How to move icons on the Xiaomi desktop: from basic to advanced

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based desktop offers flexible icon settings, but it’s not always intuitive how to manage them. If you’re just switching from iOS or another Android device, standard gestures may not work: there’s no usual drag-and-drop “hold” and some features are hidden in the depths of settings. Moreover, after the MIUI 14/15 updates, the logic of interacting with the launcher has changed — now it may require unlocking cells that many don’t know about to move icons.

In this article, we will look at all the ways, from simple drag and drop to hidden features like fixing icons, creating “empty” cells for the design and even resetting the launcher to factory settings if something went wrong. Particular emphasis will be placed on solving typical bugs: when icons “stick” to the grid, do not move or disappear after the update. All the instructions are relevant for the models of Redmi Note 12/13, POCO X5/F5, Xiaomi 13/14 and other devices on the MIUI 12-15.

⚠️ Important for owners of older models: On Xiaomi smartphones until 2019 (for example, Redmi Note 7 or Mi 9) can use an outdated version of the launcher without gesture support. → Desktop → Desktop style → Classic (more in the section about resetting settings).

1 Basic Icon Movement: Gestures and Limitations of MIUI

On most Xiaomi devices, it is enough to hold the icon with your finger for 1-2 seconds until it sticks off the grid.

• 📱 MIUI 14/15 has the default "Pack the layout" function on, which blocks icon movement. To turn it off, go to Settings → Desktop → Additional settings → Set the layout and deactivate the slider.
• 🔒 If the icon belongs to a system application (such as Settings or Phone), it cannot be deleted, but can be moved to a folder or to another screen.
• 🖼️ The widget icons (weather, clock) move separately: hold the widget, not its frame. MIUI 15 has a special editing mode added for this (the ⚙️ icon in the upper right corner of the screen).

If the icon does not move even after the locking is turned off, check:

1. Is the mode for children activated (it blocks desktop changes).
2. Whether a third-party launcher is used (e.g., Nova Launcher or Hyperion) in which case the navigation settings are set in the launcher itself.

⚠️ Warning: On some firmware (e.g., MIUI Global for the European market), drag and drop may conflict with the "Swipe up to return to the home screen" gesture. If icons "twitch" when moving, disable this gesture in Settings → Additional Features → Gestures → Navigation Bar.

2. unlocking cells: why icons "stick" to the grid

One of the most common problems is that icons can only be moved within predefined cells, and free placement is blocked, and this is not a bug, but a feature of MIUI that you can turn off:

Instructions for unlocking cells:

1. Keep the empty space on your desktop (not on the icon!) until the menu appears.
2. Select Desktop Settings (or Desktop Style on older versions).
3. Go to Grid Size and select Free Location (or turn off Grid Binding option).
4. Save the changes and restart the launcher (it is enough to swipe down the notification bar and click Reset in the notification about changing the settings).

After that, you can place the icons anywhere on the screen, including the edges.

• 📏 When freely placed, icons can overlap or fall off the screen. To return the grid, repeat the steps and select a fixed size (e.g., 5×6).
• 🔄 Some firmware (MIUI 13 for POCO) will lose the automatic alignment function after unlocking the cells. To return it, go to Settings → Desktop → Additional → Icon Alignment.

3. Creating and managing folders

Xiaomi desktop folders help you group icons into categories (social media, games, utilities) to create a folder:

1. Drag one icon to another – a folder with the category name (such as Games or Tools) will automatically form.
2. To rename the folder, open it and tap the name at the top.
3. To add icons, just drag them into the folder.

Features of working with folders in MIUI:

• 📁 A folder can have up to 16 icons (on MIUI 15, the limit is increased to 24).
• 🔍 By default, folders are sorted alphabetically. To turn off autosort, go to Settings → Desktop → Folders → Sort manually.
• 🗑️ You can delete the folder by dragging all icons from it or clicking Delete the folder in its settings (open by tap on the name).

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 10A, POCO M4 Pro after updating to MIUI 14, folder scrolling (swipe left/right inside the folder) is lost. To return it, reset the launcher settings: Settings → Annexes → Application management → Launcher → Warehouse → Clear the data.

4. Hidden chips: empty cells, fixing icons and gestures

MIUI offers some non-obvious desktop customization features that few people know about:

1. Creating empty cells for design

To add empty space between icons (for example, for visual separation):

1. Keep an empty space on the screen → Widgets.
2. Select the empty space widget (called the Separator in some firmware).
3. Drag it to the desktop and stretch it to the desired size (the options are 1×1, 2×1, 1×2, etc.).

2. Fixing individual icons

If you want to pin important icons (like Phone or Camera) so they can’t be moved by accident:

1. Hold the icon → in the menu select Secure (the icon 🔒).
2. To unplug, repeat the action and uncheck the tick.

3. Rapid movement between screens

MIUI 15 adds a gesture to drag and drop icons between screens:

1. Hold the icon and drag it to the edge of the screen (left or right).
2. After 1 second, an automatic swipe will occur on the adjacent screen.

💡

If you need to temporarily hide icons (for example, before a screenshot), use Hiding icons in your desktop settings. They will not be deleted, but will simply become invisible before the launcher restarts.

5. Problem Solving: icons don’t move, disappear or duplicate

If icons behave incorrectly, the reasons can be different - from firmware bugs to conflicts with the MIUI optimizer.

Problem 1: Icons stick and don’t respond to drag and drop.

• 🔄 Restart Launcher: Settings → Applications → Application Management → Launcher → Forced Stop.
• 📱 Check if one hand mode is enabled (it can block gestures). Disables in Settings → Additional Features → One hand mode.
• 🛠️ If the problem persists, clear the launcher cache: Settings → Applications → Launcher → Storage → Clear the cache.

Problem 2: Icons disappear after MIUI update

This is a typical situation when you switch from MIUI 13 to 14/15.

1. Go to Settings → Desktop → Restore the layout and select the latest backup.
2. If there is no backup, reset the launcher settings: Settings → Applications → Launcher → Storage → Clear the data (⚠️ Attention: This will delete all your desktop settings!).

Problem 3: App icons are duplicated

Duplicates appear if the application is installed in both the main memory and the SD- card, or after resetting the settings.

1. Hold the duplicate icon → Delete (this will only remove the shortcut, not the app itself).
2. If the icon returns, check the app settings: Settings → Apps → Application Management → [App Name] → Storage and make sure it’s only installed in one place.

6.Alternative launchers: when standard MIUI is not satisfied

If you don't have the flexibility of a standard MIUI launcher, you can install a third-party.

• 🌟 Nova Launcher – supports gestures, adaptive icons and deep grid settings.
• ⚡ Hyperion Launcher – Optimized for Xiaomi, has a built-in theme MIUI and features for hiding icons.
• 🎨 POCO Launcher is the official launcher from Xiaomi with minimalist design and color grouping of icons.

To install an alternative launcher:

1. Download it from Google Play (like Nova Launcher).
2. After installation, click Home and select a new launcher as your primary.
3. Set it up to your needs (i.e., size of icons, gestures, concealment of elements).

⚠️ Warning: Some models (Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi 12T) may lose weather widgets and watches from MIUI after installing a third-party launcher. To return them, install widgets from Google Play (e.g., Chronus or Transparent Clock).

Important for MIUI 15 users: In recent firmware versions, Xiaomi blocks some of the features of third-party launchers (such as changing animations or hiding the search bar).To get around this limitation, disable the launcher optimization in battery settings: Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Consumption Management → Select Launcher → No Limits.

7. Backup and reset desktop settings

Before experimenting with the launcher, it is recommended to save the current layout, then restore it.

1. Go to Settings → Desktop → Backup layout.
2. Click Create a backup and assign it a name (e.g., “Make before Update”).
3. The backup file will be saved in the MIUI/backup/launcher folder on the internal drive.

To restore the layout:

1. In the same menu, select the desired backup and click Restore.
2. If the option is inactive, clear the launcher data (as described in Section 5) and try again.

If you want to completely reset your desktop settings to factory:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Launcher (or MIUI Launcher) and select Warehouse.
3. Click Clear Data and confirm the action.

💡

Backups of the desktop layout in MIUI only retain the layout of icons and folders, not themes or widgets. To keep the full configuration, use third-party utilities like Launcher Backup.

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving icons to Xiaomi