Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones offer users a variety of visual features that are designed to personalize the device, including a wallpaper carousel, also known as Mi Glance or Lock Screen Magazine, which automatically changes images on a locked screen, turning it into a dynamic gallery of high-quality photos.
But not all owners have been positive about the new feature, and many users find that it automatically turns on after updating a firmware or buying a new gadget, which can be annoying, especially if you're interested in static images or are used to standard system behavior.
In this article, we will discuss how to manage this service in detail, where to find hidden settings, how to filter out inappropriate content, and whether it is worth turning off this feature completely to save resources.
What is a wallpaper carousel and how does it work
At its core, the wallpaper carousel is a service module built into the MIUI or HyperOS shell, which operates independently of the main Gallery application and has its own image database. The mechanism of operation is simple: each time the screen is turned on or at specified intervals, the system downloads a new image from the cloud storage.
It's important to understand that it's not just a set of pictures, but algorithms analyze the time of day and sometimes geolocation to suggest relevant content, for example, in the morning it can be motivational quotes or landscapes, and in the evening it can be abstract patterns or pictures of cities, and data caching takes place in the background, which requires an active Internet connection.
Some users confuse this feature with regular live wallpaper, and the main difference is the content source: live wallpaper is local animation, and carousel is a stream of updated media content, which is why the service requires permission to access the network to work properly.
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The wallpaper carousel consumes traffic. If you have limited mobile Internet, set up new images only over Wi-Fi.
It is worth noting that the name of the feature may differ from one region to another, and in global versions it is often labeled Glance for Mi, while in Chinese builds the term Lock Screen Magazine is used, and despite the different names, the principle of their operation is identical.
Where to find carousel settings in MIUI and HyperOS
The path to managing this feature can vary depending on the version of the operating system. In most cases, all settings are concentrated in the lock menu. You need to go to Settings, then select Always on screen and lock screen.
This is where the switch is located, which activates or deactivates the change of images, but in new versions of HyperOS, the logic may have changed, and now control is often put into a separate aggregator application, which can be called Wallpaper or Themes.
- 📱 Open the basic settings of the smartphone.
- 🔒 Go to the Lock Screen (or Always-on display & Lock screen).
- 🖼️ Find the wallpaper carousel or Mi Glance.
- ⚙️ Click on the gear to access the advanced options.
If you can't find a item in the standard way, search by settings, type the word "carousel" or "glance" into the search box, and the system will redirect you to the desired section, which is especially true for models with a deeply redesigned interface.
☑️ Checking the lock settings
Note that on some devices with ads on the system (which is typical for Redmi budget lines), this item can be hidden or renamed.
How to turn on or off the function
The process of activating or deactivating the service is as simple as possible for developers, just one touch is enough to change the state of the system, but just turning off the switch, you may find that one image will remain on the screen forever. This is the normal behavior of the system.
If your goal is to get rid of the function completely, after disabling the switchboard, it is also recommended to clear the cache of the corresponding system application.This will prevent background data loading and free up space in the device memory. Path to clean: Settings → Apps → All applications → Wallpaper carousel → Clean.
⚠️ Attention: Complete removal of system components of the carousel through ADB or third-party launchers can cause the lock screen to function unstable.
To enable reverse action, make sure that the device has the current Xiaomi Themes app installed. Without this component, the carousel will not work, as it is responsible for downloading content.
After the system is turned on, it may take several minutes for the initial loading of the image pack. Don’t be afraid if the images change rarely or remain static in the first hours – the synchronization process is underway.
Category and frequency of image changes
One of the key features of the service is that it's flexible, you don't have to look at all the images, it allows you to select the specific categories that you're going to see on your screen, and it makes it more personalized.
In the carousel settings menu, you'll find a list of topics: nature, architecture, space, art, animals, and more. By selecting only the categories you're interested in, you'll save yourself from inappropriate images. The change rate is also adjustable: you can set an update each time you turn on the screen or once at a certain time.
| Parameter | Description | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency of update | Picture change interval | When the screen is turned on |
| Network | Type of connection to download | Only Wi-Fi. |
| Notifications | Alerts on new topics | Disconnected. |
| Double-push | Action with tapa on the photo | Show me the details |
Notification settings deserve special attention. By default, the system can insistently suggest you sign up for new collections or evaluate the quality of images. Experienced users recommend immediately turning off these pop-ups in the Receive Notifications menu.
You can also add your own photos to the carousel, so in the category settings, you can select My Albums and specify the folders in the gallery that you want to play in the rotation, which turns the standard feature into a personal photo exhibition.
Removal of Advertising and Third-Party Content
In global firmware versions, the service often collaborates with Glance, which integrates news widgets and ad units directly onto the lock screen, which can annoy users accustomed to a clean interface. Fortunately, most ad elements can be turned off.
Inside the carousel settings, find the section responsible for "Recommendations" or "News." When you turn off these switches, you leave only clean images without text blocks or sponsor logos. Sometimes this item is hidden in the depths of the About Service menu.
- 🚫 Find the Recommendations item in the carousel settings.
- 📉 Turn off the news feed display.
- 🔕 Disable notifications from the Glance app.
- 🧹 Clear the cache periodically to remove downloaded banner ads.
If you can't get rid of ads by standard methods, you can use a more radical but safe method, which is to turn off Internet access for the system carousel application, through the Apps menu → Wallpaper Carousel → Network connections.
⚠️ Note: Blocking network access for system components can lead to the “Image failed to load” error and the appearance of a black screen instead of wallpaper.
There is also a method of disabling through special codes in the Security app, however, it does not work on all versions of MIUI. It is better to rely on the regular customization tools provided by the manufacturer in the personalization menu.
Impact on autonomy and productivity
Many users are wondering, does the carousel plant a battery? In theory, any process that uses an Internet connection and a display consumes energy. But the optimization in today's Snapdragon and MediaTek processors minimizes this cost.
The main blow is at the moment of unlocking, when the processor must decode the image and display it on the screen. If you use old models of phones with little RAM, frequent heavy change of the image. 4K-The wallpaper may cause micro-slowdown.
Technical details of battery consumption
For owners of devices with AMOLED-It is important to consider that bright static images can lead to uneven wear of pixels during prolonged use, in which case dynamic change of pictures is even useful, since it prevents burnout of individual parts of the matrix.
If you notice that the phone has become discharged faster after turning on the feature, try to reduce the refresh rate or turn off the download on the mobile network. This will significantly reduce the load on the radio module, which is one of the main consumers of energy.
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On older models of Xiaomi smartphones, it is better to turn off the wallpaper carousel to maintain the smoothness of the interface.