How to change the desktop on Xiaomi: from wallpaper to custom launchers

Why Xiaomi’s Wallpaper Is Tired of It – and What to Do About It

Xiaomi desktop on the base MIUI — This is the first thing you see when you unlock a smartphone, but over time, even the most beautiful standard wallpapers become boring, and the limited choice of themes in the branded Themes store is disappointing. Fortunately, the customization possibilities in Xiaomi are much broader than it seems: from hidden features to hidden features. MIUI pre-launcher.

In this article, we will discuss all ways to change the desktop - from basic (change wallpaper and themes) to advanced (install alternative launchers and manual editing of system files). MIUI 14/15, which allow you to bypass the limitations of regional firmware (for example, the absence of some themes in the European version), also consider what to do if after updating the system wallpaper reset or launcher started to glitches.

Important: instructions are relevant to all modern models Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO base MIUI 12–15 (including Xiaomi 13/14 Series, Redmi Note 12, POCO F5 For older devices (before) MIUI 11) Some methods may not work, we will warn you separately.

Method 1: Standard change of wallpaper through the gallery

The simplest method that works on all Xiaomi smartphones without exception is suitable if you need to quickly change the background pattern without going into the settings.

How to do this:

• 📱 Long press on the free space on the desktop → pick Wallpaper.
• 🖼️ At the bottom of the screen will appear a panel with options: My wallpaper (from the gallery), Live wallpaper, Themes.
• 🔍 Choose My Wallpaper → The system will open a gallery, and you can select any image (including the image) GIF wallpaper).
• ✅ Press Set wallpaper. → Choose where to apply (lock screens, desktop, or both).

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ There is no way to accurately adjust the scale (wallpaper is either stretched or cut).
• ❌ Live gallery wallpaper can brake on weak models (Redmi) 9A, POCO M3).
• ❌ No support. APK-wallpaper (for example, Muzei or Backdrops).

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If the wallpaper looks blurry after installation, try to manually crop the image in any graphics editor (such as Snapseed) to your smartphone’s screen resolution (such as the one on the screen, 2400×1080 Xiaomi 12T).

Method 2: Install themes from the official store MIUI

The Themes store (a brush icon on the desktop) offers thousands of free and paid themes, including wallpaper, icons, fonts and animations.

How to set the topic:

1. Open the Topics app → Go to the Wallpaper or Themes section.
2. Choose your favorite topic. → press Apply.
3. Confirm the changes (some topics require a reboot).

Challenges and solutions:

⚠️ Warning: Some of the themes in the store contain ads or collect data. Check the reviews and ratings of the theme before installing. If the theme starts to slow down after applying the theme, return the standard theme and clear the launcher cache.

Method 3: Use of third-party launchers (Nova, Hyperion, Lawnchair)

If standard facilities MIUI You don't like it, you can install an alternative launcher:

• 🎨 Completely customize icons, animations and gestures.
• 📱 Remove Advertising from System Applications (in some launchers).
• 🔧 Set up hidden functions (such as double tapping for sleep).
• 🖥️ Use wallpaper with support for Parallax-effect (3D-depth).

Top.-3 launcher for Xiaomi:

How to install and configure Nova Launcher:

Download Nova Launcher from Google Play|

Open the application and select Install as default launcher|

Go to the Nova Settings → Dock to configure the bottom panel|

B Settings → Select icon packs (for example, Whicons)|

Enable gestures for quick actions (like swiping up to search)-->

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi with MIUI 14+ When using third-party launchers, live wallpaper from the standard set may disappear. To return them, temporarily return the system launcher (Settings) → Annexes → By default. → Launcher).

Method 4: Manually changing system wallpapers (for advanced)

If you want to install wallpaper that is not supported by standard methods (for example, APK-Always-On Display wallpapers or wallpapers, you can manually replace system files. ADB.

Instructions for wallpapers with AOD (Always-On Display):

1. Download wallpaper in.apk format (for example, from the APKMirror website).
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and enable debugging USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times press to unlock Developer Settings).
3. Set the wallpaper through ADB: adb install path/to/wallpaper.apk
4. Restart the device and select new wallpaper in Settings → Lock screen → Always-On Display.

Desktop wallpaper (without root):

If root is not available, but you want to install custom wallpaper (for example, from Muzei), use the Wallpaper Engine app (requires Android 8.0).+):

• 📲 Install Wallpaper Changer.
• 🖼️ Download wallpaper in.livewallpaper format or.mp4 (animation).
• 🔧 In the application settings, select Apply as Wallpaper → Desktop.

Method 5: Resetting wallpaper after update MIUI

Frequent issue after update MIUI — It's because the system resets the launcher's cache. Here's how to get your wallpaper back:

Method 1 (no discharge):

1. Open the gallery and find the image that was wallpaper.
2. Press. ⋮ → Set up how → Desktop wallpaper.
3. If the wallpaper is not applied, restart the smartphone.

Method 2 (if the wallpaper is missing from the gallery):

• 🔍 Check the folder. MIUI/Wallpaper File Manager (for example, Mi File Explorer).
• 📁 If there is wallpaper there, copy it to the main gallery and install it again.
• 🔄 If the folder is empty, restore the wallpaper from the backup (if it was created through Mi Cloud).

⚠️ Note: If after the update MIUI Not only are the wallpapers gone, but the app icons are gone, which is a sign of a launcher being reset:

1. Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Launcher. 2. Press Warehouse. → Clear the data (this will reset the location of the icons, but will return the performance). 3. Reboot the smartphone and set up the wallpaper again.

Method 6: Custom Wallpaper for Always-On Display (AOD)

Always-On Display on Xiaomi supports a limited set of wallpapers, but you can set your images through hidden settings.

How to do this:

1. Download the wallpaper in format PNG permittingly 1080×2400 (Xiaomi 13 Pro) or 1080×2340 (For the Redmi Note 12 Pro+).
2. Move the file to the folder MIUI/AOD/Wallpaper (Create it if it's not there).
3. Go to Settings. → Lock screen → Always-On Display → Wallpaper.
4. Select My Wallpaper – Your image should appear in the list.

Limitations:

• ❌ Nana POCO and some Redmi functions AOD may be absent.
• ❌ Animated wallpaper (GIF/MP4) unsupported.
• ❌ Colors on AOD It may differ from the original (due to the energy saving of the screen).

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For Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Xiaomi 13T Pro has an undocumented ability to install live wallpaper on AOD via MIUI AOD Editor (requires an unlocked bootloader).

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

Even if you follow the instructions, you can have problems.

If none of the methods helped - try resetting the launcher settings to the factory:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the launcher (or MIUI Launcher).
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear the data.
4. Reboot your smartphone.

⚠️ Warning: Clearing the launcher data will reset:

• Location of the icons on the desktop.
• Gesture and animation settings.
• Save folders with applications.

Before reset, take screenshots of the current location of the icons to quickly restore them.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions