How to turn on the display of seconds on the Xiaomi watch: all ways

Why Xiaomi doesn’t have a default second and how to fix it

Have you ever noticed that the standard Xiaomi watch only shows hours and minutes? This is not an accident, but a conscious decision by the developers of MIUI and HyperOS. By default, the stopwatch on the lock screen and in the status bar is turned off - ostensibly to save battery power and reduce the load on the processor. But what if it is critical for you to see the exact time with accuracy to a second? For example, for synchronization of actions, scientific experiments or just out of habit.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to get seconds back on the screen, from hidden system settings to third-party applications. In this article, we'll take a look at all the working methods for different firmware versions, including the latest HyperOS updates. Importantly, not all methods are universal — some require an unlocked bootloader or superuser rights. But let's start with the simplest solutions that work out of the box.

Before you start, check your firmware version. Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI (or HyperOS) version. If you have a MIUI 14 or later, some methods may not work without additional manipulations, which we will also talk about.

Method 1: Enable seconds through clock settings (MIUI 12–14)

The most obvious way is to use the built-in options, and unfortunately, in the latest versions of HyperOS, this item has disappeared, but on MIUI 12-14 it is still available.

1. Open Settings and go to the Lock Screen section.
2. Slip by the style of the watch (or the format of the time on some models).
3. In the style list, select any option marked “With seconds” (usually a classic analog or digital watch with small print).
4. Save the changes and unlock the screen – seconds should come.

If there's no such item, your firmware doesn't support it, so in this case, move on to the following methods.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Xiaomi 13 Pro, Redmi Note 12) after upgrading to HyperOS, this parameter disappears even when rolling back to the old version. MIUI. This is due to a change in the architecture of the system.

The presence of the item "Clock style" in the lock screen settings

Firmware version (MIUI 12-14 or HyperOS)

Permission to change system settings (if required)

Compatibility of the selected watch style with your model-->

Method 2: Using the Watch widget on the home screen

If the system settings do not allow you to turn on the seconds on the lock, you can bypass the restriction with a widget.This method works on all versions of MIUI and HyperOS, but has one drawback: the seconds will only be displayed on the home screen, not on the lock.

Instructions:

1. Press and hold the empty space on the home screen, then tap the Widgets.
2. Find the Watch widget in the list (usually in the Tools category).
3. Select a style with seconds (e.g., “Digital Watch” or “Second Hand Analog”).
4. Drag the widget to the main screen and change its size if necessary.

For maximum accuracy, we recommend using the Digital Watch widget with HH:mm:ss or hh:mm:ss a format (with AM/PM).

Classic analog with second hand

Digital watch with seconds (HH:mm:ss)

Minimalist watch without seconds

Another option-->

Method 3: ADB-commands for forced inclusion of seconds (for advanced)

If previous methods have failed, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a tool for debugging Android devices, which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer, but even works on HyperOS.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB (You can download from the official Android website)
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap the assembly number → return to additional settings → For developers)
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original)

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your computer and confirm the debugging permission on the phone screen.
2. Open the command prompt (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) and type: Adb devices Make sure your device appears in the list.
3. Execute the command to turn on seconds: adb shell settings put global status_bar_clock_seconds 1
4. Reboot the device. Seconds should appear in the status bar.

If you need to turn off seconds back, use the same command by replacing 1 by 0.

⚠️ Note: On some HyperOS firmware, this command is reset after the system update.

💡

Before using ADB, back up your data via Settings → System → Backup. In rare cases, incorrect commands can cause crashes.

Method 4: Third-party applications for displaying seconds

If you don't want to mess around with the system settings, you can install one of the specialized applications that not only show seconds, but also offer additional features: fonts, colors, animations, and even milliseconds.

Top.-3 apps:

• 🕒 Clock Widget is a minimalist widget with second support and customization. There is a free version with basic styles.
• ⏱️ Digital Clock Widget is a digital watch with seconds, milliseconds and a date.
• 🎨 UCCW (Ultimate Custom Clock Widget is for those who like fine tuning, and allows you to create your own styles of watches with a second hand.

How to install and configure:

1. Download the app from Google Play (or APKMirror if it’s not available in your area).
2. Open the app and select the style of the watch with seconds.
3. Add a widget to the main screen or lock screen (if the app supports this feature).
4. Customize the color, size and position to your liking.

The downside of this method is the extra battery consumption, as the widget runs in the background, but on modern Xiaomi smartphones (such as the Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70), this is almost invisible.

Method 5: Customization through MIUI themes (hidden function)

Few people know, but MIUI has a hidden option to turn on seconds through custom themes, and some themes automatically activate the display of seconds on the lock screen, even if this option is not available in the standard settings.

How to do this:

1. Open the Themes app (usually pre-installed on Xiaomi).
2. In the search box, enter the query “watch with seconds” or “seconds clock”.
3. Choose one of the themes with a note (with seconds) or [Full Time in the description.
4. Apply the theme and check the lock screen.

Popular themes with second support:

• 🌌 Cosmic Clock – futuristic watch with stopwatch and animation.
• ⚡ Digital Neon – a neon digital clock with milliseconds.
• ⏳ Minimal Seconds – Minimal Seconds with small seconds at the bottom.

Please note that after a change of theme, some system styles may reset, and we recommend that you save the current theme in My Themes.

💡

Seconds themes are often updated. If the theme stopped working after the MIUI update, check for updates in the theme store.

Method 6: Modification of system files (for power users only)

This is the most radical method, which requires root rights or an unlocked bootloader, and is suitable for those who are willing to risk system stability for the sake of customization, the essence of which is to edit the framework-res.apk or SystemUI.apk files, where the time settings are stored.

Step-by-step:

1. Unlock your Xiaomi bootloader (instructions are available on the official Xiaomi website or the XDA Developers forum).
2. Install custom recovery (such as TWRP).
3. Download a modified SystemUI.apk file with second support (see XDA or 4PDA for your model).
4. TWRP replaces the original file with a modified one.
5. Clear the cache and restart the device.

Warnings:

• 🚨 Risk of "brick" (turning the phone into a "brick") with incorrect file replacement.
• 🔄 Following official updates MIUI/HyperOS change.
• ⚖️ The warranty on the device will be cancelled.

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi with Snapdragon processors 8 Gen 2/3 (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra, Xiaomi 14) Modifying the system files can trigger the Anti-Rollback mechanism, which protects against firmware rollback, in which case the phone can lock itself.

FAQ: Frequent questions about second on Xiaomi