How to Change Xiaomi Interface: A Complete Customization Guide

Modern Xiaomi smartphones, powered by MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, offer users a huge opportunity to change the appearance. The standard look of the system is just a starting point that each owner can adapt to their taste and needs. The personalization process affects not only static wallpaper, but also the dynamics of elements, icons, fonts and even system sounds.

Many users mistakenly believe that radical change requires complex technical manipulation or root rights. In fact, the company's built-in tools allow you to create design wonders within the standard security of the system. You can turn a rigorous working tool into a vibrant multimedia center or a minimalist device in minutes.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at all the ways you can transform your screen, including the Themes app, installing third-party launchers from Google Play, and fine-tuning fonts and controls. A deep understanding of these tools will allow you to create a unique digital experience.

Use of the built-in “Themes” application

The main tool for the global visual style change is the pre-installed Theme app. It's not just a picture gallery, but a powerful platform to replace system skins that change the appearance of the settings menu, notification curtains, lock screen and standard applications.

To get started, you need to launch the app and log in to your Mi Account. Without logging in, many features, including downloading popular themes, can be limited. Once logged in, you are taken to the home page, which features editorial selections and popular downloads.

It's important to understand the difference between "Theme" and "Wallpaper." Wallpaper only changes the background image, while the theme replaces the design of icons, watch widgets, lock style and even the sound scheme of the system. When choosing a theme, pay attention to the preview, which shows how the desktop and lock screen will change.

⚠️ Note: Some themes may only be optimized for a specific screen orientation or resolution.Be sure to review other users' reviews before installing to avoid problems with displaying text or icons.

The process of applying the theme takes a few seconds. After clicking the Download button and then applying, the system will redraw the interface, and if you don't like the result, you can always go back to the standard design through the user profile in the "My themes" section.

Installation of third-party launchers for complete freedom

If you don't have enough built-in design features, or if you want to radically change the logic of working with a smartphone, third-party launchers come to the rescue. These are shell applications that completely replace the standard desktop POCO Launcher or MIUI Launcher.

The most popular solutions on the Android platform are Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher and Lawnchair. They allow you to create complex grids of icons, customize swipe gestures, change the animation of opening applications and add unique widgets that are not available in stock firmware.

To install a third-party launcher, perform the following actions:

• 📥 Download the selected application from the Google Play Store.
• 🚀 Launch the application and follow the initial setup instructions.
• ✅ Confirm the use of the new launcher as the main one when requesting the system.
• ⚙️ Set up the grid, font size and dock bar behavior in the launcher settings.

It’s worth noting that when you install a third-party launcher, you may lose some of the native MIUI functionality, such as specific one-hand gestures or some kinds of widgets from Xiaomi.

Some advanced users use launchers to simulate the interface of iOS or pure Android, which requires installing not only the launcher itself, but also icon packages, as well as widgets that support the chosen style, this approach allows you to completely change the experience of the device.

Customization of fonts and screen elements

Fonts are clothing, and changing the system font can change the nature of the interface beyond recognition to make it more rigorous, playful, or elegant. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, font management is also done through the Themes app, but in a separate tab.

Go to the bottom menu of the application, select the Fonts section, there is a catalog of free and paid fonts. Once you download and use the new font, the changes will affect all text fields of the system: menus, messages, browser and third-party applications that support the system settings of the font.

Beyond fonts, you should pay attention to the size and style of the elements. In the Settings menu → Always on screen and Lock → Watch style, you can choose from dozens of options for displaying time on a locked device.

Also in the Screen settings section, you can change the font size and display scale (DPI), reducing the scale allows you to fit more content on the screen, which is useful for working with documents or tables, but can make the text small.

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Use sans-serif fonts for better readability on the AMOLED-It's low-brightness screens, which reduces the strain on the eyes at night.

Set up widgets and desktop

The desktop in HyperOS and new versions of MIUI has undergone significant changes, approaching the concept of iOS widgets. Now widgets are not just static pictures, but interactive elements that display live information: weather, currency rates, steps, battery status.

To add a widget, pinch an empty space on your desktop or pinch it with two fingers. In the menu that opens, select Widgets. The system will suggest sorting them by category or application. Notice Google widgets and Xiaomi native widgets, which often have a deeper level of integration.

Many widgets allow you to resize them. Press the widget on your desktop and pull around corners to expand or narrow it. Some widgets support multiple display options (compact, medium, detailed) that you can switch to the edit menu.

• 🌤️ Weather: Displays the current temperature and forecast for the day.
• 📅 Calendar: Shows schedules of meetings and important dates.
• 🎵 Music: Player control and list of the latest tracks.
• 🔋 Battery: charge of the smartphone and connected devices (headphones, watches).

Organization of desktop space is critical to productivity. Use folders to group applications by color or functionality. In MIUI, folders can be of different sizes, and when you click on the folder, you can select the "Increase" option to turn it into a full-fledged widget with application icons.

⚠️ Warning: Excess of active widgets on the desktop can increase battery consumption as they constantly update data over the Internet.

Personalization of the control center and curtains

The control center is a panel called by a swipe down from the top right corner of the screen (Classic mode is a swipe along the entire status bar), and it's where the fast Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight and brightness and volume sliders are concentrated.

The look of the control center depends on the theme you choose, but you can set the set and order of the buttons yourself, call the control center, click on the edit button (usually a pencil icon or three dots), and drag the desired elements.

You can add rarely used features like Read Mode, Screen Recording, or Orientation Lock to the list, making them available in a single click, and some themes also have the ability to change the transparency of the curtain background, which creates a depth effect.

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The control center in HyperOS integrates notifications and switches into a single ecosystem, but allows you to flexibly adjust the priority of displayed elements.

Don't forget the notification panel. In newer versions, it's separated from the control center, the swipe on the left opens the widget tape (Google Discover or Yandex), the swipe to the right is notifications, and the order of these screens can be changed in the desktop settings.

Frequent questions and problems when changing the interface

Customization can sometimes be technically nuanced, with users often facing issues of compatibility with older themes with newer versions of Android or problems installing launchers. Below, we’ll discuss the most popular questions.

One of the common problems is the “configuration” of the design after the system update, which is normal behavior, since new versions of MIUI can change the structure of system files, making old themes incompatible, in such cases, it is recommended to temporarily return to the standard theme before the release of the update from the developer.

Experiment with settings, but always have a “plan B” as a standard theme at hand. Competent customization allows you to make your smartphone truly yours, reflecting the individuality of the owner in every detail of the digital space.