How to Move Badges on Xiaomi Redmi Desktop: All Ways + Hidden MIUI Features

Xiaomi Redmi desktop often turns into a chaos of chaoticly scattered icons of applications, widgets and folders. Even after resetting, the MIUI system does not always offer a convenient location of the default icons. Fortunately, the shell allows you to flexibly customize the appearance of the main screen - from simple drag and drop to create smart folders and hide unnecessary elements.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to move icons on the Redmi Note 12/13, Redmi 10/11 and other models with MIUI 14/15. You will learn not only basic actions (how to drag the icon with your finger), but also advanced tricks: fixing positions, automatic sorting, factory reset and even how to circumvent the MIUI limit on the number of pages of the desktop.

1. Basic movement of icons with a finger

The most obvious method, direct drag and drop, works on all versions of MIUI, but it has nuances.

1. Touch the app icon and hold it for 1-2 seconds until it “sticks” off the screen and there is a vibration.
2. Keep your fingers on, drag the icon to the right place, and the screen will show clues in the form of gray outlines.
3. Release your finger when the icon is above the green area (illumination of the permissible place).

⚠️ Warning: If the icon returns to its original location after moving, check if Auto Sort is enabled in the launcher settings.

Make sure your finger doesn’t slip off the screen.|Check vibration when holding|Turn off one hand mode in settings|Reboot your smartphone if the launcher is glitching-->

On Redmi with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Redmi) K60) Sometimes there's a bug when icons stick to the edges of the display, and that's because of the sensor's sensitivity to touch:

⚠️ Warning: If drag and drop is not working properly, try using a stylus (if supported) or enable the option of Enhanced touch accuracy (Settings) in the screen settings → Display. → Additionally).

2. Moving icons into folders and between pages

MIUI allows you to group applications into folders right on your desktop, which is convenient for categorization (e.g., "Social Networks", "Games", "Work").

• 📱 Drag one icon to another and hold on for 1 second until the gray folder outline appears.
• 📁 Release your finger, the system automatically names the folder (e.g., "Applications"), and you can change the name by tapping the text under the folder.
• ➕ To add more icons, just drag and drop them into a folder, maximum 16 apps in one folder.

To move icons between the pages of the desktop:

1. Hold the icon until the vibration appears.
2. Drag it to the right or left edge of the screen and automatically navigate to the next page.
3. Put your finger in the right place.

If the icon gets stuck between pages, check to see if the maximum number of pages (usually 5-7, depending on the model) has been reached.

⚠️ Attention: Redmi with MIUI 15 When you reach the page limit, the system offers Archive rarely used applications. This does not delete them, but only hides them in a separate folder Archive (available via swipe up on the desktop).

3. Fixing icons and canceling automatic sorting

By default, MIUI can automatically organize icons by alphabet or frequency of use.

1. Touch the empty space on your desktop and hold until the menu appears.
2. Select Desktop Settings (or Screen Settings on older versions).
3. Disable options: Autosort applications Smart ordering (if any)

To lock the icon in place (it won’t move when you add new apps):

• 🔒 Hold the icon until the context menu appears.
• 📌 Select Secure (on some firmware - Fix the position).
• 🎯 The fastened icon is marked with a small pin icon in the corner.

💡

If the option is not available, upgrade MIUI to the latest version or install a launcher theme that supports this feature (for example, MIUI 15 Default in themes).

Redmi with global firmware (e.g. Redmi Note 12 5G Global) sometimes gets a bug when the fixation of icons is reset after the system update.

⚠️ Note: After major updates MIUI (For example, from version 14 to version 15, all fixed positions are reset. Before upgrading, take a screenshot of the location of the icons or use the Desktop Backup function in Settings. → Annexes → Backup.

4. Hidden settings of the MIUI launcher

MIUI hides a number of settings that allow you to fine-tune your desktop to access them:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to About Phone and tap the MIUI version line 5 times to enable Developer Mode.
3. Return to the main settings menu and open Additional → Special features → Launcher settings.

Options are available in this menu:

On Redmi models with a screen resolution above Full HD (Like Redmi. K70 Pro 2K-display) in this menu appears an additional option Desktop density, allowing you to increase the number of icons to 6×6.

By category (folders "Games", "Social networks")|Chaotic how it works.|By color or design.|Minimalism is just the most necessary thing.|Other-->

5. Resetting the desktop to factory settings

If you've done a lot of experimenting with icons, you can turn your desktop into a mess, you can bring it back to its original appearance.

1. Touch and hold the blank space on the screen.
2. Select Desktop Settings → Reset.
3. Confirm the action. All icons will return to their standard location, and user folders will be deleted.

⚠️ Note: The discharge does not affect:

• 📱 Installed applications (they will remain in the application menu).
• 📁 Widgets (they will have to be added again).
• 🔧 Settings of the theme and wallpaper.

On Redmi with dual firmware (e.g. Chinese + global), a desktop reset can cause folder name languages to mix, to avoid this, before resetting:

⚠️ Note: Set one default language in the system settings (Settings) → Additionally. → Language and region: Once reset, the folder names ("Games", "Tools") will be in the selected language.

6. Alternative methods: launchers and ADB-team

If standard MIUI capabilities don’t suit you, consider alternative solutions:

Installation of a third-party launcher

Popular options for Redmi:

• 🌟 Nova Launcher - flexible customization of gestures, icons, animations.
• 📱 Lawnchair - lightweight launcher with support for themes MIUI.
• 🎨 Microsoft Launcher – Integration with Windows and cloud desktop backup.

To establish:

1. Download APK from the official website (for example, Nova Launcher).
2. Allow installation from unknown sources (Settings → Applications → Special Access → Install Unknown Applications).
3. After installation, select a new launcher from the Settings menu → Applications → By default → Launcher.

ADB-Teams for Advanced Users

With Android Debug Bridge (ADB), you can change the system settings of the launcher, for example, to increase the number of desktop pages above the limit:

adb shell settings put global sysui_num_home_screens 7

Where 7 is the desired number of pages (maximum depends on the model, usually up to 9).

💡

Use of the ADB requires the developer’s activation mode and USB-The wrong commands can disrupt the system!

For Redmi based on MIUI 15, a command is available to disable automatic archiving of rarely used applications:

adb shell settings put global home_app_archive_enabled 0

7. Solving typical problems

Even with the right actions, icons on Redmi can behave in an unpredictable way.

If none of these methods helped, try resetting the launcher settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Launcher app (or MIUI Launcher).
3. Select Warehouse. → Clear the data.

⚠️ Warning: Clearing the launcher data removes all custom desktop settings, including folders and widgets. Before you do, export the configuration through Desktop Settings → Backup.

Frequently asked questions