How to remove or change the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi: 5 working ways

The wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi smartphones is a dynamic set of background images that automatically changes when you unlock the screen or swipe on the home screen. For some users, it is a convenient personalization feature, for others it is an annoying element that eats up battery power and traffic. Unfortunately, in the latest versions of MIUI 13/14, the manufacturer has complicated the process of turning off the carousel by hiding the settings deep in the menu or completely removing the obvious switches.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to disable, replace or adjust the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, from official methods to hidden shell functions. Particular attention will be paid to models with MIUI 14 (including Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 12, POCO F5), where the interface has undergone the most changes.

Why can a wallpaper carousel be annoying?

At first glance, automatic wallpaper change seems to be a harmless feature, but in practice it causes a number of problems:

• 🔋 Increased battery consumption: dynamic wallpaper and animations constantly use the processor and graphics accelerator, which reduces battery life by 5-15% (according to tests on the Redmi Note 11 Pro)+).
• 📶 Background traffic: MIUI It downloads new wallpaper over the Internet, even if you're using a mobile network, and at some rates, it can be an additional expense.
• 🎨 Style mismatch: Automatically selected wallpapers often don’t fit into the overall theme of your smartphone, especially if you’re using dark mode or custom icons.
• 🔄 Intrusive animations: when swiping between screens or unlocking the device, smooth transitions appear that distract some users.

In addition, MIUI 14 has made the wallpaper carousel part of Xiaomi’s ecosystem, integrated with Mi Wallpaper Carousel, which syncs background images between devices (like a smartphone and a tablet), which means that disabling the feature on one gadget may not have the expected effect if you are logged in to one Mi Account.

Method 1: Disconnect the carousel through wallpaper settings (official method)

The easiest way to remove dynamic wallpaper change is to use the built-in MIUI settings. However, in the latest versions of the shell, the path to this parameter has changed, and on some models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra), it is completely absent.

1. Open the Settings menu (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to Wallpaper (or Lock Screen → Wallpaper on some devices).
3. Select Wallpaper for the home screen or Wallpaper for the lock screen (depending on where you want to turn off the carousel).
4. At the top of the screen, find the wallpaper carousel switch (or Dynamic Wallpaper) and turn it off.
5. Confirm the action by selecting a static image from the gallery or standard MIUI wallpaper.

If the wallpaper carousel switch is not on the menu, then your device uses a simplified version of MIUI without this option (often found on budget models Redmi and POCO).

Method 2: Use hidden MIUI settings (for advanced ones)

MIUI has hidden parameters that allow you to turn off the wallpaper carousel even where there are no official options, which requires you to activate the developer mode and work with system settings. Importantly, wrong actions can lead to shell malfunctions.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Click 7 times in a row on the MIUI Version bar until the unlock notification appears.

Settings

For developers

Local special facilities

Special Access

Activity Launcher

Google Play

Activity Launcher

com.android.themes

.module.wallpaper.WallpaperCarouselSettings

Auto Change

Network Wallpapers

If WallpaperCarouselSettings activity is not on the list, then this method will not work on your Xiaomi model. ADB-commands (described in method 4).

Method 3: Installation of third-party launchers (radical solution)

If the built-in methods don't work, you can completely replace the standard MIUI launcher with an alternative one, not only does it remove the wallpaper carousel, but it also changes the look of the interface, adds new features and speeds up the system.

• 📱 Nova Launcher is the most popular launcher with flexible wallpaper, gesture and icon settings. Supports dark theme and adaptive wallpaper.
• ⚡ Hyperion Launcher – Optimized for performance, has built-in ad blocker and minimalist design.
• 🎨 Lawnchair is an open source launcher that mimics the Pixel Launcher, but with advanced wallpaper options.
• 🔄 Microsoft Launcher – Integration with the Windows ecosystem, synchronization of wallpaper between PC and smartphone.

How to install a third-party launcher:

1. Download the selected application from Google Play.
2. At the first start, allow access to the default settings (the system will suggest choosing the launcher as the main one).
3. In the new launcher settings, find the Wallpaper or Personalization section and select a static image.
4. Turn off all options related to dynamic wallpaper or automatic background change.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi models (e.g, POCO X5 Pro) when using third-party launchers, system gestures may disappear or weather widgets may stop working. Check compatibility on forums before installing (e.g, 4PDA or XDA Developers).

Method 4: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If none of the previous methods worked, the most reliable, but also the most difficult way is to use them. ADB-This method requires connecting the smartphone to the computer and basic knowledge of how to work with the console.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on your computer.
2. Turn on your smartphone to debug by USB (Settings → For developers → debugging by USB).
3. Connect the device to the PC via cable and confirm the debugging permission.
4. Open the command prompt (cmd on Windows or Terminal on macOS/Linux) and type: adb devices Make sure your device appears in the list.
5. Use the command to disable wallpaper carousel: adb shell settings put global wallpaper_carousel_enabled 0
6. Reboot your smartphone.

If the carousel still appears, try additional commands:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.wallpaper


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.wallpaper.carousel

⚠️ Note: Disabling system applications through ADB It can lead to unstable work. MIUI, Especially if you use themes or widgets from Xiaomi!

Method 5: Reset the launcher settings (if the carousel returned after the update)

After the MIUI update, many users find that the wallpaper carousel turns on again, even if it was previously disabled, because the system resets some launcher settings to standard, to return the previous settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the MIUI Launcher (or POCO Launcher if you have a POCO device) in the list.
3. Open the app menu and select Storage.
4. Click Clear Data and Clear Cache.
5. Reboot your smartphone.

After resetting, the launcher will return to the factory settings, but the wallpaper carousel will be turned off, you will need to re-post the wallpaper and place the icons on the screen. If this method does not help, try removing the updates for the launcher:

1. In the same Application Management menu, find the MIUI Launcher.
2. Click on the three dots in the top corner and select Remove Updates.
3. Confirm the action and restart the device.

💡

If the wallpaper is blurred after the launcher is reset, check the resolution of the image you select. In MIUI, the optimal ratio for wallpaper is 1080×2340 pixels (for most models). Use applications like Wallcraft or Backdrops to download the wallpaper of the appropriate size.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you try to turn off the wallpaper carousel, users often encounter typical problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

• 🔄 Carousel returns after reboot: Reason: com.miui.wallpaper.carousel system service automatically starts at start MIUI. Solution: Use ADB to disable it (method 4) or set up automatic execution of a command via Tasker.
• 📵 No item "Carousel wallpaper" in the settings: Reason: on budget models (Redmi) A1, POCO C50) Solution: Try a hidden settings method (mode 2) or install a third-party launcher.
• 🔒 You can not change the wallpaper on the lock screen: The reason: MIUI 14 lock wallpaper and main screen are controlled separately.Solution: go to Settings → Lock screen → Wallpaper and turn off synchronization with the main screen.
• 📱 After the carousel was turned off, widgets were lost: Reason: Some widgets (such as weather or calendar) are tied to the system launcher.Solution: use alternative widgets from Google Play (such as Chronus or Google Play). KWGT).

💡

If none of these methods worked, check if your device has custom software installed (e.g. Xiaomi.EU or PixelExperience), which may have different logics for the wallpaper carousel than standard MIUI.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions