How to swap desktops on Xiaomi Redmi Note 10: all ways

On Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 smartphones, desktops (or home screens) allow you to organize apps and widgets so that important elements are always at hand. However, the standard screen layout is not always convenient: frequently used applications can end up on the last desktop, and empty screens at the beginning. Fortunately, the MIUI system provides several ways to change the order of screens, remove unnecessary ones, or even create new ones.

In this article, we will discuss all available methods for repositioning desktops on the Redmi Note 10, including standard launcher settings, gestures and third-party applications, pay special attention to the nuances that arise when working with different versions of MIUI (12 to 14), and also explain how to avoid common errors, such as accidentally removing important widgets or resetting settings.

Whether you want to optimize the home screen space, move frequently used apps closer to the center, or simply get rid of the chaos, this guide will help you do everything quickly and effortlessly.

Why You Might Need to Change Your Desktops

At first glance, the order of desktops on a smartphone seems like a minor detail, but the right screen organization can make a big difference to the user experience of a device. Here are a few reasons why Redmi Note 10 users choose to swap screens:

• 📱 Quick access to important applications, if messengers or work tools are on the third or fourth screen, they take too long to open, and moving them to the first screen speeds up the workflow.
• 🧹 Chaos removal: Over time, rarely used apps and widgets accumulate on desktops, rearranging screens to help group them by topic (social media, games, utilities).
• 🔄 Adaptation to gestures. MIUI There's a swipe up to return to the home screen, and if the screen you're using is not in the center, the gesture may be uncomfortably triggered.
• 🎨 Aesthetics and personalization: Some users customize each desktop to a specific time of day or task (e.g., morning screen with weather and calendar, evening screen with media player).

Also, once the MIUI is updated or reset, the desktops can automatically mix, in which case manual sorting becomes a necessity.

Method 1: Standard drag and drop screens in editing mode

The simplest and most intuitive method is to use the built-in desktop editing mode, which works on all versions of MIUI (12 to 14) and does not require additional applications to be installed.

1. Press the empty space on any desktop (not on the app icon!) in 1-2 seconds, the editing menu will appear.
2. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see thumbnails of all the desktops. Press and hold the screen you want, then drag it left or right.
3. Release your finger when the screen is in position, and the order will change automatically.
4. Press Ready (or Back) to save the changes.

This method allows you not only to change the screens in places, but also to remove unnecessary (if there are no apps on them) or add new ones (click on the plus at the bottom of the screen), but there is a caveat: if there are widgets on the desktop (for example, weather or calendar), the system can request confirmation before deleting.

Make sure there is enough space on the target screen for widgets

Close all background apps (for smooth animation)

Check if the gestures are blocked in the system settings

Take a screenshot of the current location (in case of rollbacks)-->

If the screen is "disobeying" or returns to the place, check:

• 🔒 Is the mode for children activated (it blocks changes to the interface).
• 📱 Is a third-party launcher used (e.g., Nova Launcher or POCO Launcher.In this case, the settings may differ.
• 🔄 Is Fixed Main Screen enabled in the launcher settings (more on this below).

Method 2: Configure through the parameters of the MIUI launcher

If standard drag and drop doesn’t work or you need more flexible screen management, you can use hidden launcher settings, which is suitable for power users and allows you to, for example, disable automatic sorting of applications or lock the main screen.

To open the extended settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search bar, enter Launcher (or Launcher in English firmware).
3. Select the MIUI Launcher app (house icon).
4. Click Warehouse → Space Management → Launcher settings.

In the menu you are interested in the following options:

Once you change the settings, go back to the home screen and try dragging your desktops again. If the Fixed Home screen option was enabled, the reshuffle should now work without restrictions.

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If the launcher settings don't have "Start-up Settings" in them, try clearing the MIUI Launcher cache from the Warehouse menu. This often solves the problem with missing options.

Method 3: Using gestures to switch quickly

MIUI offers a few gestures for desktop management that you can customize to your needs, especially if you need to move quickly between screens without a long swipe. Here's how it works on the Redmi Note 10:

The following gestures are available by default:

• 👉 Swipe left/right – switching between adjacent screens.
• 👆 Swipe up from the bottom edge – return to the main screen (you can configure the target screen).
• 🔄 Double tap on the screen – lock/unlock (disables random swipes).

To adjust gestures for changing screens:

1. Open Settings → Additional settings → Gestures.
2. Select System Gestures or Button Gestures (depending on the MIUI version).
3. Find the Swipe option up for the home screen and click on it.
4. Turn on the switch and select which screen should open by default (e.g. second instead of first).

This doesn't change the physical order of the screens, but it allows you to make any desktop "main" for the swipe up gesture, useful if you want to press the home button to open a screen with a weather widget or calendar, rather than a standard first screen.

Method 4: Reset launcher settings (if screens don't move)

Sometimes, because of MIUI failures or update conflicts, desktops will stop responding to drag and drop, and resetting the launcher to factory settings will help, and this procedure won't delete your apps or data, but will return the standard screen and widget layout.

To reset the launcher:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the MIUI launcher and select it.
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the data.
4. Confirm the action. The launcher will restart and all screens will return to their original appearance.

⚠️ Warning: After resetting, you'll have to reconfigure the widgets and group the applications, and if you have saved themes or desktop wallpapers, you'll also need to re-apply them.

If the reset didn’t help, try reinstalling updates for the launcher:

1. In the same MIUI Launcher menu, click on the three dots in the top corner and select Remove Updates.
2. Reboot your smartphone.
3. Go to Settings → About Phone → System Update and check for updates for the launcher.

Method 5: Third-party launchers for flexible screen settings

If standard MIUI features don’t suit you, you can install an alternative launcher from Google Play. Popular options like Nova Launcher, POCO Launcher or Apex Launcher offer advanced desktop management options, including:

• 🔢 Unlimited number of screens (as opposed to 7 in) MIUI).
• 🔄 Horizontal and vertical scrolling (screens can be flipped not only left-right, but also up-down).
• 🎨 Customize animations when switching between screens.
• 🔒 Fixing individual screens (banning accidental deletion).

To install a third-party launcher:

1. Download the selected application from Google Play (for example, Nova Launcher).
2. After installation, click the Home button and select a new launcher as the main one (the system request will appear).
3. In the launcher settings, find the Desktops section (Desktop in English) and adjust the number, order and behavior of the screens.

Example of settings in Nova Launcher:

Long press on the desktop → Settings → Desktops → Number of tables: 5


Drag screens in the right order at the bottom of the screen

⚠️ Note: Some features of third-party launchers (such as gestures or animations) may conflict with system settings MIUI. If after installation there are lags, try to disable animations in the launcher settings or go back to the standard.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When reshuffling desktops on the Redmi Note 10, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

Another common mistake is accidentally deleting the home screen, so if you delete all the screens or the home screen becomes empty, the system automatically creates a new one, but you have to reconfigure all the widgets and shortcuts to avoid this:

• 🔄 Before mass changes, take screenshots of the current configuration.
• 📁 Group important applications into folders – they are easier to restore.
• ⚙️ Enable backup of launcher settings in Settings → System system → Backup.

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If you don't reset your desktops after all the manipulations, try upgrading your MIUI to the latest version. Old firmware (below MIUI 12.5) had screen control bugs.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions