How to Make Round Icons on Xiaomi with MIUI 12:3 Working Ways

Upgrading to MIUI 12 brought Xiaomi users a lot of new products, but not everyone liked the design of standard square icons. Round icons look more modern, harmoniously fit into the interface and visually reduce the chaos on the desktop. Fortunately, you can change the shape of the icons without root rights and complex manipulations — just know the right settings and a few secret tricks.

In this article, we’ll break down three proven methods, from built-in MIUI tools to advanced third-party launchers, and learn how to avoid common bugs (such as trimming icons or animation crashes), which Xiaomi models support round icons out of the box, and which require additional software. We’ve also tested all methods on the Redmi Note 10 Pro, Mi 11, and POCO X3 Pro – the results with photos and videos are attached.

Important: If you use custom firmware or MIUI beta, some features may work differently.Be sure to back up themes in Settings → About Phone → Backup to get everything back in 2 clicks before making changes.

Method 1: Built-in MIUI themes with round icons

The easiest and safest method is to use official themes from Xiaomi, in which the icons are already rounded, which does not require installing third-party applications and works on all devices with MIUI 12 and later, including Redmi, POCO and Mi series.

How to do this:

• 📱 Open the Topics app (brush icon on desktop).
• 🔍 In the search bar, enter the query: "round icons" or "round icons" (English query gives more results).
• 🎨 Scroll through the list of topics and choose your favorite. Pay attention to the ranking and the number of downloads – this will help to avoid low-quality themes.
• 📥 Click Apply and Confirm Changes. The system will automatically update the icons on the desktop and in the application menu.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ No need for root rights or technical skills.
• ✅ Stores all system functions (gestures, animations, widgets).
• ✅ You can return standard icons in one click.

⚠️ Warning: Some themes change not only the shape of icons, but also the fonts, wallpaper, notification sounds. If you only want round icons, look for themes marked "Icon Pack" in the description.

Method 2: Launchers with support for round icons

If the built-in themes don't suit you (for example, because of limited choices or bugs), you can install a third-party launcher, and this method gives you more: you can adjust not only the shape of the icons, but also the size of the grid, gestures, transitions between the screens.

The best launchers for round icons on Xiaomi:

Instructions for Nova Launcher (the most stable option):

1. Install Nova Launcher from Google Play.
2. Launch the launcher and install it as the main one (the system will prompt you to do this automatically).
3. Go to Settings Nova → Appearance → Style of icons.
4. Select "Adaptive Icons" and set the form "Circle".
5. For fine-tuning, click “Advanced” and adjust “Scale” (recommended 90–95% for Xiaomi).

Download APK from the official website (not from third-party sources)

Check out the Android version (minimum Android 9)

Disable battery optimization for launcher

Take a screenshot of the current desktop (in case of rollbacks)-->

⚠️ Note: On some models POCO (for example, POCO F3) The launchers may conflict with the company shell POCO Launcher.Before installation, remove or disable the standard launcher in Settings → Annexes → Application management.

Method 3: Manually modifying icons via ADB (for advanced)

This is a technique that's suitable for people who are willing to dig a little bit into system settings, and it allows you to force round icons to be turned on even on devices where this feature is hidden, USB-cable and 10 minutes.

What you'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 🛠️ Utility. ADB Tools (download from Android Developers website).
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to press the version → return to → For developers).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm access via USB.


2. Open the Terminal in the ADB folder.




3. Enter a command to check the connection:




adb devices




(Your device serial number should appear)




4. execute the command to include round icons:




adb shell settings put secure icon_shape 1




5.Reboot the smartphone:




adb reboot

If the icons haven’t changed, try an alternative command:

adb shell settings put global icon_shape_system 1

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ It works on any device with MIUI 12+, including Redmi 9A mi A3.
• ✅ Doesn't require root rights.
• ✅ You can return standard icons with the command adb shell settings put secure icon_shape 0.

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, MIUI EU) This command can reset after the system update. To fix the changes, use the task in Automation. MIUI) Re-use the command after rebooting.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

To make it easier for you to determine, we have summarized the key parameters in a table:

💡

For most users, the best choice is built-in themes (method 1). If you need customization, Nova Launcher (method 2). The ADB method (method 3) will only be suitable for advanced users who are ready for possible bugs.

Problem Solving: Icons don’t become round

If after all the manipulations the icons remained square, check out these points:

Problem 1: Icons are cropped or appear distorted.

• 🔹 In the launcher (Nova/Hyperion) Reduce the size of the icons to 85–90%.
• 🔹 In the theme settings, disable the option "Shadow of icons" (if any).
• 🔹 Check if the theme is in conflict with the wallpaper.

Problem 2: Round icons don’t apply to all apps.

• 🔹 Some system applications (Settings, Phone) can ignore the changes. That's okay, their icons are hard-wired into firmware.
• 🔹 For third-party applications (for example, WhatsApp, Telegram) install a pack of icons through the launcher.

Problem 3: After the MIUI update, the icons dropped.

• 🔹 For embedded themes: Reapply the theme in the Topics app.
• 🔹 For ADB: Re-execute the command (see Method 3).
• 🔹 For launchers: check if the settings have reset after the update. Nova Launcher can back up your Settings → Backup.

💡

If round icons look unaesthetic on some icons (like Google Play or YouTube), try installing a pack of icons "Whicons" or "Delta" from Google Play.

Additional chips: how to improve the appearance of the desktop

Round icons are just the beginning, and to make your desktop look really stylish, use these tips:

1.Setting up the icon grid

• 📐 In Nova Launcher, go to Settings → Desktop → Grid size and set up 5×6 or 6×7 compact.
• 📏 Reduce the indentations between icons in Settings → Appearance → Internal fields (recommended "No" or "Small").

Animations and transitions

• 🎞️ In Hyperion Launcher, enable the animation "Smooth Slip" in the transition settings.
• 🔄 V MIUI activate "System animation" in Settings → Additionally. → Special effects.

3. Widgets and wallpaper

• 🖼️ Use wallpaper with minimalist design (for example, from the pack "Backdrops" or "Zedge").
• 📊 Install the weather widget "Overdrop" or "1Weather" — They support round icons.

4. Hiding the intrusive elements

• 👁️ In Nova Launcher, hide unnecessary icons through Long Press → Hide.
• 📵 Turn off the Google search bar on your desktop in the launcher settings.

FAQ: Frequent questions about round icons on Xiaomi