How to permanently remove the wallpaper carousel on the lock screen Xiaomi: the complete guide

The lock screen on Xiaomi’s MIUI-enclosed smartphones is often a source of annoyance due to the automatically changing wallpaper. The background image carousel, which is activated by default on most devices, is not only distracting, but can also slow the phone’s unlocking by 0.3–0.8 seconds due to the extra loading of graphics, especially on budget-friendly Redmi and POCO models with limited resources.

To make matters worse, MIUI regularly updates its wallpaper collection through cloud services, forcing users to see promotional or low-quality images. Fortunately, there are several ways to disable this feature, from standard settings to hidden developer settings. In this article, we’ll break down all the current methods, including those that work on the latest versions of MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS.

Why the wallpaper carousel appears on the lock screen

Automatic background change is part of the MIUI ecosystem to "improve the user experience."

• 📱 Downloads data in the background – even when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, which consumes mobile traffic (up to 50MB per month).
• 🔋 Increases energy consumption – the constant loading and rendering of new wallpaper reduces battery life by 3-7%.
• 🎨 Imposing content – part of the wallpaper contains hidden advertising or promotional materials Xiaomi (for example, announcements of new devices).
• 🔒 Deteriorating security – some wallpaper is downloaded from external servers, which could theoretically be used to track users.

The feature is activated by default on all Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO and Black Shark devices since MIUI 12. In earlier versions (before MIUI 11), the wallpaper carousel was either missing or turned off in two clicks.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard MIUI settings

The simplest method, which works on 90% of devices, is suitable for MIUI 12-15 and HyperOS:

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to Lock Screen (or Lock and Protect on some models).
3. Select the wallpaper of the lock screen.
4. At the top of the screen, find the Automatic Wallpaper Change switch and turn it off.
5. If there is no switch, tap the current wallpaper and select the Static background at the bottom.

On some firmware (e.g., POCO F4 with MIUI 14), the path may be slightly different:

Settings → Wallpaper → Lock screen → Select wallpaper → Disable “Carousel”

Check the version of MIUI in Settings → About the phone

Connect to Wi-Fi for stable download settings

Take a screenshot of the current wallpaper (in case of rollback)

Reboot your phone after the changes-->

Method 2: Use of the "Themes" application

If the standard method didn’t work, try turning off the carousel through the official Themes app:

1. Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
2. Go to the Wallpaper tab in the lower menu.
3. Select the lock screen.
4. Scroll down and find the Settings section (cog icon).
5. Turn off the option of Automatic loading new wallpaper.
6. Go back and manually select a static image.

⚠️ Note: On some devices (Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi) 12T) post-update MIUI 14 Themes app can reset settings. To avoid this, after turning off the carousel, block the Themes app in the battery settings:

Settings → Battery and Performance → Applications Energy Management → Topics → Without Limitations

Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If previous methods have not worked, you can use ADB debugging, which works on all versions of MIUI, but requires a connection to a computer.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap to unlock the developer mode).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to your computer and allow debugging.
2. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the adb folder.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
4. Execute the command to disable the carousel: adb shell settings put global lock_screen_wallpaper_enabled 0
5. Reboot the phone.

To return the carousel back, use the same command, replacing 0 with 1.

Method 4: Reset the lock screen settings

If the wallpaper carousel appeared after updating the firmware or resetting the settings, a complete reset of the lock screen settings will help, this method does not affect user data, but will return all screen settings to factory.

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → System and device → More
2. Select Settings Reset.
3. Reset the lock screen settings.
4. Confirm the action with a password / pattern lock.
5. After restarting manually install static wallpaper.

⚠️ Note: On some devices (POCO X3 Pro, Redmi K40) This reset also removes fingerprints and facial data to unlock (PIN password).

Method 5: Remove the Wallpaper Carousel (root) system application

For root-right users, there is a radical method, which is to completely remove the system application responsible for the carousel, which is irreversible and can lead to unstable system operation if executed incorrectly.

Procedure:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /system/priv-app/WallpaperCarousel or (for newer versions of MIUI): /system/app/WallpaperCarousel
3. Remove or rename the folder (for example, in the WallpaperCarousel_bak).
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Removing system applications may result in loss of warranty, firmware update errors, and some features (e.g., live wallpaper or dark theme) inoperability. TWRP Mi Flash.

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If after removing the application, the lock screen has turned black, install the wallpaper manually through the Gallery app: select the image → Set as → Lock screen wallpaper.

Additional Tips for Optimizing the Lock Screen

Turning off the wallpaper carousel is just the first step to optimizing the lock screen, making it as fast and safe as possible.

• ⚡ Turn off animations: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (7 taps) → For developers → The scale of animation (select) 0.5x or off)
• 🔒 Remove unnecessary widgets: Settings → Lock screen → Widgets (disable weather, pedometer, music player)
• 📵 Block background activity: Settings → Battery → Energy management → Limit background activity for "Theme" and "Wallpaper"
• 🖼️ Use static wallpaper in format PNG — They consume less resources than JPG wallpaper.

For devices with AMOLED-screens (Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi) K50 Ultra) is recommended to install dark wallpaper - this will reduce power consumption by 10-15:

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Disabling the wallpaper carousel not only speeds up unlocking, but also reduces the processor’s heating by 2-5 ° C due to the reduction of background processes.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after the carousel is turned off, users are faced with the return of the function. Let's consider typical scenarios and how to solve them: