Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the desire to personalize the interface of the device to their tastes. One of the most popular requests is to change the appearance of the lock screen, namely to remove or move the time widget. Standard settings of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS do not always allow you to do it in one click, which causes confusion among owners of gadgets.
The problem is that the watch is a system element of the Lock Screen interface, which is tightly integrated into most standard themes, but there are several proven ways to get around this limitation: You can use third-party themes, specialized applications or system functions of Always On Display to achieve the desired minimalism.
In this article, we will take a look at all the available methods, from simple settings to more complex manipulations with thematics. It is important to understand that completely removing the watch may require abandoning some standard functions of the blocker, but the result is worth it if you are striving for a unique design.
Limitations of the standard MIUI and HyperOS interface
The MIUI shell is known for its deep penetration of system processes, which provides stability but limits customization flexibility. Unlike some other Android launchers, you can't just drag and drop a watch widget into the cart or turn it off in basic screen settings. The system assumes that time is critical information that should be visible at all times.
Xiaomi has implemented a strict fixation of the watch style to the chosen theme. If you use a standard theme "Classic" or "Infinity", the watch will be displayed in the place and style that the theme designer intended. Trying to change the font or size through the menu "lock screen" often leads to only minor visual changes, but not to the complete disappearance of the element.
⚠️ Note: Attempts to delete the system files responsible for drawing the watch through root rights can lead to a cyclic device restart (bootloop.
But there are workarounds, and one of them is always on display (AOD), available AMOLED-In some versions of the firmware, activation AOD It allows you to hide the main clock on the locked screen, since the system prioritizes the display of time in the always-on display mode. However, this is not a universal solution and depends on the specific model of the smartphone.
Using Third-Party Themes to Hide Time Widget
The most effective and safest way to remove a watch is to find and install a special theme that simply doesn't have to be displayed in the official Themes store, with thousands of designs created by independent designers, many of them focused on minimalism or specific wallpapers where the watch is not needed.
To find the right design, use the built-in keyword search. Type "No Clock", "Clean Lockscreen", "Minimalist" or "Hidden Clock". Designers often indicate in the title or description of the theme that the time widget is hidden or moved to an inconspicuous area. Once you install this theme, the standard lock interface will be replaced with a custom one, where the clock may be completely absent.
If the global version of the store doesn't have themes, you can try changing the region in the smartphone settings to India or Russia. Different regions have different catalogs of themes, and the chance to find a suitable design with a hidden clock increases significantly. After changing the region, restart the device and re-check the the theme store.
- 🎨 Open the Themes app on your device.
- 🔍 Type "No Clock" or "Minimal".
- 📥 Download and apply the topic by previewing screenshots.
- 🔄 If the watch is still around, try a theme with an all-black or abstract lock screen.
Always on Display as an Alternative
Owners of smartphones with AMOLED-matrixes have a unique opportunity to use the Always On Display function. The logic of the system is that if the constantly on screen mode is active, then with a full lock of the device (when the screen goes out, but AOD works), the main large watch may not display, giving way to a compact AOD indicator or disappearing completely depending on the version of MIUI.
To activate this feature, go to the settings menu. The path usually looks like: Settings → Lock screen → Always On Display and lock screen. Here you can choose the display style. Some styles only show the date or notifications, ignoring the dial. This creates the effect of no clock when the phone is on the table screen up.
☑️ Verification of support AOD
It’s worth noting that using AOD increases battery consumption, although on current Xiaomi models it’s minimal due to the technology of individual pixels. If your goal is to save energy, this method may not be suitable, but it’s ideal for visual minimalism.
| Parameter | Standard screen | Always On Display | A third-party topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery consumption | Low. | Medium/High | Low. |
| The appearance of time | Always visible | Compact/Hidden | Depends on the topic. |
| Difficulty setting up | Low. | Medium | Low. |
| Risk to the system | No. | No. | No. |
Applications for Lock Screen Customization
If the built-in HyperOS tools don't work, Google Play apps come to the rescue. There's a whole class of software that completely replaces the standard Xiaomi lock screen with its own, and the leaders in this niche are apps like Hi Locker, KLCK or Aclock.
The way they work is to intercept a lock event, so when you press the switch off button, instead of the MIUI shell, you start the interface of the app you select, and in those programs, you can create a lock screen from scratch, just without adding a watch widget, and that gives you complete creative freedom.
⚠️ Note: When using third-party screen blockers, Android may periodically request permission to work in the background, you must provide all the requested permissions and disable the energy savings for this application, otherwise it will be offloaded from memory.
However, this method has its drawbacks: Third-party blockers can conflict with security features such as fingerprint or face unlock, which are deeply integrated into Xiaomi hardware.
- 📲 Download the customization application, for example, KLCK Kustom Lock Screen Maker.
- ⚙️ Provide all the necessary permissions in the Android settings menu.
- 🎨 Create a new preset without adding a watch component.
- 🔒 Make sure the application takes precedence over system locking.
Creating your own wallpaper and visual tricks
Sometimes it's technically impossible to remove the watch, but you can make it invisible. This is a visual illusion based method. If you create or download wallpapers where you draw an element that merges with the numbers at the top of the screen (where the watch is usually located), or, conversely, a completely black area (for AMOLED), the watch will become less noticeable.
A more advanced option is to use Live Wallpapers, which have a built-in lock screen rendering engine, and some engines allow you to hide the system clock by covering it with a graphic layer, so you can find "Hide the system clock" or the like in the live wallpaper settings.
Where can I find quality wallpaper?
Another trick is color, and if you set a dark watch theme and you put a dark top image on the wallpaper, the contrast will decrease and the time will be read worse, and it won't take away the watch completely, but it will make it less obtrusive to the eye.
Compatibility issues and bugs after the update
Users often notice that once they upgrade MIUI or switch to HyperOS, the previously used methods stop working. For example, a theme that didn’t have a watch can suddenly display it after the update, which is due to Xiaomi engineers changing the structure of the rendering of the lock screen, and the old themes become incompatible.
In such cases, it is recommended to clear the cache of the Themes and Screen Lock application. To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All applications, find the appropriate system services and select Clear Cache. Don't confuse it with Clear Data, as this can reset your design settings to factory.
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If after updating the firmware, the lock screen settings disappeared, try resetting the theme settings to the standard, restart the phone, and then re-apply the custom theme.
Also, with newer versions of Android (13, 14), Google is putting its own lock screen customization restrictions in order to keep the interface safe and uniform, so there may be fewer ways to hide system elements in the future.