Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a situation where after installing a new theme system widgets no longer display correctly or disappear altogether.This is because many custom themes in the GetThemes store contain their own versions of watches, switches and app widgets that conflict with the standard elements of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS. The user wants to leave a beautiful background, but he needs functional widgets from another theme or standard system.
Compounding the problem, Xiaomi’s shell doesn’t have a direct “Save widget” button when changing the theme. Themes’ mechanism involves replacing the entire set of graphic elements, including icons, sounds and widgets. However, there are proven ways to get around this limitation using a combination of standard system settings, third-party launchers or manual editing of configuration files. In this article, we’ll look at all available methods, from simple to advanced.
Before you start complex manipulations, it is important to understand that the widget is not just a picture, but a dynamic element that requires support from system services. If the theme does not contain code for a specific widget (for example, "Stepher" or "Weather"), it may not work even after use. Saving in this context often means either forcing a standard widget over the topic or extracting a resource file from the the theme archive.
Why widgets disappear when you change the subject
The main reason for the conflict is the Android theme architecture used by Xiaomi. When you activate the theme in the Themes app, the system replaces not only the lock screen wallpaper, but also the resources responsible for rendering the system widgets. If the new theme does not contain modified versions of the widgets, the system may try to substitute the standard ones, but due to differences in size or styles, they may not display correctly or disappear from the desktop.
In addition, many popular themes are created by enthusiasts and can only be optimized for certain screen resolutions or Android versions.A widget created for MIUI 12 can behave unstable on HyperOS.This leads to the fact that after updating the system or changing the theme, the user loses functional elements such as quick settings or a music widget.
⚠️ Attention: When you change themes and widgets frequently, you may experience increased memory consumption, as the system caches graphic resources. If the interface starts to work slowly, it is recommended to restart the device.
Also, consider that some widgets are proprietary for specific shell versions. For example, Events or Notes widgets may have different code structure in different firmware regions (Global, CN, EEA). Trying to apply a Chinese-themed widget to a global firmware version often results in display errors or a complete absence of an item on the desktop.
Method of applying standard widgets over the theme
The safest and easiest way to keep widgets functional without losing the beauty of a new theme is to force standard widgets, which works most of the time on current versions of MIUI and HyperOS. It allows you to use the visual style of the theme for icons and backgrounds, but leaves the system widgets (clock, weather, calendar) in their original, working form.
To implement this method, you need to go to the desktop editing menu. Press and hold your finger on an empty part of the screen or pinch with two fingers to go into editing mode. In the bottom menu, select "Vidgets." Here you will see a list of all available widgets installed in the system. Find the item you need, such as "Clock" or "Weather".
The next thing that comes up is that in the newer versions of the shell, when you select a widget, the system can offer several styles: you need to choose a "Classic" or "System" style, which is usually marked with the MIUI or Android logo. After choosing, drag the widget to the desktop. If the widget from the theme is already installed and does not work, remove it and install a new one from the system menu.
- 📱 Press and hold your finger on the desktop to enter the editing menu.
- ⚙️ Select "Widgets" in the bottom toolbar.
- 🕒 Find a standard system widget (usually at the beginning of the list).
- ➕ Drag it to the free screen space.
☑️ Verification of widget installation
It's important to understand that this method doesn't literally save the widget from the theme, but replaces it with a working one, which is a trade-off between stability and visual unity. However, there are topics that are specifically designed to be compatible with standard widgets that don't require such a replacement.
Using third-party launchers to save widgets
If standard methods don’t work, or you want to completely isolate widgets from the influence of themes, installing a third-party launcher is a great solution. Launchers like Nova Launcher, Lawnchair or Microsoft Launcher have their own widget management mechanisms that often ignore the limitations imposed by the Xiaomi theme.
Once the launcher is installed from Google Play, you need to give it the necessary permissions. Android may warn you that a third-party launcher may collect data, but when using proven applications, it is safe. Once the launcher is activated, you will be able to add widgets through its own menu, and they will remain in place even if you radically change the topics in the system application "Themes".
The advantage of this method is the flexibility of the configuration: you can change the size of the widget, its transparency and behavior, which is impossible to do in a standard shell. In addition, third-party launchers often allow you to back up the desktop configuration, which ensures that all widgets are safe when resetting or flashing.
| Launcher | Compatibility with widgets | The impact of Xiaomi’s theme | Difficulty setting up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Launcher | Tall. | Minimum | Medium |
| Lawnchair | Tall. | Absent. | Low. |
| Microsoft Launcher | Medium | Minimum | Low. |
| Smart Launcher | Tall. | Minimum | Tall. |
How do you get back the standard launcher?
It’s worth noting that using a third-party launcher could change the overall look of the system, as Xiaomi’s proprietary control panel disappears, but widget functionality will be maximum, especially for users who install themes that aren’t optimized for their smartphone model.
Manual extraction of widget resources (for advanced)
For users who want to “pull” the widget out of a particular theme and use it independently, a deeper approach will be required. The themes at Xiaomi have the.mtz extension and are renamed ZIP-archives, containing graphic resources and XML-However, simply copying a widget file is not enough, as it is tied to a theme package.
To try to save a resource, you need to find a folder with loaded themes. The path to them usually looks like this: /MIUI/theme/.data or /Android/data/com.android.thememanager/files. Theme files have complex names, so the easiest way to find the desired theme is by the date of the file modification. Inside the the the theme folder you can find images of widgets, but their functionality without the corresponding code in the system is lost.
A more effective but complex method is to use tools to modify topics such as: MT Manager or MiThemeEditor. These tools allow you to unpack a topic, find a topic. XML-The file that controls the widget (often in the widgets or description folder) and try to integrate it into another theme or system package. XML-marking.
⚠️ Warning: Manual editing of system theme files can cause a phone to cycle back up or disrupt the Themes app. Create a full backup before any action.
There is also a method of swapping packages through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), where the user manages to “cheat” the system by making it think that the widget belongs to an active theme. This uses the adb shell pm grant command to grant permissions, but on modern versions of Android with enhanced security, this method works rarely and requires root rights.
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Keep the original theme files (.mtz) in the cloud. If the widget stops working after the system update, you can try to restore it from the old version of the theme when the developer updates their product.
Configure widgets in HyperOS and MIUI 14
With the release of HyperOS and later versions of MIUI 14, Xiaomi has changed the way it looks at widgets, and the concept of Universal Widgets has emerged, which are standardized and should work on top of any theme. If you upgrade to a new system and lose widgets, it’s likely that the problem is solved by updating the widgets themselves.
In new shells, widgets are often updated regardless of the subject through the Widget Service. Go to Settings → Component Update (or through the Get Themes app → Profile → Updates). Make sure all system widget plugins are updated to the latest version. This is critical for compatibility.
HyperOS also includes Super Wallpaper and related widgets that can conflict with third-party themes. If the widget doesn't work, try turning off the live wallpaper or super wallpaper in the lock screen and desktop settings. Often, static background solves the problem of disappearing interface elements.
- 🔄 Check for updates for system components in the "Themes" app".
- 📱 Make sure the widget is not locked in the battery settings (autostart enabled).
- 🎨 Try changing the style of the widget in the menu with a long press.
- 🔋 Turn off power saving for the widget-related app.
An important aspect is the permission to display on top of other applications. Without this right, the widget may simply not render. Check the settings for special features and permissions for the Themes and System UI application.
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HyperOS prioritizes standard widgets, and if the theme doesn’t have its own version of the widget, the system automatically substitutes the standard widget unless a permission conflict is established.
Frequent problems and their solutions
Even if you follow all the instructions, there can be specific errors, and one of the most common is that the widget is on the menu, but when you click on it, nothing happens or it collapses, which indicates a conflict of versions. Solution: delete the theme, clear the the theme cache, and install the theme again, removing all the widgets from the desktop beforehand.
Another problem is that the widget appears as a black square, which means that the graphical resource is not loaded or damaged, in which case it helps to reset the theme to the standard, reboot the phone, and then reactivate the desired theme, sometimes it takes several reboot cycles to properly caching the graphics.
If the Weather widget shows incorrect data or doesn't update after changing the theme, check the geolocation settings. Themes can reset location permissions. Go to Settings → Apps → Weather → Permissions and make sure that access to geolocation is always allowed.