How to remove or change wallpaper on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones: all working ways

Changing the wallpaper on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones seems like a simple task — until you encounter MIUI bugs, hung settings or suddenly missing options. Many users complain that standard wallpaper is not removed, new ones are not installed, and after updating the system, the interface completely “forgets” user settings. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to remove and replace wallpaper with Redmi — from basic to radical, including reset via ADB and manual cache cleaning.

The thing about MIUI is that it aggressively caches graphic elements, and sometimes even blocks wallpaper changes because of launcher errors. If you tried to change the background through the gallery, but after the reboot everything came back to normal, the problem is not your actions, but system glitches. We tested all methods on Redmi Note 12/11/10 Pro, Redmi 9/9A and POCO X5 models (based on MIUI 14/13), the results are summarized in the table below.

1. Standard method: through MIUI settings

The most obvious way is to use built-in shell tools, but even here there are pitfalls: on some versions of MIUI, the Wallpaper option may be hidden in unexpected menus or not at all due to regional restrictions.

To change the wallpaper in a standard way:

• 📱 Open the Themes app (an icon with a brush and palette). If it's not available, check the Additional folder or search the system.
• 🎨 Select the Wallpaper tab → My wallpaper. → tap on the current background.
• 🗑️ In the lower menu, the option will appear Remove (if the wallpaper was manually installed) or Reset (for standard backgrounds).
• 🔄 To change: select a category (Nature, Abstraction, etc.), tap on the background you like → Apply.

⚠️ Attention: Redmi with MIUI 12 or lower after the wallpaper change, a black screen bug may work when you unlock it. If you do, restart your phone with the power button for 10 seconds.

Turn it off. VPN (It can block the download of themes)|Close all applications in the background|Connect to Wi-Fi (to download) HD-wallpaper)|Check the vacant space (needs a minimum of 200 MB)

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2.Removal through gallery: why doesn't it work?

Many people try to install wallpaper directly from the Gallery app — tap by photo → Set as → Wallpaper. However, on Redmi, this method often fails: the background either does not change or is reset after rebooting, the reason is the conflict of access rights between the Gallery and Themes.

How to get around the problem:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find “Themes” and “Gallery”, then reset the cache and data for both (Storage → Clear the data).
3. Reboot the phone.
4. Try again to install the wallpaper through the gallery.

If the method doesn’t work, use an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher) that allows you to install wallpaper bypassing the system limitations of MIUI.

Through the Themes app |From the Gallery |Third-party launcher |Never change |Another way-->

3. Wallpaper dumping via ADB: for power users

When standard methods don’t work, Android Debug Bridge comes to the rescue (ADB). This method is suitable for removing the "built-in" wallpaper that MIUI It doesn't allow you to reset through the interface. USB and installed drivers ADB PC-only.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect Redmi to your PC, open the command line and do:

adb shell pm clear com.miui.home


adb shell pm clear com.android.themes

These teams will reset the launcher and themes settings, returning the wallpaper to the factory ones.

4 Manual deletion of wallpaper files

All user and system wallpapers are stored in folders /data/system/users/0/wallpaper and /system/media/theme/default_wallpapers. You can remove them through a root access explorer (such as Root Explorer) or by using a root access explorer. TWRP.

Instructions for TWRP:

• 🔧 Get in the recovery (food) + Loudness up).
• 📁 Go to Advanced. → File Manager.
• 🗑️ Delete the contents of the folders: /data/system/users/0/wallpaper (wallpaper) /system/media/theme/default_wallpapers (systemic)
• 🔄 Reboot. The system will generate the standard wallpaper again.

⚠️ Note: Removing files from /system If you don't have root, you can have bootloop. If you're not sure, use the method with a loop. ADB.

5.Resetting the launcher to factory settings

If the wallpaper doesn't change because of the MIUI launcher's glitches, it'll help to completely reset it, which will bring back not only the standard wallpaper, but also the location of the icons, widgets and gesture settings.

How to drop the launcher:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the MIUI Louncher (or com.miui.home).
3. Press Warehouse. → Clear all data.
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

After the wallpaper is reset, it's back to the factory wallpaper, but all the labels on the home screen are gone. They'll have to be reconfigured.

💡

Before resetting the launcher, take screenshots of the main screen - so it is easier to restore the location of the icons.

6. Problems after MIUI update: what to do?

MIUI updates often break the wallpaper.

• 🖼️ Wallpaper is reset after resetting.
• 🔄 There is no tab in the themes settings "Wallpaper".
• 🚫 When you try to change, an error appears: failed to apply".

Decisions:

If the problem occurs after a major update (e.g., MIUI 13 to 14), try rolling back to the previous version via Fastboot or wait for a patch from Xiaomi.

💡

After updating MIUI, always clean the cache manually through Settings → Storage → Clear the cache. This prevents 80% of wallpaper glitches.

7.Alternative launchers: circumventing MIUI restrictions

If you're tired of fighting system bugs, install a third-party launcher.

• 🌟 Nova Launcher – supports dynamic wallpaper and gestures.
• ⚡ Hyperion Launcher – Optimized for Xiaomi.
• 🎨 Action Launcher – Flexible animation configuration.

After installation:

1. Open the launcher and select it as the default launcher.
2. Go to the launcher settings → Wallpaper.
3. Download wallpaper from a gallery or online directory (such as WallpapersCraft).

The advantage of third-party launchers is that they do not depend on system updates MIUI and are less likely to issue errors when changing wallpaper.

FAQ: Frequent questions