Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often encounter a visual discrepancy on the lock screen, when time is displayed twice in different formats or styles. This usually occurs after a MIUI or HyperOS system update, when new watch widgets are superimposed on a standard system font, which not only spoils the appearance of the device, but can also make it difficult to read information when looking at the screen.
The dual display problem can be caused by both software failure and the activation of specific features such as “Package Mode” or “Double Clock” for the second time zone. In some cases, users accidentally activate locking styles themselves, which by default assume duplication of numbers for aesthetic effect. It is easy to understand the source of the interface conflict if you consistently check the personalization settings.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all possible causes of two hour markers and provide current instructions for their elimination. You will learn how to change the lock style, disable unnecessary widgets and correct display errors through the engineering menu or reset theme settings.
The reasons for the duplication of time on Xiaomi
The main reason for the clock artifacts on the lock screen is the conflict between the system font and the theme. MIUI shell allows you to deeply customize the interface, but third-party themes often contain errors in the layout of widgets. When you install a theme from the Themes store, it can bring its own time widget, which does not replace, but complements the standard.
Another common factor is the “Second Hours” feature, which is designed for travelers or people working with foreign partners. If this option is activated, the smartphone forcibly shows the current local time and time of the selected city at the same time.
Also worth considering is the impact of Google security updates and patches: After an Android update, some widget settings can be reset or, conversely, new smart screen features can be activated, in which case the system can offer a new style of watch that visually duplicates the old one, creating a “double” effect.
- 🕒 Conflict of third-party design theme and system widgets Always On Display.
- 🌍 Activated function of displaying the second time zone in the date settings.
- 🔄 Software failure after firmware update or security patch installation.
- 🎨 Use of Superbugs or Live Wallpaper with Built-in Time Widget.
It's important to understand that new versions of HyperOS have changed the algorithms for the lock screen. Now the system tries to adjust the font size to the amount of information, which sometimes leads to overlapping elements on top of each other. If you recently upgraded your phone, the problem is likely that the cache of the old theme is incompatible with the new rules of rendering the interface.
⚠️ Note: Before changing system files or installing unverified themes, back up your data. Theme errors can cause a cyclical device reboot (bootloop).
Disabling the “Second Hours” function in the settings
The easiest way to remove the extra time is to check the date and time settings. Often users accidentally turn on the second city time display, thinking that this is part of the design. To check, you need to go to the settings menu and find the corresponding section.
Click on Settings, then select Additional Settings, or go to Date and Time immediately. This menu should look for an option called Second Watch or Double Watch. If the switch is active, the system displays two time zones at the same time.
☑️ Checking the time settings
Once this feature is disabled, the lock screen should be updated instantly. If the changes do not occur immediately, try locking and unlocking the device. In rare cases, a smartphone reboot is required to fully apply the changes to system time services.
If there is no Date and Time switch in the menu, then the problem is not with the system function of double time, but with the style of the design, in which case you need to move to the theme or lock screen settings.
Changing the style of the watch and the theme of design
The most effective solution to eliminate visual duplication is to change the locking style, and the MIUI built-in features allow you to change the look of the watch without completely replacing the theme.
In the app, go to the user profile (the person icon in the lower right corner) and select the Wallpaper or Lock Screen section. Here is a style catalog. Choose the standard style "Classic" or any other one that displays time in one instance.
| Style type | Description | Probability of bugs |
|---|---|---|
| Classical. | Standard digital or analog widget | Low. |
| Live wallpaper | Animated background with widget | Medium |
| A third-party topic | Downloaded from the store theme file | Tall. |
| Superwallpaper. | Dynamic wallpaper MIUI/HyperOS | Medium |
If you're using a third-party theme, try temporarily switching to a standard Classic or Default theme, which will help you know if the problem is in the code of a particular theme. If the theme has disappeared after changing to a standard second time, then the author of the theme made a mistake in the layout. XML-lock-file.
Where to download safe topics?
It's also worth checking the font settings. Sometimes increasing the font size in Screen → Text and display causes the time widget to not scale correctly and to hit the system clock. Return the font scale to the default value for verification.
Set up widgets on the lock screen
In modern versions of Xiaomi shell, the lock screen supports adding widgets. A user can accidentally add a Watch widget over standard time. To check this, unlock the phone, then lock it again and press the screen area for a long time (if the editing function is allowed by the theme) or go to the lock screen settings.
In Settings → Lock screen, look for Widgets or Lock screen elements. This shows a list of active components. If you see a watch widget, remove it or move it to the bottom of the screen so it doesn't overlap the main time.
HyperOS's shell is a new compositional rule. Now widgets can be floating. If you have Floating widgets enabled, they can appear over time. Turn off this feature in the personalization settings to return a static interface.
- 🗑️ Remove unnecessary widgets through the lock screen editing menu.
- 🚫 Turn off the option of “floating widgets” in personalization settings.
- 📱 Check if the duplicate is part of the smart weather widget.
⚠️ Warning: Some system weather widgets include a time display by default. If you have a weather widget, check its settings - there may be a "Show Time" tick that you need to uncheck.
Often, duplication occurs when using a Stepmer or Battery Charge widget, which in some themes have a built-in clock, replacing such a widget with a text-based counterpart without a dial will solve the problem of visual noise.
Reset theme settings and system cache
If manual style change didn’t help, there may have been a cache in the system that causes the device to display old interface elements along with new ones, cleaning up the theme cache is a secure procedure that doesn’t affect the user’s personal data.
Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. Find the Themes app in the list. Click on it and select Memory → Clear cache. It is also recommended to do the same for the Wallpaper and personalization app.
Settings → Applications → All Applications → Topics → Memory → Clear the cacheOnce the cache is cleaned, make sure you reboot the device completely, and it's not enough to turn off and turn on the screen, you just need to reboot the system through the power menu, and that will start the process of reassembling the interface from scratch.
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Use Xiaomi’s Security app to quickly clear the cache. Click Clean up in the app’s main menu to delete temporary files of all system services, including themes.
In extreme cases, you can reset the theme to factory settings. The Themes app in the user profile has a default theme recovery button, which will return the standard lock style by removing all third-party modifications.
Solving problems through engineering menu and ADB
For advanced users who still have a problem after reset, there is a method of turning off the second time through hidden settings or ADB commands. This method requires caution. First, you need to activate the developer mode by seven times clicking on the build number in the About Phone section.
If you have access to a computer, you can use the ADB command to remove the component responsible for the double clock. However, in newer versions of MIUI, direct removal of system packages can lead to instability. A safer way is to use font change applications such as zFont 3, which allow you to replace the system font with one where the second time format is not displayed.
You can also try to turn off hardware acceleration in the developer settings. Go to Advanced Settings → For developers and find the item “Disable hardware acceleration” (or vice versa, turn it on if it is turned off).
- 🛠️ Activate Developer Mode to Access Hidden Features.
- 💻 Use it. ADB Only if you are confident in the teams, so as not to "brick" the phone.
- 🔤 Try changing the system font through third-party utilities.
It is worth noting that interfering with system files requires root rights, which are difficult to obtain on modern Xiaomi and deprives of guarantees, so methods with changing the theme and cleaning the cache are a priority.
⚠️ Note: Do not disable system components called Clock, Keyguard, or SystemUI through ADB without understanding their function, it can cause the phone to stop responding to touch or go into an endless reboot.
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In 90% of cases, the problem is solved by simply changing the blocking theme to a standard one or cleaning the cache of the Themes app. Radical methods are rarely required.