How to Reset or Cancel a Theme on Xiaomi Phone: 5 Proven Ways

Xiaomi’s smartphone design theme is not just a background pattern, but a complex interface change that includes icons, fonts, animations, and even sounds. Sometimes the installed theme can be annoying because of flashy colors, unreadable fonts, or just get bored with time. But how to cancel it without disrupting the system? In this article, we will examine all possible ways, from a standard reset through the theme menu to radical methods like rollback to factory settings.

The feature of MIUI firmware is that it is closely integrated with MIUI Themes, where users share their experiences, which means that simply removing the theme through Settings doesn’t always work — sometimes you need to manually clean the cache or even reinstall system applications. We’ll look at solutions for all versions of MIUI (12 to 14), including cases where the theme has “hang” after an update or was installed through third-party APKs.

It’s important to understand that some themes change system files, so canceling them may require rebooting the device. If you lose app icons or have artifacts on the screen after changing the theme, this is a sign that the theme has been installed with violations, in which case only a full reset or manual editing through ADB will help.

Method 1: Reset theme through standard MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to return a standard theme through the settings menu, which works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones with official MIUI firmware (including global and Chinese versions).

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to the Design section (or Themes in older versions of MIUI).
3. Slip on the My Theme line – here is the current active theme.
4. At the bottom of the screen, select the Standard (or Default) option.
5. Confirm the change, wait for application (may take up to 30 seconds).

If the topic doesn't reset after this action, try restarting your phone. In rare cases, you need to clear the cache of the MIUI Themes app:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find it. MIUI Themes is on the list and open his card.
• 🧹 Click Clear Cache and Clear Data (Warning: This Will Remove All Downloaded Themes!).
• 🔄 Reset the device.

Some models (such as Xiaomi 12T or Redmi Note 11) may have some old design elements left after resetting the theme, such as desktop icons.

⚠️ Note: If the application icons are not displayed correctly after the theme is reset (for example, as white squares), this means that the theme has overwritten the system icon files. ADB.

Method 2: Remove theme through MIUI Themes

If a standard reset didn't help, try removing the theme directly in the MIUI Themes app.This method is suitable for themes downloaded from an official store or installed manually through the APK.

1. Open the Themes app (brush icon on your desktop).
2. Go to the tab My (or Profile in new versions).
3. Find the topic you want to delete in the list and hold your finger (long press).
4. In the menu that appears, select Remove or Reset.
5. Confirm the action and wait for the process to be completed.

For those established through APK-Files may require an additional step:

• 📁 Go to the File Manager. → Downloads.
• 🗑️ Find and delete the theme file (usually with the.mtz or.apk extension).
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

If the theme was installed through MIUI Themes but does not appear in the My Themes list, it may mean that it has been integrated into the system, in which case only factory resets or manual editing through ADB will help.

Method 3: Reset to factory settings (radical method)

If the previous methods didn't work, there's a radical solution, which is to completely reset the device to factory settings, and this way will remove all the data from the phone, including apps, photos and settings, so only use it as a last resort.

• 📱 Make a backup copy through Settings → The phone. → Backup.
• 🔋 Charge your phone to at least 70%.
• 📝 Write down Mi Account details (logins and passwords).

Resetting instructions:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to Erase All Data (or Hard Reset on some models).
3. Enter your Mi Account password if required.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the completion (it will take 5-10 minutes).

⚠️ Warning: On phones with bootloader unlocked, a factory reset may result in an anti-rollback.Be sure to access the Mi Account linked to the phone before the procedure.

Once reset, the phone will boot with a standard MIUI theme, and if the problem was in corrupted theme files, this method is guaranteed to solve it, but remember, resetting won’t help if the theme was installed through Magisk or other root access tools, in which case you will need to manually undo the changes.

Method 4: Delete theme through ADB (for advanced users)

If you're familiar with the command line and you've got experience with ADB, you can try removing the theme manually, which is suitable for those that aren't removed in standard ways.

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Press 7 times, then return to Additional → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to your computer and allow debugging over USB.
2. Open the command prompt (CMD on Windows or Terminal on macOS/Linux).
3. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must display the serial number of your device.
4. Remove the cache and data of the MIUI Themes app: adb shell pm clear com.android.themes
5. Reboot your phone: adb reboot

If the theme was installed as a system application, it can be removed by the command:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.theme.name

(Replace com.miui.theme.name with the real name of the theme package, which can be found by using the adb shell pm list packages | grep theme command).

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB Do not delete packets that do not have the word theme in their name, they may be critical system components.

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Before working with ADB, create a restore point in TWRP (if installed), which will allow you to roll back changes in case of an error.

Method 5: Undo theme through Recovery Mode (for hardwired devices)

If your Xiaomi has custom recovery (TWRP or OrangeFox), you can manually delete theme files, which is suitable for power users, as it requires access to system partitions.

1. Turn off your phone and press the button combination to log in to Recovery (usually Power + Volume Up).
2. From the TWRP menu, select Advanced → File Manager.
3. Go to /data/system/theme/ or /system/priv-app/ThemeManager/.
4. Delete files with the.mtz extension or folders with the titles of the themes.
5. Go back to the main menu and select Reboot → System.

If the theme was stitched as part of custom firmware (e.g., Xiaomi.eu or PixelExperience), deleting it can lead to interface errors, in which case it is better to reflash the phone with a complete cleaning of the Dalvik, Cache, System and Data partitions.

On phones with a locked bootloader, access to system folders through Recovery is impossible - an attempt to modify them will lead to the activation of Anti-Rollback protection and lock the device.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

When trying to undo a topic, users often face typical problems, and consider the most common ones and how to fix them:

• 🔄 The theme is reset, but after the reboot it returns: This means that the theme is written in the system configuration files. -rf /data/system/theme/*.
• 📱 After resetting the theme, app icons disappeared: The theme overwrote icon files in /system/app/. Solution – Firmware or manually replace files through ADB.
• 🔒 Can't reset the topic because of locked settings: On some corporate or hardwired devices, theme settings may be blocked by politicians. Only unlocking the bootloader and flashing the flashback will help.
• ⚙️ MIUI Themes issues reset error: Clear the app cache and data, and check your internet connection (some topics require online license verification).

If none of the methods worked, the cause could be damage to the system files.

1. Try updating the firmware through Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. If the update doesn’t help, run the flash flashing through the Mi Flash Tool (you’ll need to unlock the bootloader).
3. On phones with root access, you can try to restore system files via Magisk or LSPosed.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions

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If the theme was installed through third-party sources (APK, Magisk, TWRP), its cancellation may require the same tools. Always check the source of the theme before installing - unofficial themes often contain malicious code or corrupted files.