How to Change App Icons on Xiaomi: A Step-by-Step Guide for All MIUI Versions

Standard app icons on Xiaomi smartphones often look boring or don’t fit into the overall style of the interface. Fortunately, the manufacturer provides several ways to change them, from built-in MIUI tools to third-party solutions. In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of changing icons, including hidden shell functions, working with themes and installing alternative launchers.

It’s important to understand that the possibilities for change depend on the firmware version: on MIUI 12-14 and the new HyperOS, the algorithms are different, and we’ve taken these nuances into account and prepared universal instructions that will suit most models, from the budget Redmi Note to the flagship Xiaomi 14.

Before making any changes, we recommend backing up your current settings through Settings → About Phone → Backup. This will help you quickly restore the original look of the system if necessary.

Method 1: Using the built-in MIUI themes

The easiest way to change icons is to use ready-made themes from the official MIUI Themes store. This method requires no root rights and works on all Xiaomi devices without restrictions. The collection has more than 10,000 themes, many of which completely redesign the icon design.

To apply a new theme:

• 📱 Open the Themes app (icon with brush on desktop)
• 🔍 Enter the search box for “icons” or “icons"
• 🎨 Choose your favorite theme and click Apply
• ⚙️ In the theme settings, you can enable the option "Icons Only" so as not to change the wallpaper and fonts.

Note that some premium themes require a fee (between 50 and 300 rubles). Free options often have a limited set of icons - for lesser-known applications, standard icons may remain. To check the completeness of the coverage, scroll to the right before applying the theme - all available icons are displayed there.

⚠️ Attention: After update MIUI To avoid this, save your favorite theme to Favorites before updating (heart icon in the upper right corner of the theme screen).

Method 2: Manually modifying icons through application settings

Few people know, but MIUI has a hidden feature of changing icons for individual applications without changing the whole theme, which works on all Xiaomi devices with a firmware version at least MIUI 10.

Instructions for modification:

1. Press and hold your finger on the icon of the app you want to change.
2. In the menu that appears, select Application Information
3. Slip on the current app icon at the top of the screen
4. Choose one of the alternative icons (if available)

Unfortunately, this method does not work for all applications – only for those whose developers have downloaded alternative icons to the app. APK-This option is usually available for system utilities (Camera, Gallery, Settings) and popular services (Google Play, YouTube, Chrome).

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If the icon isn’t in the options, try updating the app through Google Play – sometimes newer versions add additional graphical resources.

For applications that do not support this function, you can use a workaround:

• 📲 Create an app shortcut on your desktop (click the icon) → "Labeling")
• 🖼️ Install any launcher with support for changing icons (for example, Nova Launcher)
• 🔄 In the launcher settings, assign a custom icon for the created shortcut

Method 3: Installation of a custom launcher

For maximum freedom in the configuration of the appearance, we recommend using third-party launchers, which allow you to change the icons for each application individually, apply icon packages from third-party designers and customize animations.

The best launchers for Xiaomi with support for custom icons:

• 🌟 Nova Launcher – the most functional option with gesture support and deep customization
• 🎨 Apex Launcher – a good balance between performance and capabilities
• ⚡ Lawnchair is a lightweight open source launcher
• 🔧 Action Launcher – unique features like “shutter” and “window"

Instructions for setting up (for example, Nova Launcher):

1. Install a launcher from Google Play
2. Assign it as the default launcher in system settings
3. Press your finger on the free desktop space → select Settings
4. Go to the Appearance section → Style of icons
5. Select the Icon Package and indicate the path to the downloaded set

Popular icon packages for Xiaomi:

• 🖤 Whicons – Minimalist black and white design
• 🌈 CandyCons – bright color icons
• 🔺 Minima – geometric shaped icons
• 🎭 Lines – icons in the form of lines and contours

Download APK launcher from the official website|Create a backup of current settings|Disable battery optimization for launcher|Verification of compatibility with the Android version-->

⚠️ Note: Some launchers may not work well on HyperOS devices due to changes in memory management. If there are slowdowns after installing the launcher, try turning off the function. MIUI Optimization through ADB-Adb shell settings put global miui_optimization_disabled 1 This operation requires a connection to the PC and enabled debugging. USB.

Method 4: Using the Xposed Framework (for advanced users)

For those willing to take more drastic measures, there is the possibility of completely replacing system icons through the Xposed Framework, which requires an unlocked bootloader and root rights, but gives maximum control over the appearance of the system.

Required components:

• 🔓 Unlocked bootloader (instructions on the official Xiaomi website)
• 🛠️ Root access (can be accessed via Magisk)
• 🧩 Xposed module and XIconChanger plugin
• 📂 Set of icons in format PNG (permit 192×192 pixel)

Step-by-step:

1. Install Xposed Installer and activate the framework
2. Download the XIconChanger module through the Xposed repository
3. Place the icon pack in /sdcard/XIconChanger folder
4. Activate the module and restart the device
5. In the module settings, select the icon package and apply the changes

Important: On HyperOS devices, using Xposed can cause system services, especially security-related ones (e.g. Mi Pay will cease to function). TWRP.

Method 5: Change icons through ADB (no root)

For users who don’t want root access but are willing to work with ADB, there is a method of changing system icons via the command line, which works on most Xiaomi devices with MIUI 11 and later.

Tools required:

• 🖥️ Computer with drivers installed ADB and Fastboot
• 📱 Included debugging by USB smartphone
• 📁 Set of icons in format PNG filenamed

Instructions for replacement:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and authorize debugging
2. Open the command line in the folder with ADB
3. Execute the command to obtain a list of system applications: adb shell pm list packages -f
4. Find the path to the APK file of the desired application (e.g. /system/priv-app/Settings/Settings.apk)
5. Remove APK on PC, replace the icons in the res/drawable folder and collect back
6. Fly back the modified APK: adb push Settings.apk /system/priv-app/Settings/adb shell chmod 644 /system/priv-app/Settings/Settings.apk

This method requires a good understanding of the structure of Android and can cause applications to fail if improperly modified. APK-We recommend that you first practice backup of system files.

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The ADB method is only suitable for replacing system application icons, and for custom programs from Google Play, this method does not work – their icons are updated with the application.

How to Get Back Standard Icons

If the experiments with the appearance were not successful, you can return the original icons in several ways, depending on the method of change used.

To return to the standard view:

• 🔄 If the topics were used MIUI — Go to the Topics app and select the standard theme "Default"
• 📱 If the icons were changed through the launcher - reset it or delete it (the system launcher will automatically recover)
• 🛠️ If you have used Xposed, deactivate the XIconChanger module and restart the device.
• 💻 If you have changed files through ADB — scoop up the original APK-stock-fix

To completely reset the appearance of the system, perform the following actions:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings
2. Select Reset Launcher Settings (does not delete application data)
3. Confirm the action and wait for the device to restart

If some icons are changed after reset, it may indicate that they have been modified at the system file level, in which case only flashing the device through Fastboot or Recovery will help.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions