Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter intrusive visual content as soon as the device wakes up. The lock screen, which is designed to protect personal data, sometimes turns into a source of annoyance due to automatically changing images or banner ads. This is because the shells of MIUI and the new HyperOS activate personalization features by default that many users do not notice when you first set up the gadget.
You can get rid of unwanted images in a number of ways, depending on what is bothering you: standard wallpaper carousel or system advertising. The process of disabling does not require root rights or complex software, you can carefully go through the system settings menu. In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods for cleaning the interface.
Before you make any changes, it’s important to understand the source of the image, whether it’s a standard Lock Screen Magazine feature, a third-party app, or a system notification, and identifying the source is the first step toward a clean and minimal screen that only displays the time and the widgets you need.
Disabling the Wallpaper Carousel function
The most common reason for changing pictures is the built-in Wallpaper Carousel (or Wallpaper in newer versions), which automatically downloads images from the Internet and shows them every time you turn on the screen, and to deactivate this option, you need to go to personalization settings.
Open the Settings app on your device and find the Always on Screen and Lock section. In some firmware versions, this item may simply be called the Lock Screen, and this is where the basic controls for the look and feel of the locked state of the smartphone are concentrated.
Inside the menu, find the wallpaper carousel item. If the function is active, there's a switch next to it. Click on it to turn off the option. The system may suggest you confirm the action or choose a static image instead of dynamic tape - agree to set a static background.
⚠️ Note: After turning off the wallpaper carousel, some themes may stop displaying the watch in the original style. If the lock screen design is “got”, try changing the theme to the standard one in the Themes app».
If you want to not completely remove the function, but simply limit it, use the update frequency settings. However, to completely remove the image from the lock screen Xiaomi best suits a complete shutdown of the service, which will free up RAM resources.
☑️ Checking the Carousel shutdown
Removal of advertising and promotional content
Sometimes users confuse system wallpaper with banner ads that can appear on top of an image. This often happens if push notifications from dubious sites are allowed in the security settings or browser.
To remove this image, check the list of installed applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Carefully check the list for programs without a name or with suspicious icons that have been installed recently.
Also worth checking is MIUI security settings. Go to the Security app, click three dots in the corner and select Settings. Find the Receive Recommendations section and disable all switches related to ads and personalized offers.
- 🛡️ Open the security settings and disable the “Receive recommendations” function».
- 📱 Check the list of recently installed apps for viruses or adware.
- 🌐 Clear your browser data if ads appear after visiting certain sites.
- 🔒 Prohibit the installation of applications from unknown sources in the privacy settings.
Often the source of the problem is cached data of system services. Clearing the cache of the msa service (MIUI System Ads) can help if the ad units appear systematically. Find this process in the list of applications and click Clear → Clear everything.
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For quick diagnosis of the source of advertising, turn on “Above other applications” in the special features settings – there you will see which application displays the advertising layer.
Setting up a static image instead of a slideshow
If your goal is not to leave the screen empty, but to replace the ever-changing images with one favorite photo, you need to change the source of the wallpaper. The standard algorithm of the system often replaces the image chosen by the user with promotional materials, unless you fix the choice rigidly.
Press your finger on the free desktop space or go to Settings → Wallpaper. Select Local or Gallery. Here you can select a specific photo from the device memory, which will be set as a lock background.
It is important to make sure that you use the wallpaper specifically for the Lock Screen, and not just for the desktop. When choosing an image, the system will offer two options: “Apply” (usually for both screens) or customize separately.
| Type of content | Source | Method of disconnection | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallpaper carousel | Systems service | Settings → Lock screen | Average. |
| Banner advertising | Third-party software/MSA | Removal of the application / Blocking | High. |
| Thematic wallpaper | Annex Topics | Changing the subject to the classic | Low. |
| Naonke widgets | Widget settings | Editing the lock screen | Low. |
Once a static image is installed, the system will stop downloading new data over the network to update the background, not only removing unnecessary images, but can also have a positive effect on the autonomy of the device, especially if heavy live wallpaper was previously used.
Why can the wallpaper drop itself?
Working with thematics and third-party launchers
The theme store plays a huge role in the Xiaomi ecosystem. Custom themes often contain their own lock screens, which can conflict with standard settings. If you recently installed a new theme, the problem is likely to be that.
To return to the factory look, open the Themes app. Go to profile (human icon) and select My Themes. Find a theme called "Classic," "Default," or "Standard" and apply it, guaranteed to remove all third-party design elements, including complex images on the lock screen.
If you are using a third-party launcher (Nova Launcher, Niagara, etc.), remember that they only manage the desktop. MIUI/HyperOS, Therefore, the settings should be searched in the system menu, not in the launcher settings.
- 🎨 Apply the standard “Classic” theme through the Themes app.
- 🔄 Reset the lock screen settings in the personalization menu.
- 📵 Remove recently installed themes if the problem appears after they are uploaded.
- ⚙️ Check if Pocket Mode is activated in the screen settings, which can change the display.
Some themes may hide the settings for turning off the carousel, so change the theme to the standard one first, disable unnecessary features, and then return the desired design by carefully checking each install step.
Specificity of the HyperOS interface
With the release of the HyperOS operating system, the menu structure has changed a little, although the logic has remained the same: in the new shell, personalization settings have been brought into a separate application or deeply integrated into the overall settings menu, which can confuse accustomed users.
In HyperOS, go to Settings and find the Personalization section (or search by settings by entering “lock”). Here wallpaper management has become more centralized. The Wallpaper Carousel option can now be simply called Wallpaper with an online subitem.
An important feature of HyperOS is the more aggressive integration of Xiaomi services. If you can't find the switch, try Settings → Password and Security → System Security. Sometimes the restrictions of ad content are in the security branch, not in the visual settings.
⚠️ Note: In HyperOS, a system service shutdown can affect the smart home widgets on the lock screen. If you have Mi Home devices, check them after the changes.
Settings is the most reliable way to find the right option in the new shell. Click on the magnifier icon at the top of the settings menu and type in the "picture" or "lock screen" request. The system will highlight the desired menu item, regardless of the firmware version.
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Searching by settings (magnifying glass icon) is the fastest way to find hidden menu items in the new HyperOS shell where the structure may have changed.
Solving problems with hanging images
There are situations where the image is not part of the interface, but is a graphical glitch, the image may freeze on the screen, overlapping the content, or be displayed incorrectly, indicating a temporary failure in the graphical interface or overflow of the cache.
The first action in such a failure is to force reset. 10-15 seconds before the vibration and appearance of the logo MI It'll clear the RAM and restart the system processes that render the interface.
If the problem persists, try changing the screen resolution or refresh rate in the Display section.Switching from 120Hz to 60Hz and back, for example, can initiate a redrawing of the screen buffer and remove artifacts.