Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter intrusive interface elements that appear after a system update or when the device is first turned on. One of the most annoying factors for many users is the wallpaper carousel, which automatically changes images on the lock screen, or Google Discover, which occupies the entire screen to the left of the main menu, these features are designed to personalize the experience, but often only consume traffic and distract attention.
Fortunately, MIUI and the new HyperOS provide flexible customization tools to disable unwanted items. In this article, we will detail how to remove the carousel on Xiaomi, clean the desktop of excess debris and return the system to a minimalist appearance. You will learn how to manage system widgets, disable ads and customize the launcher to your liking.
The shutdown process may vary slightly depending on the shell version and firmware region. Below are the current techniques that work on most current models, including the Redmi Note series, Poco and the flagship Mi. Follow the instructions carefully to avoid accidental removal of important system components.
Disabling the wallpaper carousel on the lock screen
The most common type of carousel is Wallpaper Carousel, which changes images every time you wake up your phone, and it often works in conjunction with advertising notifications. To return a static image, you need to go to the lock screen settings. Open Settings, go to Lock Screen and find Wallpaper Carousel.
Inside this menu, you'll see a "Enable wallpaper carousel" switch, put it in an inactive position, the system may suggest leaving some images or removing loaded packets -- agree to clear to make room, and then only your selected static photo will remain on the lock screen.
⚠️ Note: After the carousel is turned off, some Themes themes may stop correctly displaying dynamic elements on the lock screen, as they are tied to this service.
If the standard path doesn’t work, you may have a theme installed that compulsorily includes the feature, so try changing the theme to standard Classic or Default through the Themes app. You should also check the settings in Password and Security → System Advertising, where you can turn off recommendations that often come with the carousel.
What to do if the item "Carousel wallpaper" is not in the menu?
Remove Google Discover tape and widgets on the left
The second type of carousel is an endless news and widget feed that swipes to the right of the first screen. Depending on the version of MIUI, it could be Google Discover or Xiaomi's proprietary App Vault tape. To turn off Google feeds, tap and hold your finger on an empty desktop to go into editing mode.
From the bottom menu, select Another (or a setup gear) and find the Google Discover switch and turn it off. Now, when you swipe left, nothing happens, or a standard widget page opens if it's not disabled separately.
If you're talking about the App Vault widget feed (often containing steps, news, and shortcuts), the process is similar. In the same desktop settings menu, find App Vault or Widget Ribbon and deaktivirujte it. This will bring navigation back to the classic schema: desktops and app menus.
⚠️ Warning: Disabling system tapes can affect the performance of the widget “Stephomer” or “Weather” if they were fixed in this space, and not on the desktop.
Set up the launcher and desktop
The MIUI and HyperOS interface is based on its own launcher, which allows you to flexibly adjust the grid, font size and menu behavior. To remove unnecessary elements, go to Settings → Desktop. Here you can turn off the display of widgets in the application menu, which will make the list of programs cleaner.
Also, the launcher settings often hide the "Recommendations" option, which is responsible for the appearance of folders with names like "For You" or "Popular", where the system automatically sorts applications, and disabling this feature will prevent garbage folders from appearing on the desktop.
☑️ Checklist of clean system
For advanced users, third-party launchers like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair are available, which completely ignore Xiaomi’s system limitations and create a unique interface. However, remember that third-party launchers can consume more battery life and do not always work correctly with navigation gestures.
Blocking Advertising in System Applications
Often, “carousel” is what users mean by pop-up banner ads in system applications, such as “Conductor”, “Music” or “Cleaning”. To get rid of them, you need to disable the personalization of ads in each application separately. Open the application, click on three dots (menu) and select Settings.
Find Get recommendations or Show ads and turn off the switchboard, a procedure that you should repeat for all system utilities where you notice intrusive content.
List of applications for verification
Global Ad Disconnection is also available through the Settings menu → Password & Security → Access to Personal Data, where you can prevent the system from using your data for targeted advertising, which will indirectly reduce the number of relevant but annoying offers.
| Annex | The path to adjustment | What's off? |
|---|---|---|
| Conductor | Menu → Settings → About the application | Recommendations (inside “On the annex”) |
| Security | Settings (cogs) → General | Receive recommendations |
| Downloads. | Three points → Settings | Showing Recommended Content |
| Music. | Menu → Settings → Additional | Receive recommendations |
| Topics | Profile → Settings | Personal recommendations |
Using ADB for Advanced Removal
If standard settings don’t allow you to remove system components (such as embedded widgets or analytics services), you can use the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting your phone to your computer and having basic command-line skills, which allows you to delete or freeze system packages without Root permissions.
To start, activate Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI Version (or OS Version) seven times. Then, in Advanced Settings, turn on USB Debugging.
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.personalassistantThis command will remove the component responsible for the left widget tape (App Vault). To remove the wallpaper carousel, you use the com.miui.misys package (be careful, this is a system service) or com.miui.wallpaper.
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Before using ADB, make sure to make a complete backup of the data. Deleting critical system components can lead to a cyclical restart (bootloop).
It is important to understand that removing system packets via ADB is not a complete deletion from the disk — they are simply hidden for the current user. It is a safe method if you know which package is responsible for what.
Alternative solutions and installation of third-party launchers
If Xiaomi’s built-in tools seem too overloaded, the best solution is to install an alternative launcher: apps like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Smart Launcher completely replace the desktop, removing all carousels, tapes and widgets by default.
Once you install a third-party launcher, the system will ask which application to use as default for the home screen. Choose the one installed. Now swipes and menus will work according to the logic of the new application, not MIUI.
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Third-party launcher is the most radical, but effective way to completely get rid of the MIUI interface, while retaining all other system functions.
It is worth noting that newer versions of Android and HyperOS may have restrictions on third-party launchers (such as gesture or background blur issues), in which case installing the QuickSwitch plugin (requires Root) or carefully configuring permissions in the Special Features menu helps.