Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to personalize the home screen to display only the most current information. The standard weather widget, which is preinstalled in the shells of MIUI and the new HyperOS, defaults to the current location or city specified when the device is first turned on. However, in some situations, the user needs to change the displayed city, completely replace the widget with an alternative one, or remove it if it interferes with the perception of the content.
The setup process can be confusing because of the way the menu is organized across different firmware versions. System widgets are closely integrated with the company's services, so simply dragging items doesn't always give you the desired result. In this article, we'll take a look at all the ways you manage weather data on your device.
We’ll look at both the operating system’s standard features and third-party solutions that may be more functional, learning to quickly switch between cities, customize the temperature display format, and choose the best design for your desktop.
Managing the standard weather widget in MIUI and HyperOS
Most users want to simply change the city or temperature display format without removing the interface element itself. In shells from Xiaomi, this is done through the built-in settings menu of the widget itself. First, you need to find the weather widget on your desktop or in the left extreme screen (widget aggregator).
Press and hold your finger on the widget area until the context menu appears. Depending on the firmware version, you may need to select "Widget Settings" or simply click on the gear icon that appears nearby. Basic settings such as units of measurement (Celsius or Fahrenheit) and the time format are available here.
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If the weather widget does not respond to a long press, try first to remove it from the desktop, add again from the widget menu and only then try to configure.
To change a city, the standard Weather app (which controls the widget) must open the app itself. At the top of the screen, the current city is usually displayed. By clicking on it or on the three-point menu icon, you will be placed on the list of managed cities, and that is where the widget takes the information to display on the home screen.
It is important to understand that the widget often only displays data for the main city that is selected first in the list of applications. If you have added several locations, the widget may not switch between them automatically when swiping, unless it is provided by a specific version of the theme.
How to Change Your City and Location
A common problem is that the widget shows the weather for Moscow or Beijing, even though you are in another region.This happens if the geolocation for the weather service is disabled in the Security app or in the system settings. To fix this, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Weather.
In the app menu, look for the Permissions section and make sure that access to the location is set to Always or When Used Only. Without this option, the widget will not be able to automatically update data when moving between cities.
If automatic determination is not required, you can manually specify the priority city:
- 🌍 Open the Weather app and click on the menu icon (three bars or dots).
- 🏙️ Select “City Management” and add the desired location through search.
- 📌 Press and hold your finger on the name of the added city, then drag it to the first position in the list.
- ✅ Return to the desktop and update the widget by swiping it or restarting the interface.
Sometimes the data is not updated because of aggressive energy savings, the system can freeze the background processes of the weather application, add the application to the battery exceptions, so that the widget always shows the current information.
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The widget always displays the first city data in the Weather app list. To change the order of the cities in the list, change the order of the cities in the list, rather than just add new ones.
Replacement of the widget with an alternative or third-party
The standard design may not fit into the concept of your theme, so it makes sense to install a third-party widget from the Google Play store or GetApps. Popular options are widgets from Google, Yandex or specialized applications like Today Weather.
To install a new widget, follow the following steps:
- 📲 Click the empty area on your desktop to call the edit menu.
- 📦 Select “Widgets” (or “Add widgets”) at the bottom of the screen.
- 🔍 In the list that opens, find the weather app installed (for example, Google or Yandex»).
- ➕ Choose your favorite style and size, drag it to the desktop.
Once you have placed a new element, the old standard Xiaomi widget can be removed. To do so, just drag it to the top of the screen where the Remove zone or basket icon appears.This action will not remove the weather app from the system, but only remove the shortcut from the desktop.
Third-party widgets often require separate permissions. When you first start up, Android or MIUI will request access to the geo-position. Without confirming this request, the widget will show an error or default data.
Why can't a widget display data?
Configure display formats and units of measurement
The comfort of using the widget depends on how well the data is understood. In addition to changing cities, it is important to adjust the units of temperature, wind speed and time format, which can be duplicated in the system and in the application itself.
Global language and region settings affect formatting. If you select a region "Russia", the default temperature will be in degrees Celsius. When you change region to "US", the widget will automatically switch to Fahrenheit. Check the Settings path → Additional settings → Language and input → Language and Region.
Inside the Weather app there are also their own format settings:
- 🌡️ Open the app and go to settings (cog icon or menu).
- 📏 Find the section "Units of measurement».
- 🔄 Switch the temperature between Celsius (°C) and Farengeem (°F).
- 🌬️ Select units of wind speed (m/s, km/h, nodes).
Some Themes can force you to change the style of the widget by ignoring the system font settings. If you have installed a new theme and the widget is unreadable, try going back to the standard Classic or Default theme for a check.
☑️ Checking the widget settings
Removal of the widget from the desktop and lock screen
Sometimes the weather widget takes up too much space or is simply not needed by the user. Remove it from the desktop is the easiest: pinch the widget with your finger and drag it to the top or bottom button "Delete" (basket) or "X." In some versions of MIUI just drag the widget to the top of the screen, where the background disappears.
The situation is more complicated with the lock screen. In the newer versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14, the weather widget is often built into the lock style and is not removed by simply dragging it out.
Swipe down the lock screen to open the control center, then tap the pencil or gear icon (edit mode). Choose another style, such as Classic or Double, where the weather widget may be missing or minimalist.
If you can’t get the widget off the lock screen with standard tools, you can use the Themes app. Go to the Topics app → Profile (the person at the bottom) → Settings → Reset all the themes. This will bring back the standard look, where widget management is often more flexible.
| Action. | Desktop | Lock screen | Aggregator (left screen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removal | Drag in the basket | Change of lock style | Pressing "-" or "Configure" |
| Editing | Long pressing → Settings | Unavailable (only change of style) | The "Tune" button at the bottom |
| Replacement | Through the widget menu | Through the Topics app | Addition of the card |
| Update of data | Automatic / Swipe | When the screen is turned on | When scrolling the tape |
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If the weather widget is frozen and not updated, try clearing the Weather app cache through Settings → Apps → Weather → Memory → Clear the cache.
Solution: Widget not updated or shows error
Users often experience a widget showing yesterday's weather or a question mark instead of a temperature, which indicates connection issues or access rights. First, check your Internet connection and other network applications.
The second common cause is time synchronization failure: If the time on the phone is even a few minutes different from the real one, weather servers can block requests, and make sure that the date and time settings are ticked with the "Use Network Time" box.
⚠️ Warning: If the widget shows a network error but the internet is working, check if you have installed it. VPN Xiaomi weather services can be blocked when turned on VPN, Especially if the server is located in another region.
Also worth checking is that the memory is full: with a critically low amount of free memory (less than 500 MB), the system can prohibit background updates to widgets to save resources.
In rare cases, reinstalling updates to the Weather system application helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Weather, click “Delete Updates” (if available), or simply clear the data, then reconfigure the cities.
Why did the weather widget disappear after the firmware update?
Can the weather widget be changed?
Why does the widget show the weather of another city?
⚠️ Warning: Don't install too many heavy weather widgets at once. Each active widget consumes battery power and internet traffic, which can lead to a quick discharge of the device in standby mode.
Setting up the weather widget on Xiaomi is a flexible process that allows you to adapt the interface to your needs. Using standard tools or third-party solutions, you can make the screen of your smartphone more informative and convenient.