Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face situations where the standard lock screen seems too boring and monotonous. However, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS offer a powerful customization tool, the Lock Screen Magazine feature, which allows you to automatically change background images every time you wake up the device, turning the lock screen into a dynamic gallery.
Creating your own carousel is not just about putting a single picture in, it's about setting up a whole content display system, allowing you to choose thematic categories, upload your own photos from the gallery, and even customize time and date widgets. Unlike static images, the carousel brings the interface to life, making it more informative and aesthetic.
Many people fear that the constant change of images will lead to a quick battery discharge, but the optimization of the MIUI system minimizes this effect. It is important to properly adjust the sources of images and the frequency of their updating. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to activate the function, add your photos and remove intrusive advertising, which is often found in standard sets.
Activation and basic setting of wallpaper carousel
The first step to create your collection is to enable the system service, which can be disabled or hidden by default on many global firmware versions. To activate it, you need to go to the Settings menu. → Wallpaper. → Wallpaper carousel.If you don't see such a item, you may need to update the Wallpaper app via GetApps or Google Play.
Once you log in, you'll see a subscription management interface, where you can choose between nature, cities, art, sports or cars, and automatically upload new images from selected categories when you connect to the network, and it's important to understand that you need an active Internet connection to run an online carousel, although the cached images are stored in the device's memory.
⚠️ Note: When activating the standard wallpaper carousel, Xiaomi often includes advertising recommendations. To avoid this, immediately after activating the function, find the “Get recommendations” switch and turn it off.
To fine-tune the frequency of changes in images, use the "Update Frequency" menu, where you can choose to change the image every time you turn on the screen or every few hours, which allows you to control how often the visual range will change, which is especially important for those who prefer stability.
Adding your own photos to the carousel
The most valuable feature for the user is to create a personalized carousel from your own photos, you can upload photos of family, pets or travel to the rotation, and to do this, you need to find the section “My photos” or “Local images” in the control menu of the carousel, and the system will suggest selecting albums from the gallery that will be used as a source.
The process of addition is as follows:
- 📸 Open the wallpaper carousel settings and click "Add photo».
- 🖼️ Select one or more albums in the device gallery.
- ⚙️ Set up the display order (random or by date).
- ✅ Save the changes and check the result on the locked screen.
When using personal photos, the system uses intelligent framing algorithms, which means that if a vertical photo tries to fit into the horizontal screen (or vice versa), it will be automatically cropped in the center. To avoid losing important details in the picture, it is recommended to prepare images with the correct aspect ratio in advance or use the preview function before final saving.
There's almost no limit to the number of photos on the local carousel, but there's a lot of space to remember. Although the images themselves don't take up much space, the cache can grow. Periodically check the memory with the Security app if you've added thousands of high-resolution shots.
☑️ Check before uploading the photo
Removing Advertising and Configuring Subscriptions
One of the main problems with the standard carousel is the abundance of advertising content that Xiaomi integrates into its services. Brand logo images, promotions and sponsored photos can be annoying. Fortunately, there is a way to completely clear the tape of foreign noise and leave only pure art or personal photos.
To clean the tape from advertising, perform the following actions:
- 🚫 Go to the wallpaper carousel settings.
- 📂 Go to the Subscriptions or Categories section».
- ❌ Uncheck all categories except “Favorites” or “My Photos».
- 🧹 Click the “Clear Cache” button to remove already uploaded advertising images.
There is also a hidden method of disabling ads through Mi Account settings, where the privacy section can limit the personalization of ads, which indirectly affects the content of the carousel, but the most reliable way is to completely abandon online subscriptions in favor of a local gallery.
⚠️ Warning: After cleaning the carousel cache, the old uploaded online wallpaper will be permanently deleted. Make sure that the pictures you like are saved in the gallery if you plan to use them in the future.
Comparison of online sources and local gallery
Users often wonder: which is better to use - built-in online sets or your photos? Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Online sources provide professional content from designers, but require the Internet. The local gallery is completely self-contained, but requires manual preparation.
Below is a comparative table that helps you choose the best option:
| Parameter | Online carousel | Local gallery | Third-party annexes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network requirement | Definitely an update | Not required | Depends on the app. |
| Traffic consumption | High-pitched | Absent. | Medium/High |
| Advertising | Often present. | Absent. | Depends on the version. |
| Personalization | Limited by categories | Complete. | Tall. |
If you're often in a low-grid area, a local carousel is the best choice, ensuring that the lock screen always looks presentable, whether you're on a Wi-Fi or mobile network, and that your photos are always more emotionally pleasing than stock images.
Hidden categories in the carousel
Use of third-party applications for the carousel
If standard MIUI functionality doesn't seem to be enough, Google Play offers a variety of alternatives, such as the Wallpaper Engine, Backdrops or Widgetsmith, which allow you to create complex wallpaper scenarios, some of which support live wallpaper that responds to touch or time of day.
However, third-party software has its own peculiarities: applications often require extensive permissions to access the system, which can affect autonomy, and they can conflict with the system theme of the design.
For advanced users, it is possible to create wallpaper swap scripts via Tasker or MacroDroid, which allows you to change wallpapers depending on the weather, location or battery level, for example, this approach requires technical knowledge, but gives you maximum flexibility in setting.
⚠️ Warning: Installing applications from unknown sources to change wallpaper may lead to a leak of personal data. Use only proven high-rated programs in official stores.
Optimization and Impact on Autonomy
The impact of wallpaper carousel on the battery remains one of the most talked-about: the mechanism of changing static images consumes minimal energy by itself; the main burden is created by the process of downloading new images over the Internet and the work of the processor when processing graphics. If you use a local gallery, the effect on the battery will be negligible.
To minimize charge consumption:
- 🔋 Turn off auto-update carousel via mobile network (Wi-Fi only).
- 📉 Reduce the frequency of image changes to 1 time in a few hours.
- 🚫 Stop using “live” video wallpapers in the carousel.
Also, keep in mind that the constant high-resolution screen (especially on AMOLED-matrixes) is the main consumer in itself. The carousel plays a secondary role here. The main thing is not to abuse the "Raise to turn on" function, which constantly activates the display.
💡
A local carousel without auto-renewal over a mobile network is the perfect balance between beauty and energy saving.