How to Reset Your Desktop on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which run MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, offer flexible customization options. However, frequent widget installation, icon changes and constant shuffling often lead to chaos on the screen. Sooner or later, every owner faces a situation where the usual interface becomes unrecognizable or begins to work incorrectly.

Restoring the factory look of the screen is not just an aesthetic desire, but also an often necessary measure to fix software failures. When the launcher (the system application that runs the desktop) accumulates errors in the cache or conflicts with new topics, icons may disappear, gestures may stop working, or image artifacts may appear, in which case simply rebooting the device is not enough.

In this guide, we will take a look at all the available back-to-back methods, learn how to safely clean up system application data without losing personal photos or contacts, and look at both the standard system tools and deeper customization methods that will help return your Redmi or Poco to its original appearance.

When an interface reset is needed

Users often confuse a complete reset of the device and a cleanup of desktop settings. It is important to understand that the launcher reset only affects the visual part: the location of icons, widgets, wallpaper and folder settings. Your personal files, applications and accounts will remain intact.

The main indication for this procedure is that the items are not displayed correctly. If you notice that after installing a new theme icons have become square instead of round, or the search bar has disappeared, then it is time to intervene in the settings, and this is also true when installing third-party launchers that you no longer plan to use.

⚠️ Warning: Before any manipulation of system settings, make sure you have a backup of important data in Google Photos or Mi Cloud. Although the risk of data loss is minimal, reinsurance is never unnecessary.

Version conflicts are a common cause of problems. After a major Android update or the MIUI shell itself, the old widget settings may no longer be supported, resulting in the system trying to display incompatible elements, which leads to a freeze in the interface.

Preparation for the recovery procedure

Before you start taking action, you need to do a few preparatory steps to ensure that the process goes smoothly and the result is satisfactory. Ignoring the preparation can lead to you having to reset the network or enter passwords from Wi-Fi if you decide to reset deeper settings.

First, check the battery power. The process of resetting the interface settings may require a system reboot, and it will be a shame if the device turns off at the most inopportune time. The optimal charge level is above 40%.

Also, turn off the power saving mode if it is activated. Xiaomi’s aggressive optimization can prevent the services responsible for applying the new settings from working properly. Go to Settings → Battery and select Balanced or Performance mode.

If you use third-party themes from Themes, keep in mind that after a launcher is reset, they can fly to the standard "Classic" theme. This is normal system behavior, as the reset returns visuals to factory values.

Reset via the settings of the "Security" application

The easiest and safest way to get things back to their proper place is to use the built-in Security app, a system tool that every Xiaomi smartphone has out of the box, and it allows you to clear the cache and data of various components without going deep into the engineering menu.

To start, open the Security app (green icon with a shield). In the bottom menu or tool list, look for "Clean up" or run a scan, but we're not just looking at cleaning up garbage, we're looking at managing applications.

Find the Apps section (or go through Settings → Apps → All Apps) in the list, and find an app called Desktop (may be called Launcher or System Launcher) and click on it to open a detailed menu.

• 📱 Click the "Clear" button at the bottom of the screen.
• 🗑️ In the menu that appears, select "Clean All" or "Clean Cache" depending on the depth of the problem.
• 🔄 Confirm the action in the pop-up window.
• 📲 Wait for the interface to reboot (the screen may blink).

Once you do this, the desktop will go back to the boxy state, all widgets will be removed and icons will line up in standard order, which is the most effective method for solving most visual problems.

💡

If the Google search bar is missing after reset, just press your finger on the blank spot of the screen, select “Widgets” and add the search bar again.

Removing Problem Launcher Updates

Sometimes the cause of instability is an incorrect update of the system component. In the GetApps store or Google Play, the launcher can update automatically, and the new version may contain bugs, in which case the logical solution would be to roll back to the factory version.

To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. Find Desktop. If the version has been updated, the button at the bottom of the screen will be called Remove Updates. Clicking on it will return the app to the version that was installed when you bought the phone.

After the updates roll back, the system may suggest that you update again. Be careful: if the problem was in the new code, a re-update through the OTA may return the error, in which case it is better to wait for the next patch from the developers.

⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to remove the Desktop app completely.This is a system component and removing it will result in you not having an interface to run other programs.

Using the developer mode for resetting

For advanced users who want more detailed control over the process, there is the possibility of using debugging over USB and ADB tools. This method allows you to reset the launcher settings even in cases where the phone interface is completely got stuck and does not respond to touch.

To do this, you first need to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly press 7 times on the MIUI Version (or OS Version). After that, a new section Additional → For Developers will appear in the settings menu.

If the phone is responding but not working properly, you can use a hidden test menu, dial ##6484## in the dialer (for some Xiaomi models), and check the sensor and display status in the engineering menu to help rule out hardware-related bugs.

Using ADB commands requires installing drivers on a computer. It's a more complicated way, but it's indispensable if the touch screen is no longer responding to commands and the buttons are working.

adb shell pm clear com.miui.home

Restore the standard theme of design

Often users forget that visual chaos is not created by a crash, but by a randomly applied theme. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, topics can change not only wallpaper, but also fonts, sounds and, most importantly, the appearance of icons and settings menu.

To return the standard look, open the Topic app. Go to the profile (the person icon in the corner) and select "My Themes." Here you will see a list of all the designs ever downloaded. Find a theme called "Classic", "Basic" or "Default" and click Apply.

• 🎨 Using a standard theme drops all custom icons.
• 🔊 System notification sounds are restored.
• 📐 The settings menu returns to standard font and color.

And it's important to note that just removing a third-party theme doesn't always bring back the old look, but you need to activate the standard theme again, and this action will force the interface configuration files to be overwritten.

💡

Changing the theme to a standard one is the fastest way to change the appearance of the system without losing personal data and application settings.

Frequent questions and problems after resetting

After the reset procedure, users may be faced with a number of questions: the system behaves as if you just bought a phone, and this can cause confusion, for example, weather widgets or the news feed Google Discover on the left of the main screen may disappear.

Don't panic. All your apps are on the menu (dot button or swipe up), they're just not displayed on the home screen anymore. It takes you a few minutes to re-schedule the most important programs and widgets to your liking.