How to reduce the number of icons on the Xiaomi desktop: the complete guide

Why are there extra icons on Xiaomi desktop?

The desktop of a Xiaomi smartphone is the business card of your device, but over time it turns into a chaotic pile of icons: installed apps, system utilities, folder shortcuts and widgets. Even after removing programs, many icons remain "dead weight", taking up space and distracting attention. MIUI (Xiaomi’s branded shell is exacerbated by the automatic creation of duplicate shortcuts when installed APK-files or software updates.

According to Xiaomi Community research, 68% of Redmi, POCO and Mi users experience an overloaded desktop in the first 3 months of use, ranging from lack of custom to sort apps to features of the MIUI launcher, which defaults to place all new programs on the home screen. For example, after upgrading to MIUI 14, many Redmi Note 12 users complained about the automatic appearance of Mi Video, Mi Music and GetApps icons, which cannot be removed by standard methods.

Method 1: Remove Unnecessary Applications (Radical Method)

The most obvious, but not always possible, way is to uninstall programs. However, in MIUI, many preinstalled applications (bloatware) are protected from removal. To understand which programs can be safely removed, follow the algorithm:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management
• 🔍 In the search bar, enter the name of the program (for example, Mi Browser)
• 🗑️ Press "Delete" if the button is active. If it's "Disable" instead, the application is system-based.
• ⚙️ To disable system programs tap "Disable" → "Disable the application"

⚠️ Note: Removing system applications through ADB or root access may lead to unstable work MIUI. For example, deleting com.miui.analytics will disable statistics collection, but may disrupt the dark topic.

Mi Browser (com.android.browser)

Mi Music (com.miui.player)

Mi Video (com.miui.videoplayer)

GetApps (com.xiaomi.mipicks)

Mi Pay (com.mipay.wallet.in)

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Method 2: Hiding icons in launcher settings

MIUI 12/13/14 has a hidden feature that allows you to hide icons without removing applications, which works for most models, including the Redmi Note 11, POCO X5 and Mi 11 Lite:

1. Hold your finger to the free space on the desktop
2. Select Home Screen Settings (or Launcher Settings)
3. Go to Hide Apps (in some versions Hidden Programs)
4. Check the unnecessary icons and click Ready.

💡 Important: The apps that are hidden in this way will remain on the menu of all programs (Swipe up from the docking panel). To return them to the desktop, repeat the process and uncheck the boxes.

MIUI 12

MIUI 13

MIUI 14

The other one/I don't know

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Method 3: Using folders to group

If you don't want to delete or hide icons, the best solution is to create folders. In MIUI, it's done by dragging and dragging and dropping.

• 📂 Press the app icon and drag it to another icon
• 🏷️ The folder will be created automatically – name it (for example, “Social networks” or “Games")
• 🔄 To add new apps, just drag them into a folder.
• 🎨 To change the color of the folder, press it. → Edit → choose the color

MIUI 14 has a Smart Folders feature, which automatically groups applications into categories (e.g., Work, Entertainment). To enable it, go to Launcher Settings → Smart Folders and activate the switch.

💡

If the folder is too big (more than 12 apps), break it up into several folders. In MIUI, folders with more than 15 icons start to slow down when opened.

Method 4: Disabling recommendations and widgets

One of the reasons for this is that it's getting trashy is because of the automatic recommendations from Xiaomi, which creates shortcuts for "popular" apps, news widgets and banner ads, to turn this off:

1. Click the empty space on the screen → Home screen settings
2. Go to App Recommendations and turn off the slider
3. In the widgets section, remove unnecessary ones (e.g. Weather, Calendar)
4. To completely disable ads, go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup → Settings → Advertising and deactivate all switches

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi 9, POCO M3) Disabling recommendations can cause the Google search bar to disappear, reboot your device or update your Google App through the Play Market to return it.

Method 5: Reset the launcher settings (to return to factory settings)

If the desktop has become a mess and previous methods have not worked, reset the launcher, which will return the standard location of the icons without losing data:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Three Dots (⋮) → Application Resetting → Select Launcher (or MIUI Launcher) → Reset

After discharge:

• 🔄 All the badges will return to their original position.
• 📁 The folders will be deleted (but the applications will remain)
• 🎨 Theme and wallpaper will persist
• ⚙️ The gesture and animation settings will reset

💡 Tip: Before reset, take screenshots of the current location of the icons (clip the power supply) + Reduce the volume, and this will help you quickly restore the right labels.

Method 6: Install a third-party launcher (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, consider alternative launchers that offer flexible desktop settings, including:

• 📱 Nova Launcher – gesture support, icon hiding, backup settings
• 🎨 Lawnchair – minimalist design with the function of “Smart folders"
• 🔍 Microsoft Launcher – Windows integration and cloud backup
• ⚡ Hyperion Launcher – dynamic wallpaper and adaptive icons

To install a third-party launcher:

1. Download the app from Google Play
2. Open it and follow the instructions for setting up.
3. In Settings → Applications → By default → Home screen select a new launcher

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi Note 8 Pro, Mi) A3) After installing a third-party launcher, system widgets (such as Weather or Steps) may disappear. To return them, temporarily return the standard launcher through the settings.

💡

The side launchers consume 10-15% more RAM, but offer 3 times more customization options compared to the standard MIUI Launcher.

Method 7: Manual editing via ADB (for experienced)

If you need to completely remove system icons (such as Mi Community or Themes) that cannot be disabled by standard methods, use ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times)
2. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → More → For Developers
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm hide com.xiaomi.example.app (replace com.xiaomi.example.app with the app package)
4. To return the icon, use: adb shell pm unhide com.xiaomi.example.app

📌 List of popular concealment packages:

• com.miui.analytics - Statistics collection
• com.xiaomi.mipicks — GetApps
• com.miui.videoplayer — Mi Video
• com.miui.player — Mi Music
• com.android.browser — Mi Browser

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When cleaning the desktop, Xiaomi users often face typical problems:

1. The disappearance of icons after the update is caused by the launcher reset, solution: reboot the device or return icons from the menu of all applications.
2. Duplication of icons – occurs when installed APK-Solution: delete duplicate through Settings → Annexes.
3. The inability to hide system applications is a limitation of MIUI. Solution: use ADB or disable the application (do not delete!).
4. Slowing down animations after folders is due to launcher overload. Solution: limit the number of icons in the folder (maximum 12).

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI Global Stable (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro) some icon hiding features may be blocked. MIUI EU Xiaomi.eu, where restrictions are lifted.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions