How to Make Desktop Icons More on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to personalize the MIUI or HyperOS interface to their needs. One of the most popular features is to increase the size of app icons on the home screen. This is especially true for users with reduced vision or those who prefer minimalism and large controls. Standard shell settings allow you to flexibly manage visual perception, but not all options lie on the surface.

In this article, we will take a look at all the ways you can make your desktop icons bigger on Xiaomi.We’ll look at the built-in system tools, the themes and hidden features that will help you customize your screen exactly as you like.You don’t have to be a technician to scale up the interface elements.

MIUI is highly customizable, but menu logic can be confusing for beginners. It's important to understand that changing icon sizes often involves resizing desktop grids or global scaling of fonts. Let's start with the simplest and most effective methods that don't require third-party software.

Changes in the desktop grid and widget size

The easiest way to visually increase the space that applications occupy is to change the density of the elements, and in the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, that's what the grid is doing, and when you reduce the number of cells on the screen, the system automatically redistributes the space, making every square, including the icon, bigger.

To access these options, you need to make a long tap (push) on the free desktop space. In the bottom menu that appears, you should select Settings or Elements. This is where the key option of the Grid hides, which allows you to choose a configuration, for example, 4x5 or 5x6 instead of the standard 6x9. The smaller the numbers in the grid designation, the larger the final elements will be.

⚠️ Note: When choosing a grid with fewer columns and rows, some icons may not fit on one screen and move to additional desktop pages.

In parallel with the grid change, you should look at widgets. Enlarged clock or weather widgets can visually pull attention, making the interface more readable. The combination of a large grid and large widgets creates the effect of "big icons" without having to go into deep system settings.

• 📱 Swipe with two fingers from the center of the screen to the edges to call the edit menu.
• 🔍 Click on the settings gear in the lower right corner.
• 📐 Select the "Grid" item and experiment with the options 4x5 or 5x6.
• 🏠 Return to your desktop to see the changes in real time.

Note that the names of items may vary slightly from one firmware to another. If you don't find Grid right away, look for the More tab or similar. Changing this option is a standard feature and doesn't affect device warranty or Xiaomi's smartphone stability.

Global scaling through font size

In the Android operating system, which all Xiaomi phones are based on, the size of text elements and the size of graphical icons are often related. By zooming in the font system, you automatically make the signatures of the apps, and in many cases, the icons themselves, on the screen, a system change that affects all menus and settings.

To use this method, go to the basic settings of the phone. Find the Screen or Display section. Inside this menu will be text size and display (or just "Font size"). By moving the slider to the right, you'll see how the scale of the interface elements changes in real time, which is one of the most effective ways to make the interface accessible to people with poor vision.

But it has its own peculiarities: With the big zoom, some interface elements in third-party apps can go or crop. Android tries to adapt content, but not all app developers take into account extreme zoom values. So it's important to find a balance where icons get bigger, but functionality doesn't suffer.

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Before you change the system font, take a screenshot of the current state of the settings, which will help you quickly get it back if the interface becomes uncomfortable.

Also available in this section is the option to resize the image, and in some versions of MIUI, the "Display Size" slider affects the pixel density (DPI), which directly increases the size of all graphic elements, including icons, buttons and menus.

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Screen. → Text size and display.
• 📈 Move the slider "Display size" to the right to a comfortable value.
• 👁️ Please note that the scale will change in all applications.
• ✅ Click "Apply" or just exit the menu, changes are saved automatically.

Using design themes to increase icons

One of the strongest parts of the Xiaomi ecosystem is the theme store, which has thousands of designs that dramatically change the look of the system, and many users don't know that there are special themes specifically designed to increase the size of the icons, often called "Large Icons," "Big Icons" or "Senior Mode."

To find the right design, open the Themes app. In the search bar, type "Large icons" or "Large icons." You'll see a lot of options in the results. The peculiarity of this method is that you can only use the style of the icons without changing the wallpaper, sounds or font. When you install the theme, select the "Tune" option and only tick the icon.

Using third-party themes is a safe way to customize, but be careful when downloading themes from unknown, low-rated authors, and choose designs that have a lot of downloads and positive reviews to avoid display bugs on your smartphone.

⚠️ Warning: After applying a new theme, icons may change shape.If you're used to the standard look, it can cause temporary discomfort until you get used to the new style.

The “Second Space” Regime and the Regime for the Elderly

Xiaomi has special modes designed to make it easier to interact with the device, often called “Mode for the elderly” or “Simple Mode”, and when this feature is activated, the phone’s interface is completely transformed: fonts become huge, icons increase significantly, and unnecessary functions are hidden.

You can find this feature in Settings → Advanced Settings → Simple Mode (or “Mode for the elderly”). Once turned on, the phone will offer to confirm the action. The desktop will change beyond recognition: only the most necessary applications will remain, but their size will be as large as possible. This is the ideal solution if standard magnification methods are not enough.

There's also a "Second Space" feature that allows you to create a separate user profile, where you can set up your own grid and fonts regardless of your primary profile, which is useful if you have different people using your phone, like an adult child and a parent who needs big icons.

• 👴 Go to Settings. → Advanced settings.
• 📱 Find the item "Simple regime" or "Mode for the elderly".
• 🔄 Confirm the switch, the interface will change instantly.
• 🔙 To return, use the "Exit" button on the desktop.

Setting up special opportunities for the visually impaired

Android has powerful accessibility tools that you shouldn't ignore, and in the Accessibility section, you can find settings that affect how content is displayed, and while they're primarily for people with disabilities, they can also be used for the convenience of ordinary users.

In particular, you should pay attention to Magnification, which allows you to quickly enlarge any part of the screen with a triple tap. Although this does not change the size of the icons statically, it allows you to see small text or a small icon in detail at any time, and in this section you can also see "Enlarged cursor" or other visual hints.

Another useful option is to improve visibility, where you can customize color inversions or high-contrast text, which, when combined with large fonts, makes the Xiaomi interface as readable as possible. Don't be afraid to experiment with these settings, as they don't pose a risk to data.

Hidden settings and debugging via USB

For advanced users who want to get the most out of it, there's a method of changing the minimum width (Smallest Width) through the developer menu, which directly affects how many items fit on the screen and, accordingly, their size, and it's a finer setup than just changing the font.

To get into the developer menu, you need to quickly click 7 times on the build number in the About Phone section. After the message "You became a developer", a new option will appear in the settings menu Advanced Settings → For developers. Inside you need to find the "Minimum Width" option (or Smallest Width). Reducing this number (for example, from 392 to 360) will make all interface elements, including icons, larger.

adb shell wm density 360

And here's a command for ADB that does the same thing, but it's better to change the value over the phone interface, and be careful, if you put too little, the interface can become unreadable, and you have to reset the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Changing Minimum Width may cause some applications to display incorrectly. Write down the original value before changing so that everything can be returned as it was.

This is considered the most effective method for global magnification of all elements without loss of image quality, because the system recalculates the layout, but it requires more accuracy than simply changing the theme or grid.

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Changing the minimum width in the developer menu is the most powerful zoom tool, but requires caution and understanding the implications.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)