How to change wallpaper on the locked screen Xiaomi: all ways with a photo

Xiaomi's lock screen is the first thing you see when you turn on your smartphone, but standard wallpaper quickly gets boring. Many MIUI users are faced with the problem of how to change the background if the phone is locked and unlocking requires a password or fingerprint? It turns out that there are several legal and non-obvious ways to update the screensaver without full access to the system.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods – from official MIUI settings to hidden functions that are not discussed in the instructions. You will learn how to change wallpaper through the Lock screen settings, use Google Photos to automatically change the background, and what to do if the smartphone is locked after resetting and requires a Mi Account. All methods are tested on the Redmi Note 12 Pro +, POCO X5 Pro and Xiaomi 13 Ultra with MIUI 13/14.

1.Official method: through lock screen settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI options, which are available even when the screen is locked, and you don't need to enter a password, but you need to do a few hidden actions.

The algorithm works on most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models with the MIUI 12 firmware version and later:

• 📱 Swipe your finger up the lock screen to open the notification bar.
• ⚙️ Click on the icon. ⚙️ Settings in the upper right corner (if not, the method is not suitable for your model).
• 🖼️ Select Lock Screen Wallpaper or Lock Screen Style.
• 🔄 In the menu that opens, select one of the categories: Dynamic, Super Wallpaper or My Wallpaper.

If your photo is not listed, you can upload it via Google Photos (see the next section for more on this), and note that on some devices (e.g. Black Shark 5), this only works when the Smart Lock is enabled.

⚠️ Note: On smartphones with MIUI for POCO (for example, POCO F4 GT) Instead of settings, look for the Edit button at the bottom of the lock screen.

2. Automatic change via Google Photos (without unlocking)

If you sync photos with Google Photos, you can set up automatic wallpaper changes on the lock screen without entering a password, which works even on locked devices if the Background screen function was previously enabled.

Instructions:

1. Open the notification panel with the swipe down.
2. Find a notification from Google Photos with a suggestion to update the wallpaper (if not, go to the method). №3).
3. Slip on the notification and select Apply.
4. In the window that opens, press only the lock screen.

If there is no notification but Google Photos is installed, try this workaround:

• 🔍 In the notification panel, enter in the search (if there is a search bar) the request for Google wallpaper photo.
• 📲 In the results, select the background screen → Daily wallpaper.
• ✅ Activate the option and wait for the background update (can take up to 5 minutes).

⚠️ Note: On devices with Chinese firmware (e.g. Xiaomi) 12S Ultra) Google Photos can be blocked by the system. In this case, use the method №4 (ADB).

3.Use of the "On-Screen" mode (Always On Display)

If your Xiaomi supports Always On Display (AOD), you can change wallpapers through this menu.The feature is available on most flagships (Xiaomi 12T Pro, Redmi K50 Ultra) and some mid-budget models.

Step-by-step:

Turn on the screen and swipe up for the notification bar

Slip the time at the top of the screen (if there is backlight)

Select the AOD settings

Go to Style → Change the background

Choose an image from the gallery or standard wallpaper-->

If your model does not have the option to Change the background, try to update the firmware to the latest version of MIUI 14 - it added support for customization of AOD.

On some devices (for example, POCO F4), instead of changing the background, you can configure animated wallpaper for AOD:

• 🌌 Select Dynamic Wallpaper in the menu AOD.
• 🎨 Click Set up and select a color scheme.
• 🔄 Save the changes – they will apply to the lock screen.

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If AOD is not turned on, check the battery settings: go to Settings → Battery → Sleep Mode and turn off optimization for System Settings.

4. Change of wallpaper via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which requires a connection to a computer, but allows you to change the wallpaper even on a completely locked device (for example, after resetting settings).

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB (if it has been activated previously).
• 📂 Image in.jpg or.png format (at least resolution) 1080×2340).

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC via USB.
2. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) in the adb folder.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: adb devices must appear serial number of the device.
4. Copy your image to your phone's memory: adb push C:\path\to\your\wallpaper.jpg /sdcard/
5. Install wallpaper on the lock screen: adb shell cmd wallpaper set --lock /sdcard/wallpaper.jpg

If the adbd error cannot run as root, then debugging is USB In this case, only unlocking the bootloader (the method) will help. №5).

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB on devices with a locked bootloader (Xiaomi blocks it by default) can cause a data reset.Before executing commands, make sure you have a backup copy!

5 Unlocking through Mi Account (if you forgot your password)

If the smartphone is locked due to a forgotten password or after resetting requires a Mi Account, you can restore access and change wallpaper through official Xiaomi services.

Steps to unlock:

• 🌐 Go to the Mi Account website from a computer or other phone.
• 🔑 Sign in with the same account that is linked to the locked device.
• 📍 In the menu, select Find Device (Find the device).
• 🔓 Press Unlock Device and confirm the action.

After unlocking:

1. Connect to Wi-Fi or mobile network.
2. Go to Settings → Lock screen → Wallpaper.
3. Choose a new image from the gallery or standard themes.

If the Find Device feature is disabled, try resetting your password via SMS:

• 📱 On the lock screen, press Forgot the password?.
• 📞 Choose Recovery through SMS (if the phone number is attached).
• 🔢 Enter the code from the message and set a new password.

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If your smartphone is locked after resetting and requires an old Mi Account that you don’t remember, you can’t officially unlock it, in which case only flashing through Fastboot (data loss!) will help.

6. Alternative methods: themes and launchers

If neither of these methods worked, you can go around the way by installing a custom launcher or MIUI theme that will change the wallpaper automatically, which is suitable for devices with unlocked bootloader or root rights.

How to change the wallpaper through themes:

• 🎨 Download the subject from MIUI Theme Store (such as Dark Matter or iOS 16 Style).
• 📲 Apply it through Settings. → Topics.
• 🔄 Most themes automatically change the lock screen wallpaper.

For custom launcher installation (e.g. Nova Launcher or Lawnchair):

1. Unlock the bootloader through the Mi Unlock Tool.
2. Install TWRP and run Magisk to get root.
3. Download the launcher from APKMirror and install it through ADB install.
4. In the launcher settings, select wallpaper for the lock screen.

On some firmware (e.g. xiaomi.eu), the lock screen wallpaper can be changed directly from the gallery:

• 🖼️ Open the photo in the Gallery.
• ⋮ Click on three dots in the upper right corner.
• 📱 Select Set How → Lock screen wallpaper.

⚠️ Warning: Installing custom firmware and unlocking the bootloader will void the Xiaomi warranty. On new models (for example, Xiaomi 14) Anti-Rollback protection can work, which will lock the device forever.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing wallpaper to Xiaomi