How to place icons on the Xiaomi desktop: 7 ways to customize the screen

Xiaomi desktop based on the shell MIUI — It's not just a set of icons, it's a flexible personalization tool, POCO Or Mis face chaos on the home screen: apps are scattered erratically, important icons are lost among the unnecessary, and widgets take up too much space. MIUI allow you to turn the desktop into a convenient space - with grouping by folders, changing the size of icons and hiding rarely used programs.

In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to place icons on the Xiaomi desktop, including little-known features like “smart sorting” and screen mesh settings. MIUI 12, 13 and 14 (including global and Chinese versions), and adapted to the interface of the Redmi Note 12 smartphones, POCO X5, The Mi 11 and other popular models, and if you want to go beyond just putting icons in their places, and optimize your workflow, read on.

1. Basic Sorting: How to Drag Icons on Xiaomi

To start with, moving icons to Xiaomi is intuitive, but there are some nuances that not everyone knows about.

1. Touch the app and hold your finger. 1-2 seconds until the icon "sticks" off the screen and there is a vibration.
2. Keep your fingers on the table, move the icon to the right place, and the screen will show the cell backlight and the gray contours of neighboring icons, which show where the app will stand.
3. Release your finger to hold the position.

If the icon is not clinging to a new place, check:

• 🔄 Free space: The screen may not have enough cells (resolved by changing the grid, see Section 3).
• 📱 One-hand mode: If it is enabled, drag and drop works differently (disables in Settings) → Special opportunities → One-hand mode).
• 🔒 Protection from Changes: In Some Firmware MIUI There is an option to “Block the layout” (see section 6).

Advice for owners POCO F4 redmi K50: If you drag and drop the icon opens instead of moving, try holding it not in the center, but closer to the edge. MIUI on AMOLED-screen.

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To quickly move the icon to another screen, hold it and drag it to the edge of the display – the desktop will automatically scroll.

2. Grouping applications into folders: how to create and configure

Xiaomi desktop folders save space and organize applications by topic (social networks, games, tools).

1. Drag one icon to another and a folder with an automatic name (such as “Applications”) will appear.
2. Tap the folder name to rename it (maximum 12 characters).
3. To add more apps, drag them to the folder or click on it and select "Add".

Features of folders in MIUI:

• 📁 Maximum number: up to 16 applications in one folder (in MIUI 14 to 20).
• 🎨 The color of the folder depends on the cover of the first app added (you can not change, but you can change the cover by dragging another application to the first place).
• 🔄 Sorting Inside a Folder: Apps are automatically alphabetized, but you can drag and drop them manually.

On Xiaomi 13 and POCO X5 Pro folders support gestures:

• 👆 Swipe up the folder - opens it in full size.
• 👇 Swipe down - folds the folder back into the icon.

3. Desktop grid setting: changing the size of icons

By default. MIUI netize 4×5 (4 column, 5 But you can change it to accommodate more icons, or you can make them bigger:

1. Keep an empty space on your desktop (not on the icon!).
2. Select Screen Settings → Desktop grid.
3. Choose one of the options: 4×5 (standard) 5×5 (More icons, smaller sizes) 4×6 (wide-screen) 3×3 (Large icons for older users)

Xiaomi. 12T Redmi Note 11 Pro+ And you can have the option, "Responsive Grid," which automatically adjusts the size of the icons to the contents of the screen:

Settings → Desktop → Adaptive grid → Enable

Important: when you change the grid, the widgets can get lost, like the weather widget. 4×2 It doesn't fit into the grid. 5×5 — It's going to have to be reconfigured. There's also some topics. MIUI block the change of the grid (the solution is to change the topic to the standard one).

4. Hiding icons: how to remove unnecessary apps from the screen

Not all apps need to be kept in sight. MIUI There are 3 ways to hide the icons:

Method 1: Hiding through the application menu

1. Open the app menu (swipe up from the bottom of the screen).
2. Hold the icon of the app you want to hide.
3. At the top of the screen will appear a panel with options – choose Hide.

Method 2: Through Desktop Settings

1. Keep an empty space on the screen → Screen settings → Hide applications.
2. Check the boxes for the apps you want to hide.
3. Press Ready.

Method 3: Use of the "Second Space" (for privacy)

If you need not just hide, but completely isolate applications (for example, working messengers from personal ones), use the Second Space function:

Settings → Special. opportunities → Second space → Create

It can be set up a separate desktop with other icons, wallpaper and even a password.

Note: Hidden through the menu apps remain available through search MIUI (Swipe down on desktop.To remove them completely from view, use "Second Space" or turn them off in the app settings.

Check the app menu (swipe up)

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management

Use the search. MIUI (swipe down on the desktop)

Restart your smartphone if the icon doesn’t even appear on the menu-->

5. Desktop widgets: how to add and configure

Widgets in MIUI divided into system (weather, clock, calendar) and from third-party applications (for example, the Spotify widget or Google Keep:

1. Keep an empty space on your desktop.
2. Select Widgets in the bottom panel.
3. Scroll through the list and hold the desired widget to drag it to the screen.

Features of widgets on Xiaomi:

• ⚙️ Size change: Some widgets (like weather) support stretching – hold the widget and pull around corners.
• 🔄 Update: Weather and news widgets are updated automatically, but you can force them to update by touching the update icon (if any).
• 🚫 Restrictions: You can not place more than 5 widgets on one screen (in the MIUI 14 to 8).

Nana POCO F3 redmi K40 Bug: After the update MIUI widgets can fly off the screen:

⚠️ Attention: Before the update MIUI Take a screenshot of the widgets, and if they're gone after the update, reboot the phone, which usually restores their position.

6.Blocking the layout: how to fix the location of the icons

If you often accidentally move icons or give your smartphone to your children, you will be able to MIUI There's a "Block the layout" feature that prevents any changes to the desktop without you knowing:

Hold the blank space on the screen → Screen settings → Block the layout → Enable

What happens after the lockdown:

• ❌ You can't drag icons.
• ❌ You cannot remove or add widgets.
• ❌ You can not change the wallpaper through the desktop menu (but you can through Settings). → Wallpaper).
• ✅ You can open applications and folders.

On the Xiaomi 13 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra, the layout lock works differently: it doesn’t prevent you from changing the second desktop (if it’s configured).

⚠️ Note: If you block the layout and forget how to turn off, do not try to reset the settings via Settings → Annexes → The launcher will result in all icons being reset to standard positions. Instead, just hold the blank space on the screen and type in. PIN-code (if it is installed).

7. Additional chips: smart sorting and gestures

MIUI hides a few useful functions for working with a desktop, which few people know about.

Smart sorting of applications

The feature automatically groupes new applications into categories (social networks, games, tools) to enable:

Settings → Desktop → Smart sorting → Enable

Features:

• 📱 It only works for new installed applications.
• 🔄 You can manually reassign the category by dragging the icon to another folder.
• 🚫 Does not work with system applications (such as Settings or Phone).

Desktop gestures

On Xiaomi MIUI 13+ Supported gestures for quick access:

• 👉 Swipe down two fingers - opens the search MIUI.
• 👉 Swipe up and hold – Google Assistant starts (if installed).
• 👉 Double-touch – locks/unlocks the screen (configured in Settings) → Screen locking → Double touch to wake up).

Big Screen Mode (for tablets and foldable smartphones)

On the Xiaomi Pad 6 and Mix Fold 3, a special mode with advanced desktop capabilities is available:

• 📱 Horizontal Orientation: Icons are automatically rearranged in landscape mode.
• 🔄 Multiconference: you can fix the application on half the screen and use the desktop on another.
• 🎨 Adaptive widgets: change size depending on orientation.

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Smart sorting and gestures work only on the MIUI 13 and newer. If you have an older version, update the firmware through Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system.

FAQ: Frequent questions about setting up Xiaomi desktop