How to put wallpaper on the keyboard on Android Xiaomi: a personalization guide

Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often want to personalize their device as much as possible by changing not only the standard desktop wallpaper, but also the appearance of the system elements. One of the most noticeable elements of the interface is the keyboard, which we use every minute. However, the standard shell of MIUI or HyperOS does not always allow you to change the background of the keyboard to an arbitrary photo from the gallery without using third-party tools.

The background installation process depends on which keyboard you use: Google’s standard Gboard, SwiftKey preinstalled, or MIUI’s specific system keyboard. Each of these options has its own visual style customization features. In this article, we’ll take a look at all the available techniques, including using the theme and third-party apps, so you can create a unique interface.

It is worth considering that some features may not be available on older versions of the Android operating system. However, for most current Xiaomi smartphone models, the methods described below will work correctly. We will consider both simple methods of changing the theme and more advanced options with the overlay of own images.

Using Gboard's capabilities to set the background

The most popular and reliable way to personalize is to use the standard Gboard keyboard, which is installed by default on most Xiaomi devices. This tool provides ample opportunities for customizing the appearance, including installing static images from the gallery or using dynamic backgrounds.

To get into the design menu, go to Settings for your smartphone, find Settings for your smartphone, and select Language and Enter. Here you click Keyboard Management and select Gboard. Next, open the Themes tab, and that's where all the visual customization tools are concentrated.

In the menu that opens, you'll see a number of pre-made color schemes. But we're interested in a button with a plus icon or a "Create your theme" button. By clicking on it, the system will suggest you to select an image from the gallery. You can choose any photo that will then be cropped and adapted to the size of the keyboard. After selecting the picture, you can adjust the brightness of the keys and the transparency of the background.

• 🎨 Click on the plus icon in the Topic section to run the creation wizard.
• 🖼️ Select a photo from the gallery or take a new photo with the camera.
• 🔘 Adjust the transparency of the buttons so that the background is clearly visible or, conversely, hidden.
• ✅ Save the changes by clicking the "Apply" button in the upper right corner.

Importantly, key transparency plays a key role in the perception of the background. If you make the buttons completely transparent, text can merge with the image, which will worsen readability. It is recommended to select contrast images or leave easy toned buttons. Gboard also allows you to change the color of the text, which can solve the problem of readability in a motley background.

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Use images with uniform color or blur (bokeh effect) at the bottom so that the keyboard text remains clearly visible.

Setting up the SwiftKey keyboard on Xiaomi

An alternative to Google’s standard solution is the Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard, which is often pre-installed on Xiaomi’s global firmware versions or easily installed from Google Play.This tool is famous for its powerful predictive input engine and flexible customization capabilities. The background setting process here is slightly different from Gboard.

To start, open the SwiftKey app from the app menu or through your system settings. Go to the Topics section. Here you will see a vast library of pre-made designs, but we are interested in the Create button. Unlike competitors, SwiftKey allows you to upload your own images and even use live wallpaper as the background of the keyboard, which looks very impressive on the screen. AMOLED-Xiaomi smartphone screens

Once you select the theme creation function, the system will prompt you to upload the image. You can choose a photo from the OneDrive cloud or local gallery. SwiftKey features the ability to separately adjust the style of the keys, their shape and color of the backlight, which gives you more control over the final view. Once you set all the parameters, click "Download theme" to activate changes.

⚠️ Attention: Using live backgrounds (video or animation) on the keyboard can lead to increased battery consumption, especially on models with high refresh rate screens.

If you want to be as close as possible to the MIUI system style, SwiftKey can configure the key angles rounding and add shadows, which makes the interface more voluminous. Remember that for all functions to work, the application must have the necessary permissions to access the storage and, in some cases, the network to download theme previews.

Working with thematics through the “Themes” app

In the Xiaomi ecosystem, the Themes app is the centerpiece of customization. Many users don't know that installing a new theme often changes the style of the system keyboard if the theme developer has provided such an element, and it's the easiest way to change the look of the keyboard without deep tuning.

Open the Themes app on your smartphone. Search for Keyboard or Keyboard, and you'll see a lot of free and paid sets that change just the style of input without touching the rest of the interface. Choose your favorite theme and click Download and then Apply.

After applying the theme, the system may suggest switching to a new type of input. If this does not happen automatically, go to the keyboard settings and select the style you just installed in the theme section. It is worth remembering that some themes can only be optimized for horizontal or only for vertical orientation of the screen.

• 📱 Open the Themes app on the main screen.
• 🔍 In the search box, enter the name of the desired style or author.
• ⬇️ Download the theme and apply it, confirming the change in keyboard style.
• 🔄 If the style is not applied, check the settings in the menu "Language and input».

However, this method has a significant drawback: the themes from the Xiaomi store often contain ads or require watching videos for free download.In addition, the quality of graphics in free themes may be inferior to the native capabilities of Gboard. However, for a quick change in the mood of the phone is a great option.

Advanced customization through Developer Mode and ADB

For advanced users who are not comfortable with standard methods, there is a possibility of a deeper modification of the interface. However, it is worth noting that changing the system files of the keyboard without root rights on new versions of Android (11, 12, 13, 14) is almost impossible and can lead to a cyclical reboot of the device.

Using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) commands allows you to hide some interface elements or force certain zoom parameters that can indirectly affect the display of the background. To do this, you need to turn on the developer mode by going to About phone and quickly pressing the MIUI build number 7 times.

Once you have the developer mode on, activate Debug over USB. Connect your phone to your computer and use the console to input commands. Although there is no direct command to change the keyboard wallpaper, you can reset the keyboard settings to factory ones if previous themes have caused display errors.

adb shell pm clear com.google.android.inputmethod.latin

This command will clean up the Gboard data by returning it to its original appearance, which is useful if the keyboard stops responding to the presses after installing the "broken" theme, you need to reconfigure the language and vocabulary after cleaning. Be careful when using adb commands, as incorrect actions can disrupt the system applications.

Comparison of popular personalization methods

The choice of method depends on your goals: whether you just want to change color, put your photo or get an animated background. Below is a table that will help determine the best way for your Xiaomi model.

As you can see from the table, for most users, the best choice will be a bundle of Gboard or SwiftKey. These methods do not require obtaining superuser rights and guarantee the stable operation of the system. Root rights, although they open unlimited possibilities, on modern smartphones Xiaomi can block the work of banking applications and Google Pay (Wallet).

If you do decide to go through a deep modification, be sure to unlock the bootloader officially through the Mi Unlock site. This will take 7 to 168 hours of waiting, but will protect the device from software errors. Remember that unlocking the bootloader erases all data from the phone.

Frequent problems and their solution

Users may encounter various difficulties in setting up the settings, such as when the background is set, the keyboard may start to run slower or lag when typing, which often happens when using images that are too high resolution (4K or higher), and it is recommended to compress the image to reasonable limits, such as 1080×1920 pixels.

Another common problem is that the background is desynchronized when you rotate the screen, and in landscape mode, the image can be stretched or cropped unpredictably, and unfortunately, this is difficult to fix with standard tools, because different applications request the orientation of the screen in different ways, and in such cases it is better to use abstract backgrounds without clear geometry.

⚠️ Note: If after you set a new theme, the keyboard stops appearing when you type, restart the device. If that doesn't work, temporarily disable the third-party keyboard in the settings to return to the system.

Also worth mentioning is the dark theme problem: When you turn on the system dark theme (Dark Mode) in MIUI, some custom keyboard themes can invert colors, making text unreadable. Gboard has a separate "Use System Theme" switch, which is better off if you've customized your own style.

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The optimal resolution for the background of the keyboard is the screen resolution of your smartphone or multiple of it, but compressed to save RAM to avoid input delays.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)