How to remove wallpaper from the screen of Xiaomi phone: from standard methods to hidden MIUI features

Stuck with annoying Xiaomi screen wallpaper that can’t be changed or removed? The problem is familiar to many users of MIUI smartphones — sometimes the system stubbornly “does not let go” old background images, even after changing the topic. In this article, we will analyze all possible ways to remove wallpaper from the lock screen and desktop on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones, including hidden settings, reset via ADB and solutions for cases when standard methods do not work.

The thing about MIUI is that it's not just about personalizing the interface, it's about system themes, and if you downloaded a theme from the Mi Theme Store, it could automatically set the background that you can't remove from the regular menu, and we tested all the methods on the latest firmware (including MIUI 14 on Android 13/14), and we identified the ones that are guaranteed to work. Importantly, some of the ways require root rights or a PC connection, we marked them separately.

1. Standard method: changing wallpaper through MIUI settings

To start with, the simplest one is the official method, which works 80 percent of the time, and MIUI allows you to change wallpapers separately for the lock screen and desktop, but sometimes users miss key nuances.

To remove the current wallpaper:

1. Click on the free space on the desktop (not on icons!).
2. In the lower menu, select Wallpapers (or Wallpapers in English firmware).
3. Go to My Wallpaper → find the Default or No Wallpaper option (on some versions of MIUI it is hidden – see spoiler below).
4. Apply the changes by clicking Set Lock on the screen and/or Set on the home screen.

If you leave the old wallpaper behind, the problem goes deeper, and it may be that it's stuck because of:

• 🔄 Cache failure of the system application com.miui.home (solved by data cleanup).
• 🎨 Applied theme from the Mi Theme Store that redefines settings.
• 🔒 Manufacturer restrictions (on some models, for example, Xiaomi) 12T, The lock is linked to the Mi Account).

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If the wallpaper is not changed only on the lock screen, check the settings Security → Screen Lock → Additional. There may be an item Show Wallpaper on the lock - turn it off and try again.

2.Reset wallpaper through the settings of MIUI themes

Many users don't know that in MIUI, wallpaper can be part of an established theme, and even if you delete the theme, elements of it (including background images) sometimes remain in the system to remove them completely:

Open the Themes app and follow the steps:

1. Go to the My Subjects section.
2. Find an active topic (marked with a tick) and tap on it.
3. At the bottom of the screen, select Reset to Standard or Remove theme.
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

If after resetting the theme wallpaper still has not changed, try to forcefully update the cache of the themes:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Themes (com.android.themes) and select Warehouse.
3. Click Clear Cache and Clear Data (Warning: This Will Reset All Downloaded Themes!).

3. Delete wallpaper via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, you’ll have to connect to your phone via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a computer and USB debugging enabled, but is guaranteed to remove the stuck wallpaper.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on your phone: go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB Tools, and execute the commands:

adb shell


pm clear com.miui.home




pm clear com.android.themes




reboot

After the reboot, the wallpaper will be reset to the standard wallpaper, and if you want to delete a particular wallpaper file (for example, it is damaged and causes errors), find its path:

adb shell ls /data/system/users/0/wallpaper*

And remove the command:

adb shell rm /data/system/users/0/wallpaper_info.xml

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ADB-The teams reset the wallpaper at the system level, but they don't affect the user files: MIUI Substitute the standard gradient after the first unlock.

4 Manual deletion of wallpaper files (requires root)

For users with unlocked bootloader and root rights, there is a radical method - manually deleting wallpaper files.Caution: improper actions can cause the MIUI launcher to crash! Use this method only if others did not help.

Wallpaper files are stored in the following folders:

• /data/system/users/0/wallpaper is a system wallpaper.
• /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/wallpaper – custom wallpaper.
• /data/data/com.miui.home/shared_prefs — settings launcher (here can be "cached" path to wallpaper).

To remove them:

1. Open Root Explorer or any file manager with root access.
2. Go to the folder. /data/system/users/0/ Delete the files with the names: wallpaper wallpaper_info.xml wallpaper_lock

Settings → Applications → com.miui.home → Clear cache

Reboot the phone.

Backup important data

Install a file manager with root access (e.g. FX Explorer)

Check the free space on the phone (minimum 500 MB)

Disable antivirus (can block access to system files)-->

5.Resetting the MIUI launcher settings

If the wallpaper is stuck because of a malfunction of the standard launcher Xiaomi, it will help to reset its settings, which will return the desktop to the factory appearance, but will not affect the installed applications and data.

How to drop the launcher:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Louncher app (com.miui.home).
3. Select Warehouse → Clear the data (not just cache!).
4. Confirm the action and wait for the automatic restart of the launcher.

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If the wallpaper hasn’t changed after the launcher is reset, try installing a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher) and returning it back, which often knocks down stuck MIUI settings.

6.Problems with wallpaper on the lock screen

The wallpaper on the lock screen in MIUI often behaves differently than on the desktop. If it doesn't change, the reasons may be as follows:

A special case is wallpaper tied to the Mi Account. On some models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12), the background lock is synchronized with the cloud.

1. Open the Settings. → Accounts. → Mi Account.
2. Turn off the synchronization of theme and wallpaper.
3. Install new wallpaper through the standard menu.

7.If nothing helps: reset to factory settings

When all the methods have been tried and the wallpaper still can't be removed, the last option is to completely reset the phone, which is a radical solution, but it's guaranteed to bring the system back to its original state.

How to reset Xiaomi without losing data (partial reset):

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Reset (do not delete all data!).
3. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot.

If you need a clean installation:

1. Make a backup of important data (photos, contacts, messages).
2. Open Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Delete all data.
3. Enter the password from the Mi Account (if linked) and confirm.

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Before resetting, unplug your Mi Account if you plan to sell the phone, otherwise the new owner will not be able to activate the device (Mi Cloud Lock protection).

Frequently asked questions