How to remove the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners often face a situation where the lock screen begins to behave intrusively, instead of a static image or a familiar wallpaper, there is a news feed, banner ads and constantly changing pictures. This is not a system bug, but a built-in feature called Glance or Wallpaper Carousel, which is activated by default on many devices.

On the one hand, it's designed to provide up-to-date information without unlocking the gadget, and on the other hand, it's a source of annoyance for many users, consuming traffic, battery and getting in the way. Fortunately, the developers of MIUI and the new HyperOS shell have made it possible to completely shut down the feature.

In this article, we will go into detail all the ways to remove the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi. We will look at standard methods through system settings, application rights and specific nuances for different versions of firmware. You do not need to be an IT expert to return a clean lock screen.

What is Glance and why does it turn on itself

The dynamic image-shifting service is officially called Glance for Mi (or simply Glance), and in some regions and older versions of firmware, it may be called Wallpaper Carousel, and the main purpose of this component is to keep users' attention, and the system compulsively offers you content that algorithms think you might be interested in.

Often users notice that the feature turns on itself after a system update or installing a new application from Xiaomi, which is because the first start or after resetting the settings in the wizard of the initial setup often ticks the activation of “recommended content”.

⚠️ Note: Disconnect system components through ADB This method can cause an interface to be unstable if you remove a critical process. Use this method only if the standard settings do not help.

Understanding that it is a separate application, rather than part of the system kernel, allows it to be safely deactivated, but in recent versions of HyperOS, developers have made it harder to access a full shutdown by hiding the switches deeper in the menu.

Basic disconnection through lock screen settings

The easiest and safest way to remove the carousel is to use the standard settings menu, which works on most current versions of MIUI 12, 13, 14 and HyperOS. You don’t need third-party utilities.

To start, go to the main settings menu of your smartphone. Find the section that handles the look and lock. The path may vary slightly depending on the regional version of the firmware (Global, China, EEA).

You need to perform the following sequence of actions:

• 📱 Open Settings and select Always on the screen and lock screen (or just Lock screen).
• 🔍 Find a section called Wallpaper Carousel).
• 🚫 Click on the switch to deactivate the function, or select the option to Disable.
• ✅ Confirm the action in the pop-up window if the system requests confirmation.

If the switch is active but the carousel is not disappearing, try to also clear the cache of this component. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps, find Wallpaper Carousel and click Clear → Clear Everything.

Management of Glance Application Rights

Sometimes, simply turning off the switch isn't enough. The Glance app may have permissions that allow it to restart or download data in the background. To guarantee that it stops the process, you need to restrict its rights.

Go to the application management section. Search the Glance for Mi or Carusole wallpaper in the list, and we're not just interested in deleting data, but also restricting access rights, and that will prevent the service from trying to access geolocation or contacts to target content.

Pay attention to the following parameters:

• 🔒 Autorun: Make sure the slider is off.This will prevent the service from running with the system.
• 🌐 Access to the network: In some versions MIUI You can block the app from accessing Wi-Fi and mobile Internet, and it will kill the ability to download new wallpaper.
• 🔋 Energy saving: Select No Limits (to be removed) or, conversely, a severe Limitation if removal is not possible.

It is important to understand that in some regions (such as India or Russia), the application may be built deeper and the “Delete” option will not be available, in which case only revocation of permissions helps.

Comparison of disabling methods in different versions of MIUI and HyperOS

Xiaomi’s shell interface is constantly changing. What worked in MIUI 11 may not be available in HyperOS. Below is a table that will help you navigate depending on your system version.

As you can see from the table, with HyperOS, the company started to integrate its services more, and the way to customize became less obvious. Now you often have to go to Wallpaper and personalization to find the carousel switch.

For users of Chinese firmware, the situation is complicated by the fact that many global services have been replaced with analogues, in which case the standard menu may not contain the necessary options, and you will have to resort to more radical measures.

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In HyperOS, personalization settings are placed in a separate large section, so look for the carousel switch there, not in the general screen settings.

Using ADB for forced removal

If standard methods don’t work, or you want to completely remove the Glance pack from the system, you’ll need to use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit.

To start, you need to enable USB debugging mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the build number (MIUI Version) 7 times. After that, the Developer option will appear in the advanced settings.

Turn on USB Debugging and connect your phone to your PC. Run the following commands in the terminal:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper.glance

This command will remove the user's installation of the carousel package for the current user without affecting the recovery system partition. If you want to return everything as it was, just reset to the factory settings.

⚠️ Note: Be careful when entering a packet name. A single letter error can result in the removal of a critical system component, causing a bootloop to be triggered).

It is also worth checking for other related packages, such as com.miui.miwallpaper (main wallpaper) - it can not be removed, only glance. Once the command is completed, the carousel will disappear instantly.

Frequent problems and their solution

Even after the shutdown, users may encounter artifacts, such as a carousel-style message that says "Swift up to unlock" on the lock screen, or periodic notifications from Glance pop up, suggesting that the process was not completed correctly.

In some cases, a complete cleanup of the launcher data helps. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications, find System Launcher and click Clear. This will return the desktop and lock screen settings to their original state.

If the problem persists, check the list of installed applications. Sometimes the carousel is disguised as other names, such as "My Wallpaper" or "Recommendations", Deleting such suspicious system applications often solves the problem.

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If you can’t find Glance in the installed list, turn on the system processes in the application manager settings (three dots in the corner → Show system).

Alternative ways to personalize the screen

Once you’ve removed the obsessive merry-go-round, the lock screen may seem too empty. Xiaomi offers great alternatives that don’t annoy with ads. You can use live wallpapers or high-resolution static images.

The classic theme has deep customizations of watch style and date, so you can choose the font, color and position of the elements to make the screen unique, and it's much better than a standard news feed.

It’s also worth looking at third-party apps from Google Play, such as Widgetsmith or dedicated blockers, which give you full control over what’s displayed before unlocking.

Conclusion

Turning off the wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi is a solvable task, although it requires care in new firmware versions, ADB-So, as a team, you can completely clean your smartphone of intrusive content, and not only will it improve the visual experience, but it will also have a positive impact on the autonomy of the device.