How to put a wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi Redmi 9: official and hidden ways

Xiaomi Redmi 9 is one of the most popular budget smartphones, but its standard wallpaper settings leave much to be desired. Many users do not even suspect that the MIUI firmware has a feature of automatic wallpaper change (carousel), which can turn the lock screen into a dynamic gallery. In this article, we will discuss all the working ways of activating the carousel, from official settings to third-party applications with advanced capabilities.

It's important to understand that the term "wallpaper carousel" is often confused with "live wallpapers"; in fact, these are two different functions. The carousel automatically cyclically changes static wallpapers at a given interval (for example, every 10 minutes or when unlocked), whereas live wallpapers are animations or animations. 3D-Redmi 9 supports both, but today we’re going to focus on the static image carousel.

What is a wallpaper carousel and why it is needed

The wallpaper carousel feature allows the smartphone to automatically change the background pattern on the lock screen or desktop on a given schedule. It's not just an aesthetic solution, it has practical advantages:

• 🔄 Visual diversity: Every time you unlock, you see a new background, which reduces visual fatigue.
• 📸 Automatic Gallery: You can upload hundreds of personal photos and enjoy a random selection.
• 🌄 Dark/light theme by time: some applications are able to adjust wallpaper for the time of day (morning/evening).
• 🎨 Topics MIUI: In official themes there are wallpaper collections optimized for the carousel.

On the Redmi 9 with MIUI firmware 12-14 carousel works in two scenarios:

1. Change the wallpaper when unlocking the screen.
2. Automatic timer change (every 5/10/30 minutes).

The official implementation from Xiaomi is limited — for example, you can’t configure arbitrary folders with images, but this is solved by third-party applications.

⚠️ Note: On some versions MIUI After the update, the carousel function may be reset. If the wallpaper has stopped changing, check the settings in the Topics section. → Wallpaper and, if necessary, restart the smartphone.

Official method: setup via MIUI Themes

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI Themes tools, which do not require superuser rights and works on all versions of the firmware for Redmi 9 (including global and Chinese).

1. Open the Themes app (the icon with a brush on your desktop).
2. Go to the Wallpaper section in the lower menu.
3. Choose the Carousel category or Dynamic Wallpaper (name depends on the version of MIUI).
4. Click on your favorite collection (such as “Nature” or “Cities”) and select Apply to the Lock screen.
5. Activate the automatic shift slider and set the interval (from 5 minutes to 1 hour).

Limitations of the official method:

• ❌ No way to add photos, only standard collections.
• ❌ It only works on the lock screen (not on the desktop).
• ❌ In some regions (e.g. Europa) ROM) The "Carousel" section may not be available.

Download the latest version of the Themes app in Google Play|

Check your internet connection (required to download collections)|

Free up at least 200 MB of memory (collections weigh 50-150 MB) |

Reboot the phone if the Carousel section does not appear-->

If you don’t have a Carousel option on your menu, try updating the Themes app via Google Play or clearing its cache in the settings (Settings → Apps → Application Management → Topics → Storage → Clear the cache).

Hidden function: activation via ADB (for power users)

MIUI 12.5-14 firmware has a hidden command that allows you to unlock additional carousel settings, including support for custom image folders, which will require a computer and an ADB debugging bridge.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on Redmi 9: Go to Settings → About Phone and 7 times click on MIUI Version.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB drivers (for example, via Minimal ADB and Fastboot).
4. Open the command line and type: adb shell settings put global wallpaper_cycle_enabled 1 adb shell settings put global wallpaper_cycle_interval 300 Here. 300 — interval (5 For a minute. 10 minute 600.
5. Reboot your smartphone.

After that, in the wallpaper settings, you can select any folder from the gallery for the carousel. To disable the function, follow the command:

adb shell settings put global wallpaper_cycle_enabled 0

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB This can cause system failures. Before executing commands, back up your data through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Third-party applications for extended carousel

If the built-in MIUI tools don’t suit you, you can install specialized applications from Google Play, which offer flexible settings: folder selection, image orientation filters, random/sequential order, and even integration with cloud services (Google Photos, Dropbox).

Top.-3 Apps for wallpaper carousel on Redmi 9:

For installation:

1. Download the application from the table.
2. Grant permissions to access the Warehouse and Wallpaper Installation.
3. Select the source of the images (folder, cloud, built-in gallery).
4. Set up the shift interval and apply the wallpaper.

Wallpaper Changer|

Muzei Live Wallpaper|

Tapet|

Built-in settings MIUI|

Other (I will write in the comments)-->

Important: Apps like Wallpaper Changer can conflict with the built-in MIUI carousel function. If wallpaper stops changing, turn off automatic change in the theme settings (Themes → Wallpaper → Automatic Change).

How to create your own collection of wallpaper for a carousel

For the carousel to work effectively, images must meet several criteria:

• 📏 Permission: not less 1080×2340 (screen resolution of Redmi 9).
• 🖼️ Format: JPG or PNG (transparently).
• 🎨 Style: uniform colors for AMOLED-screen (black background saves charge).
• 📁 Folder: Images should be in the same directory (e.g, DCIM/Wallpapers).

Instructions for training:

1. Create a Wallpapers folder in internal memory or on the SD-map.
2. Move selected images (no more than 500 files for stable operation).
3. Use apps like Photo & Picture Resizer to crop to screen resolution.
4. To save charge, give preference to dark wallpaper (on the AMOLED-Redmi 9 screens have no black pixels that consume energy).

💡

To keep the wallpaper from stretching, set the carousel settings to "Center" or "Fill" instead of "Stretch," which is especially important for photos with people or text.

If you use Muzei, you can set up automatic background blurring for better readability of icons.

1. Open the Muzei settings.
2. Go to the Appearance. → Blurring.
3. Set the blur level to 30-50%.
4. Activate the option to dim the AMOLED-screen.

Solving the problem: why the carousel doesn’t work

If the wallpaper does not change automatically, check the following points:

• ⚙️ Energy conservation: MIUI It can block the background activity of applications. Add the carousel app to the exceptions: Settings → Battery → Choice of applications → [name] → No restrictions.
• 🔄 Software update: on versions MIUI below 12.0.3, the carousel function is unstable. Update the firmware through Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 📂 Access Rights: Make sure the application is allowed to access the storage (Settings) → Annexes → Permits → Warehouse).
• 🔋 Optimization: After installing a new wallpaper app, restart your phone.

Frequent errors and ways to eliminate them:

⚠️ Note: If after setting up the carousel through ADB The phone is slowing down, run adb shell settings delete global. wallpaper_cycle_enabled, It's going to bring back the standard wallpaper behavior.

Alternatives: live wallpaper and dynamic themes

If you find the static wallpaper carousel boring, consider alternative screen design options Redmi 9:

• 🎬 Live Wallpapers: Animations, 3D-effects or videos. Try it. KLWP Live Wallpaper Maker to create custom animations.

For the installation of live wallpaper:

1. Download the app (e.g. Live Wallpapers HD & 3D Backgrounds).
2. Select the animation you like and click Set Wallpaper.
3. In the MIUI wallpaper settings, select Live Wallpaper and activate the downloaded background.

Note that live wallpaper consumes additional battery life (up to 5-10% per day).If you are critical to autonomy, use it only on the lock screen or turn off animations in the settings.

💡

For maximum battery savings, combine a static wallpaper carousel with a dark MIUI theme and AMOLED-optimized images, which will reduce screen power consumption by 15-20%.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the wallpaper carousel on Redmi 9