How to Put Changing Wallpaper on Xiaomi: From Built-in Features to Third-Party Apps

Personalizing the smartphone interface is the first thing many owners start with when they buy a new device. Standard static images are often boring, and you want to see something new every day on the lock screen or desktop. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices are in a favorable position, as the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS offer ample opportunities for visual tuning without the need for superuser rights.

There are several ways to implement automatic image change, from using built-in design themes to installing specialized widgets and applications. Dynamic wallpaper can not only delight the eye, but also display useful information, such as time of day or weather. In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods, their advantages and possible nuances of working on different versions of the software.

It’s important to understand that some features may be called differently depending on the firmware region (Global, China, EEA) and Android version. However, the general setup principle remains similar for most models. Let’s take a look at how to turn your screen into a live gallery.

Use of the built-in function "Carousel wallpaper"

The easiest and most energy-efficient way to get changing images is to activate the system function, which in different versions of the firmware can be called “Wallpaper Carousel”, “Glance” or “Wallpaper for the lock screen”, which is built directly into the system and does not require the installation of additional software, which positively affects the autonomy of the device.

To activate, you need to go to the lock screen settings. The path can vary, but most often it looks like this: Settings → Lock screen → Wallpaper carousel (or Glance for Xiaomi). Once the switch is turned on, the system will start downloading collections of images from the Internet each time the screen is turned on, the user can choose categories: nature, architecture, animals or art.

The key feature of the system carousel is that it works even without an active Internet connection, if you preload a packet of images, but for regular updates of the content requires a connection to the network, which ensures stable operation of the function in all conditions.

⚠️ Note: In some regional firmware versions (e.g. European ones), Glance may be replaced with a standard themes gallery or not explicitly available, in which case the functionality is limited to manually changing through the Themes app».

The flexibility of the setting allows you to choose the frequency of changes in images, you can configure the update each time you turn on the screen or once at a certain time, and you can also use the “Like” feature, which saves your favorite frames to a separate folder in the gallery for later use as static wallpaper.

Setup through the “Themes” app

Xiaomi’s official content store offers a huge selection of not only static images, but also complex live wallpaper with animation. Unlike a simple carousel, you can find themed packages that completely change the style of icons and sounds.

In the search box, type in "Live Wallpapers" or "Slide Show" and it offers a variety of options, from abstract color transfusions to high-resolution videos. Too heavy video wallpaper can consume battery power faster, especially on the Internet. AMOLED-screens where each pixel burns individually.

• 🎨 Open the “Themes” app and go to the “Wallpaper” section».
• 🔍 Type in the keyword “Slide Show” or “Video».
• ⬇️ Download your favorite package and click "Apply».
• ⚙️ In the settings of the selected wallpaper, you can often set the interval of changing frames.

It’s worth noting that some premium themes may be paid or subscription-based, but the free content in the directory is more than enough for most users. Once installed, you can further customize the behavior of the wallpaper in the Settings → Wallpaper menu by selecting the source of the images.

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Use the dark video wallpaper on AMOLED-Xiaomi screens – it not only looks spectacular, but also significantly saves battery power, as the black pixels on such matrices are turned off.

Third-party applications for shift automation

If built-in tools aren't enough, Google Play Store applications that specialize in task automation come to the rescue, and the leader in this niche is the Wallpaper Changer app, which allows you to create your own albums for rotation, which gives you complete control over which images will appear on the screen.

The way these programs work is simple: you create a folder in your smartphone memory, upload your favorite photos, and the app changes them in the background to a given timer, which can be anywhere from 10 seconds to several hours, an approach that is ideal for anyone who wants to see a photo of family, pets or travel on the lock screen.

To set up, you need to give the app permission to change the system wallpaper and access the storage. After that, in the program interface, you select an album and set a time slot. Some apps also offer downloading random pictures from Bing, Unsplash or Reddit daily.

Using third-party solutions requires careful attention to permissions. Some aggressive programs may try to display ads on the lock screen, which is unacceptable behavior. Choose applications with high ratings and a lot of reviews.

Live Wallpaper and Widgets as an Alternative

Instead of simply changing static images, many users prefer to install complex widgets that occupy the entire screen or a significant portion of it. The MIUI shell allows you to place widgets even on the lock screen (depending on the Android version), which opens up new possibilities for personalization.

You can install a Photo-Based widget that will stream a slideshow from a selected gallery album. It looks more organic than just changing the background, since the image is in a beautiful frame with a clock and a date. To do this, click and hold your finger on the blank spot of the screen, select "Widgets" and find the corresponding element.

There are also widgets from third-party developers like Google Photos, which allow you to create collages that change in real time, and it's a great way to remember the nice moments captured by your Xiaomi camera.

⚠️ Attention: Placement of a large number of widgets and the use of heavy live wallpaper at the same time can lead to slowing down the interface on budget models of smartphones with a small amount of RAM.

By combining weather widgets that change the background depending on the conditions outside, and a slideshow, you can create a unique dynamic interface that will respond not only to your actions, but also to the environment.

Optimization and Impact on the Battery

The power consumption issue is critical when setting up any dynamic elements; the constant operation of the processor for image processing and screen illumination (especially in bright white pictures) increases energy consumption; however, current MIUI algorithms are well optimized to minimize this impact.

The biggest expense is when you use high-resolution video wallpapers and refresh rates of a few seconds. If you notice that your smartphone is starting to discharge faster, try increasing the interval of changing pictures or switching to static images with a rare update (for example, once an hour).

• 🔋 Video wallpapers consume more energy than static wallpapers JPEG/PNG.
• 📉 The frequency of the change affects the work of the processor: the more often, the higher the load.
• 💡 Bright white tones for maximum screen brightness increase consumption.
• 🌙 Use of dark theme and black wallpaper on AMOLED charge-saving.

To check the impact of specific settings, you can use the built-in battery statistics. Go to Settings → Battery → Energy Consumption and see if the Wallpaper or Theme system process is suspiciously high on the list.

Addressing common problems

Users may experience a situation where wallpaper stops changing or is reset to standard after rebooting, often due to the aggressive MIUI energy saving system, which kills the background processes of the replacement applications.

To fix this, add the application you are using to exceptions. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find your wallpaper changer, select Autostart and turn it on. Also, in Energy Saving, select No Limits mode, which ensures that the system will not interrupt the program.

Another problem may be the poor quality of the images you download. If the carousel shows blurred images, check the quality settings in the Themes or Carousel app itself, sometimes you need to clear the app's cache so that it starts loading images in full resolution.

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For stable operation of changing wallpaper be sure to add the changer app to autostart and remove background activity restrictions in battery settings.

If the problem persists, try removing the Themes or MIUI System Components app updates through the app information menu. Sometimes version conflict after a major Android update can cause standard personalization features to crash.