How to make your wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi: a step-by-step guide with secrets

Are you tired of static wallpaper on your Xiaomi lock screen and desktop? Want the background to automatically change every few hours, creating a “live” device? Creating a wallpaper carousel is an easy way to personalize a smartphone that is available to owners of most Redmi, POCO and Mi models based on MIUI 12-14 or HyperOS. In this article, we will examine everything from standard system functions to hidden chips that are not written about even in the official guides.

The concept of wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi works like a slideshow: you upload a few images, and the system automatically switches them on a given schedule. But there are nuances! For example, on some firmware, the function is hidden in the depths of the menu, and on HyperOS, the background algorithm has become "smarter" - now it analyzes the color gamut and even the time of day. We tested the instructions on the Redmi Note 12 Pro +, POCO F5 and Xiaomi 13T - all the methods work, but with caveats.

1.Preparation of images: what wallpaper will be suitable for a carousel

Before you can customize the carousel, you need to prepare the raw materials correctly. Not all images look equally good as dynamic wallpaper.

• 📏 Permission: minimum 1080×2340 For modern smartphones (for Xiaomi) 14 Ultra better. 1440×3200). Images with lower resolution will stretch and lose clarity.
• 🎨 Color gamut: Avoid too dark or too light wallpaper — they can eat icons and text on the desktop. Optimal: contrasting colors with a single-zone accent.
• 🔄 Stylistic unity: if you want smooth transitions, choose wallpaper in one theme (for example, only landscapes or only abstractions.
• 📁 File format: Xiaomi works best with.jpg and.png..webp is supported, but can slow down the animation shift.

Where can I get a good carousel wallpaper?

• 🌄 Unsplash Wallpapers – Free High-Resolution Photos with Color Sorting.
• 🎨 Wallhaven – a database of wallpapers with filters by resolution and style (look for tags) 4K, AMOLED).
• 📱 Wallrus - an app with AI-a selection of wallpapers under the color of your smartphone.

⚠️ Warning: If you use text or logo wallpaper, make sure it doesn't override system icons. On Xiaomi, the "safe" placement zone is the central 70% of the screen.

Method 1: Standard carousel through "Themes" (MIUI 12-14)

The easiest method is to use the built-in dynamic wallpaper feature that is in the proprietary Theme app, which works on most devices starting with MIUI 12, but with reservations:

1. Open the Themes app (the icon with a brush on your desktop).
2. Go to Wallpaper section. → My wallpaper.
3. Click on + in the lower right corner and select Add Wallpaper.
4. Select 3 to 20 images from the gallery (hold your finger on the first, then tap on the rest).
5. Click Ready → Apply as a dynamic wallpaper.
6. Select Lock Screen, Desktop or both at the same time.
7. Set the shift interval: from 1 hour to 1 day.

Importantly, MIUI 13/14 has made the wallpaper algorithm smarter.

• 🌞 Time of day: dark wallpapers are shown in the evening, light - in the daytime.
• 🔋 Charge level: low charge (<20%) The carousel is suspended to save energy.
• 📡 Network connection: if traffic saving mode is enabled, wallpaper change may be delayed.

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, POCO F3 s MIUI 13.0.4) After updating, the carousel resets. To avoid this, export the theme settings to Settings before the update. → Topics → Backup.

Update the Themes app in Play Market| Download wallpaper to a separate gallery folder | Check image resolution | Turn off battery saving mode for the Themes app-->

Method 2: Carousel through the Gallery (hidden function)

Few people know, but the standard Xiaomi Gallery has a hidden tool for creating a wallpaper carousel, which works even on devices where the dynamic wallpaper feature is disabled by the manufacturer (for example, on some Redmis for the European market).

Instructions:

1. Open the gallery and go to the wallpaper folder.
2. Select 2 to 50 images (hold your finger on the first, then tap on the rest).
3. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Set as → Dynamic wallpaper.
4. Select Lock Screen, Desktop or both.
5. Set up the shift interval (options available: Every 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day).
6. Activate Random Order if you do not want to make a sequential change.

Advantages of this method:

• ✅ It works on all versions. MIUI, including the old ones (beginning with the MIUI 10).
• ✅ Allows you to add up to 50 wallpapers to one carousel (vs. 20 in Temakh").
• ✅ Supports GIF-The animations (but they will be static when they change).

A critical nuance: if the carousel doesn't work after setting up, check the permissions for the Gallery app in Settings → Apps → Permissions → Storage. Without access to memory, the function won't activate.

💡

If you want the wallpaper to change on a schedule (for example, in the morning one, in the evening others), create two separate carousels through the "Gallery" and manually switch them to Settings → Wallpaper.

Method 3: Carousel through third-party applications (for advanced)

If you don't like standard methods (like more than 25 wallpapers or custom transitions), you can use third-party apps. We tested 5 popular solutions, the best of which are:

Configure with Wallpaper Changer (recommended for HyperOS):

1. Install the application and provide all the permissions requested.
2. In the main menu, select Add Wallpapers and specify the folder with wallpaper.
3. Go to Settings → Change Interval and set the desired interval.
4. Activate the Use Muzei for Lockscreen option if you want animations when changing.
5. In Advanced Settings, turn off Battery Optimization for stable operation.

⚠️ Note: Apps like Tapet may conflict with the standard Xiaomi carousel.Please turn off dynamic wallpaper in Settings before installing → Wallpaper. → Dynamic wallpaper.

5 Problems and Solutions: Why the Carousel Doesn't Work

Even after setting up the wallpaper carousel correctly, it can crash. We have collected the TOP-5 problems and their solutions based on Xiaomi user feedback:

• 🔄 Wallpaper does not change automatically Reason: Background activity of the Themes or Gallery app is disabled.Solution: Go to Settings → Annexes → App management. Find Themes or Gallery, open Permissions. Enable Auto Run and Background Activity. → Battery Optimization Add the Application to Exceptions.

Carousel resets after rebooting

Reason.

MIUI/HyperOS

Decision

adb shell settings put global dynamic_wallpaper_paused 0

(Requires USB debugging enabled).

Wallpaper is cut or stretched

Reason.

Decision

Wallpaper Set & Forget

If the problem is not resolved, check:

• 📱 Firmware version: on MIUI 12.5 Enhanced has a bug with a carousel when the developer mode is enabled.
• 🔧 Developer Settings: Turn Off Debugging GPU (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 5 times to tap → Debugging → Shut down debugging. GPU).

💡

If the carousel stopped working after the MIUI update, reset the Themes app settings to Settings → Apps → Themes → Storage → Clear the data. This will return the standard settings without losing the loaded wallpaper.

6. Secret Chips: How to Make a Carousel Unique

Here are 5 advanced tricks that will turn your carousel into a masterpiece:

• 🌈 Weather Wall color synchronization app changes wallpaper depending on the weather (sunshine) → yellow, rain → It runs on HyperOS without root.
• 🎵 Kappboom has Music Visualizer, which is the wallpaper that pulses in the rhythm of the music that's playing. → Visualizer → Synchronization with the player.
• 🕒 Time of day In Tapet, you can customize different sets of wallpaper for the morning / day / evening. Example: 06:00-12:00 - light wallpaper with coffee 12:00-18:00 - cityscapes 18:00-00:00 - dark abstractions
• 🤖 AI-WallpapersCraft generated wallpaper service AI Creates unique wallpaper for your industrial (e.g., “cyberpunk Tokyo at night, neon lights, 4K"). The generated images can be uploaded to the carousel immediately.

For owners of Xiaomi with unlocked bootloader there is another life hack: you can install the Magisk module DynamicWallpaperEnabler, which unlocks hidden wallpaper animations (for example, smooth darkening when locking the screen).

1. Install Magisk (instruction: https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/install.html)


2 Download the module: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/module-dynamicwallpaperenabler.4235671/




3. Reboot the phone.




4. In Settings → Wallpaper will appear new animation options.

7. Battery Optimization: How to Reduce Charge Consumption

The wallpaper carousel is not only beautiful, it's also an added load on the processor and battery, and we test that dynamic wallpaper increases battery consumption by 3 to 7 percent per day (depending on the model).

• ⏳ Increase the shift time: instead of 10 minutes, set 1-2 hours. The difference for the eye is minimal, and the battery will say thank you.
• 🌑 Use dark wallpaper: on AMOLED-On screens (such as Xiaomi 13 Pro) black pixels are not illuminated, which saves up to 15% of charge.
• 🔌 Turn off the carousel at low charge: in MIUI 14 This is done automatically, but on MIUI 12 You need to manually set a limit in Settings → Battery → Optimizing the battery → Dynamic wallpaper.
• 📴 Eliminate applications from optimization: Go to Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization. Find Themes/Gallery and select Unlimited.