Xiaomi smartphone owners often want to personalize their device’s interface as much as possible, and a static desktop image quickly ceases to please the eye. Wallpaper carousel is the perfect solution for those who like variety and want a lock screen or desktop to change images automatically. The MIUI and HyperOS ecosystem has several ways to achieve this effect, from built-in features to third-party utilities, but not all users know exactly where the desired settings are hidden.
The process of installing dynamic image change can seem confusing due to differences in shell versions and regional settings. Xiaomi regularly updates the algorithms of the system, so old methods may stop working, requiring new approaches to configuration. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to adjust the automatic background change so that your smartphone always looks fresh and original.
The first and most obvious way is to use the built-in functionality of the system, which is often hidden in the depths of the theme menu. You do not need to install additional software to activate a standard carousel, which saves battery power and RAM. However, it is worth considering that the built-in mechanism may be limited to regional features or require you to log in to a Mi Account.
To start the native feature, open the Themes app on your device. In the lower right corner, find the profile icon (usually a person image) and click on it. In the menu that opens, select Wallpaper, then go to the Wallpaper Carousel or Superwallpaper section, if it is available in your firmware version.
So here you'll see a lot of categories of images, from landscapes to abstractions. Choose your favorite collection and click Apply. The system will automatically upload the image pack and set the automatic change mode.
If you feel too limited in standard functionality or want to see your own photos on the lock screen, the built-in tools may not work, and third-party apps that offer more flexible settings for frequency and image sources come to the rescue, often with their own compression and caching algorithms, saving memory space.
One of the most popular ways to create a carousel from a personal gallery is to use special launchers or widgets, for example, the Mi Mix Wallpaper app or analogues allows you to create playlists from your chosen albums, which gives you complete control over the content: you decide what moments of life will grace the screen of your gadget.
To set up a personalized carousel, follow the following steps in the selected application:
- 📸 Download the wallpaper management app from the official Google Play store or GetApps.
- 🖼️ Give the program access to the gallery and select the albums to be used for the slideshow.
- ⏱️ Set an interval for changing images (e.g. every 15 minutes or every time the screen is turned on).
- 🔋 Check the battery optimization settings so that the system does not “kill” the process of changing wallpaper in the background.
Some users prefer to use the Photos or Gallery widgets, placing them directly on the desktop, although this does not change the lock screen. To fully replace the lock background, it is better to use functions integrated into the system or applications that have special permissions to change the system security settings.
It is worth noting that the use of heavy graphics applications to change wallpaper can negatively affect the autonomy of the device. The MIUI algorithm strictly monitors background processes, so even a legitimate application can be stopped by the energy saving system. To avoid this, you need to add the application to the exceptions and whitelist.
☑️ Set up battery exceptions
A common problem with setting up a carousel is that images stop changing after a while. This is because Xiaomi's aggressive optimization unloads the process from memory. To fix the situation, go to the battery settings, find the app responsible for the wallpaper, and select No Limits mode. It's also useful to pin the app to a list of recent tasks, although this does not give a 100% guarantee.
⚠️ Warning: When using third-party apps to change wallpaper on the lock screen, make sure they don't ask for excessive permissions, such as accessing contacts or a microphone.This could be a sign of malware masquerading as a useful utility.
Another common mistake is choosing images that are too high resolution, so if you upload a photo in 4K or RAW, the processor will spend additional resources processing and zooming it every time you change the frame, which can cause micro-twitching of the interface or delay when unlocking the device.
For optimal performance, pre-prepare images, and the optimal size would be the native resolution of your screen, such as 2400×1080 for most current models, which would reduce the load on the GPU and speed up the rendering of the new background.