings, in which case the reset will help:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Themes app and click Warehouse.
3. Choose Clear Data and Clear Cache.
4. Reset the device.

After discharge:

• 📱 MIUI Automatically apply a standard theme without animation.
• 🔄 All custom theme settings (fonts, icons) will be reset.
• 🔒 Live wallpapers installed through Google Play (such as Zedge or WallpapersCraft) will remain in the gallery, but will no longer be animated.

Important: On some devices (e.g. Xiaomi 12T), the reset of themes can cause wallpapers to be reset on the lock screen. To avoid this, save the static image you like in the DCIM → Wallpapers folder.

Method 5: Using Third-Party Applications

If system methods don't work, you can use third-party utilities. We tested 3 apps that effectively disable live wallpaper on Xiaomi:

To use Tasker, create a task:

1. Add the action Display → Set Wallpaper.
2. Specify the path to a static image (e.g. /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/wallpaper.jpg).
3. Set up a trigger for the Device Boot event (so that the wallpaper is reset every time you turn on).

Attention! Google Play apps may conflict with MIUI and cause the “Failed to use wallpaper” error, in which case clear the Settings cache before installing a new app → Apps → Google Play Services → Storage → Clear the cache.

How to prevent the re-inclusion of live wallpaper

Even after a successful shutdown, live wallpaper can return after:

• 🔄 Updates MIUI (system resets theme settings).
• 🎁 Install new themes from the Mi Theme Store.
• 📱 Resetting to factory settings.
• 🔧 Data recovery from backup.

To avoid re-incorporation:

1. Turn off automatic themes updates: Settings → Themes → Settings → Auto-Update Themes.
2. Remove the Mi Theme Store cache: Settings → Apps → Topics → Storage → Clear the cache.
3. Block background processes: In Settings → Battery → Application selection limit the activity of Themes and Wallpaper.
4. Use an alternative launcher: Install a Nova Launcher or Lawnchair – they ignore the MIUI system wallpaper.

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If live wallpaper returns after each MIUI update, the only reliable way is to disable it via ADB (method 3) or use an alternative launcher.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

When you turn off the live wallpaper, you're faced with typical problems. Here's how to solve them:

If none of the methods worked, the last option is factory reset. Be sure to save the data before doing so, as the process will delete all user files and applications. To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset.