How to change the theme on the phone Android Xiaomi: the complete guide

Personalizing the interface is the first thing that a new smartphone owner wants to make their device stand out from the hundreds. Owners of MIUI-based devices and the new HyperOS shell have the most customization capabilities that go far beyond simply changing desktop wallpapers. Changing theme allows you to completely transform the appearance of icons, settings menu, notification curtains, lock screens and even system sounds in one click.

Many users mistakenly believe that to make a profound design change, you need to get root rights or flash your phone with third-party builds. This is not true. Xiaomi's built-in tools allow you to safely and legally change the visual style of the system. However, the process can have its own nuances depending on the region of the account and the version of the operating system.

In this article, we will take a look at all the options available, from standard techniques to advanced techniques to circumvent regional restrictions. You will learn how to find unique design solutions, how to fix things if the theme store does not load, and what hidden features are available in the standard Theme app. A deep understanding of these tools will turn your smartphone into a truly unique device.

Standard way to change design through the Topics app

The main tool for changing the visual style is a pre-installed system application called Themes, which works as a centralized directory, which collects thousands of design options created by Xiaomi itself and independent designers from around the world.

Once you open the app, you'll be taken to the home page with the recommended selections, you can flip through the endless feed or search the search bar to find a specific style. The interface of the app is intuitive: each theme has a preview showing how the icons and lock screen will look. Once you choose the option you like, click on the download button, and then Apply.

Importantly, the application of a new theme involves many system components, not only graphics, but often fonts, notification sounds, and transition animations, and if you don't like the result, you can return to the previous state instantly through the user profile or theme management menu.

⚠️ Note: Some themes may not display correctly on screens with high refresh rates or specific resolution, as designers may not have tested them on all Redmi or Poco models.

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Always check the preview of lock screens before applying a new theme, as some of them may conflict with the Always On Display feature, causing increased battery consumption.

There is also the ability to fine-tune individual elements without completely changing the theme. At the bottom of the Themes app screen, there is often a Profile tab or settings button where you can select My Components section, where you can combine elements: for example, leave a standard wallpaper, but install a new icon package and a modified notification curtain.

Addressing Access and Regional Change Issues

One of the most common problems users face when trying to change the design is an empty directory or a message that content is not available in your area, due to licensing restrictions and the peculiarities of operating Xiaomi servers in different countries.

To access the full directory, you need to temporarily change the region in the settings of the smartphone itself. This process is safe and does not delete data. You will need to go to the Settings menu, select Additional (or Advanced Settings), and then find the Region section.

In the list of countries that opens, you need to choose a country where Xiaomi services work with full functionality. The most popular options that are often recommended by experienced users are:

• 🇮🇳 India – a huge catalog of themes, often with exclusive content.
• 🇮🇩 Indonesia – stable servers and a wide range of free options.
• 🇷🇺 Russia – if you are in another region, a change to Russia can open access to local topics.
• 🇺🇦 Ukraine also has a separate server with unique offers.

Once you change region, the phone can freeze for a few seconds, rewiring system services. Once the interface returns to normal, open the Themes app again. Most likely, the content will download and you can choose the desired design. If that does not happen, try also changing the system language to English, and then returning Russian - this sometimes helps to update the cache of services.

Remember that after a region change, some system notifications and suggestions in system applications may change, as they are tied to geographic location, but this does not affect the performance of the basic functions of the phone.

Installation of third-party themes and work with MTZ files

The official store is not the only source of beautiful design, but enthusiasts create themes that often have higher drawing quality or unique features not available in the official directory.

Third-party themes often require special tools or modified versions of the Themes application to install, but there is a method that allows you to install many third-party themes on standard versions of MIUI. To do this, the theme file is downloaded to the device, after which you need to open the Themes application, go to profile and find the import or use button of the file from memory.

In some cases, the system may block installation of unverified themes for security reasons, and then the help comes from specialized assistant applications available in the Play Market, which act as an intermediary between the.mtz file and the theme system manager, and they automatically sign the file and allow its use.

Customization of interface elements: icons, fonts and lock screen

Deep personalization is possible even without installing a full-fledged heavy theme. Xiaomi’s Android shell allows you to replace individual components, which is especially true if you like the overall stylistics of the system, but are annoyed by standard icons or font.

There is a separate tab to replace the fonts in the Themes app, where you can choose from dozens of preset options or upload your.ttf file. Changing the font instantly affects the readability of text across all menus, messages and the browser. Large and round fonts improve the perception of information, while thin and strict ones give the device a business look.

The lock screen is the element that the user sees most often. In the theme store, you can find not just static pictures, but entire interactive scenarios. They can display the weather as animations, show steps as a graph or change color depending on the time of day. To customize these elements, go to the Lock Screen section of the theme app.

Icon packs deserve special attention. Even if you don't want to change the theme entirely, installing a new set of icons can radically change the way you look at your desktop. Unlike standard Android, MIUI applies the theme-based icon replacement to all apps at once, including system ones, creating a unified visual style.

Create your own theme with MIUI Theme Editor

For users who want to achieve absolute uniqueness, Xiaomi provides an official PC tool called the “Smart” MIUI Theme Editor is a professional tool that allows you to create themes from scratch, editing graphic resources and XML-configuration.

Creating your own theme requires a basic knowledge of graphic editors (such as Photoshop) and an understanding of the structure of Android files. You will need to download the basic theme template, replace icons, wallpaper and interface elements in it, and then assemble the project back into the.mtz file.

Steps to start creating a theme:


1. Download MIUI Theme Editor from the official website of the developer.




2. Select a Base Template for your version of MIUI.




3. Replace the images in the 'images' folder with your own.




4. edit the description.xml file with the name and authorship.




5. compile the project and install it on the phone for testing.

Creating a quality theme is a time-consuming process that can take hours to days, but the result is worth it: you get an interface that perfectly matches your taste preferences, and you can put ready-made themes in a formal store, becoming a certified Xiaomi designer.

⚠️ Note: When editing system theme files, make sure you do not infringe copyright by using brand logos or protected images without permission from the copyright holders.

Frequent errors and ways to fix them

Despite the system’s fine-tuning, the process of changing the theme can be accompanied by technical failures, most often users are faced with the fact that the theme is not completely “overlaid”: old icons remain or the color of the curtain does not change, this is due to the caching of old resources by the system.

To solve this problem, you need to clean the Topic application data. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the Topic list and click Clear → Clear all data. After that, the phone will suggest choosing the basic theme – agree, and then try to apply the one you need again.

Another common problem is the theme resets after a system update or reboot, which often happens if the theme was created for an older version of MIUI and is not compatible with the current one, in which case the system automatically rolls back to the standard design to avoid interface errors.

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If the interface becomes unstable or artifacts appear after applying the theme, return the standard Classic theme immediately via Safe Mode or theme management menu to avoid system failures.

It is also worth considering that some “heavy” themes with a lot of animation can negatively affect the performance of budget models of smartphones. If you notice twitching interface or increased heat, it is better to choose an easier design option without complex graphics.