Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a situation where a static image on a locked screen suddenly begins to change, not because of a virus or a system failure, but because of an embedded feature that automatically loads new backgrounds, which many users perceive as intrusive advertising or simply unwanted behavior of the system that distracts and consumes traffic.
Making matters worse, menu names may differ from MIUI to HyperOS, and the feature is often disguised as “Enhanced Lock Screen” or “Wallpaper Carousel.” In this article, we’ll go into detail about all the possible ways to deaktivirovat’ (disable) changing images, returning the device to its familiar appearance.
We'll look at the standard methods through system settings, touch on the design theme and answer questions when trying to change the display settings, and it's important to understand that a particular system component is responsible for changing the images, and that it's entirely in your hands.
What is a wallpaper carousel and why it turns on itself
The dynamic change of images is the result of a system application that can be called differently in different regions and versions of firmware, and most often users will see the names "Wallpaper Carousel", "Glance" or "Wallpaper Glamour", the main purpose of this service is to show advertising content, news or just beautiful landscapes every time you turn into a smartphone.
Often, the feature is activated automatically when you upgrade or reset your settings to factory settings. Xiaomi algorithms may interpret selecting a particular theme or installing an optimizer app as consenting to use an “enhanced” lock screen, creating the illusion that the phone is “infected” with ads, when in fact it is a regular, albeit intrusive, feature.
⚠️ Warning: The wallpaper carousel may consume additional internet traffic in the background, as it regularly uploads new images from servers. If you have a limited mobile package, disabling this feature is critically important.
There are two main types of services: One is the company's own Glance brand, which is often pre-installed in global smartphone versions; the other is Wallpaper Carousel, which is part of the MIUI Themes ecosystem, and the mechanism for disabling them is similar, but the paths to the menu can have visual differences.
Step-by-step: disabling through lock screen settings
The most reliable and correct way to remove changing images is to use the built-in settings menu, which does not require installing third-party software and ensures that system files remain intact. The algorithm for actions can vary slightly depending on the version of Android and the shell.
To start, unlock your smartphone and go to the main settings menu. Find a section that is usually called Lock Screen or Always Screen and Lock. In older versions of MIUI, this item may be inside the Wallpaper menu.
Inside this section, you need to find a switch that changes the source of the images, which can be called "Wallpaper Carousel," "Glance" or "Recommended Wallpaper," and then you can turn the slider to "Off," and then the system will suggest you to choose a static image that will be displayed permanently.
☑️ Shutdown checklist
If the standard path didn't work, try the alternative by looking for settings. There's a search bar at the top of the Settings menu. Type the word "Carousel" or "Glance" in there. The system will tell you the menu item you want, which will greatly speed up the process of finding hidden options.
Removal and disabling of the “Wallpaper Carousel” application
In some cases, simply switching the toggler is not enough, as the application continues to hang in memory and can be activated again, in such situations, forcing the application to stop or delete updates becomes a necessary step to get rid of the problem completely.
Go to the Settings menu and select the Apps section, then go to the All Apps tab. You need to find Wallpaper Carousel in the list. If you don't see that name, click on the three dots in the corner of the screen and select Show System Processes.
After finding the application, perform the following sequence of actions:
- 📱 Click on the app icon to open its properties.
- 🛑 Select "Stop" or "Forced Stop».
- 🗑️ Click on “Delete” (if available) or “Delete Updates».
- 🚫 In the permissions menu, disable network and location access.
It is important to note that in some regions (such as the Russian version of firmware), the button for the complete removal of the updates may not be available, in which case it is critical to take the action to remove the updates, which will roll back the application to the factory version, which often does not contain ad download modules, and prevent it from updating in the future.
| Action. | The result | Necessity |
|---|---|---|
| Disconnection in settings | The pictures stop changing. | I'll be sure. |
| Stopping the annex | Termination of a process in memory | Recommended |
| Removal of updates | Return to the basic version without advertising | Preferably. |
| Clearing the data | Resetting cache and temporary files | The situation |
What to do if the application is not removed?
Customization of design themes in MIUI and HyperOS
Often the problem is not the system setting, but the specific theme you installed from the Themes store. Many modern themes by default include the "Deepsea" or "Smart Lockscreen" feature, which involves dynamic background change.
To check this out, open the Themes app (standard, yellow or blue). Go to the user profile (human icon) and select My Topics. Find a topic that is currently active and click on it. The theme description often has a "Tune" button or settings where you can turn off "Dynamic Lock Screen."
If the customization inside the theme is not available, the easiest solution is to change the theme to the standard one.
- 🎨 Open the "Themes" appendix».
- 🏠 Go to the section "My pages» → «Topics».
- 🔄 Select a theme “Classic” or “Standard” (usually the first one on the list).
- ✅ Press "Apply».
Using a standard theme is a guaranteed way to eliminate software conflicts and third-party scripts that can cause image changes.Standard Xiaomi themes do not contain hidden carousel modules unless they are included separately in the system settings.
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Tip: After changing the theme to a standard, restart your smartphone, which will help the system completely clear the cache of the previous theme and consolidate the changes.
Solving problems with the Glance app
Glance, which is often found on smartphones shipped to markets in India, Europe and some CIS countries, is a more aggressive carousel that is often integrated deeper into the system and can return even after a shutdown.
To combat Glance, sometimes a deeper cleanup is required. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. Find in the list of “Glance” (may appear as “Glance Screen Lock”). Go inside and select “Clear” → “Clear all data.” This will reset all service settings.
Then immediately go to the “Permissions” item for this application.
- 📡 Find the "Mobile Network" and "Wi-Fi».
- ❌ Select "Prohibit».
- 📍 Also, deny access to the location if there is one.
If you take the application out of the Internet, you physically stop it from downloading new images, and even if it starts, it won't be able to get data from the server, and the lock screen will remain static, which is a hard, but very effective method.
⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to delete system files through root file managers unless you are an experienced user.This can result in a cyclical smartphone restart (bootloop.
Frequent questions and additional settings
After performing basic actions, users often ask questions about related features, such as confusing wallpaper carousel with Live Wallpapers. Live wallpapers are animated backgrounds that work all the time while the screen is on, and they don't change to other images on their own unless you choose a set of interchangeable images in the gallery.
It's also worth checking the Smart Lock settings. Some versions of MIUI have a feature that changes wallpaper depending on time of day or location. Check the Digital Wellbeing or Battery section to make sure no energy-saving modes affect the lock screen behavior.
If you want to just change the picture to your own, but the system turns on the carousel again:
- Set the desired photo through the Gallery (button "More" → "Install as wallpaper" → "Block screen").
- Immediately after that, go to the lock screen settings and forcibly turn off the carousel.
- Do not open the Themes app immediately after that, so that it does not have time to load the advertising module.
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The main secret of success is an integrated approach: you need not only to turn off the switchboard in the settings, but also to prohibit network access for system wallpaper applications to prevent their re-activation.
In conclusion, combating intrusive features is part of the normal use of a modern smartphone, and understanding how Xiaomi’s system processes work allows you to have complete control over the device, turning it from an advertising source into a handy tool.