How to remove the pulse from the lock screen Xiaomi: the complete guide

Many owners of modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO face an unusual visual effect on a locked display, instead of a standard clock or date, the screen constantly displays animations of a beating heart or numerical values of heart rate, a feature designed to motivate users to monitor their health, often becomes a source of irritation, not only distracting, but can significantly speed up battery discharge in standby mode.

There are several ways to remove the pulse from the lock screen, as the source of its occurrence depends on the version of the MIUI shell or HyperOS. In some cases, this is an integrated design theme, in others, an active widget of the Mi Fitness application or the system function “Always on screen”. Understanding the source of the problem is the key to a quick solution. Below we will discuss in detail all possible scenarios and methods for eliminating unwanted graphics.

Causes of the pulse indicator on a locked screen

The appearance of heart rate on Always On Display (AOD) is usually associated with the synchronization of wearable devices. If you have ever connected a fitness bracelet Mi Band or smart watch Amazfit to a smartphone, the system could automatically activate the corresponding widgets. The MIUI shell seeks to provide the user with maximum useful information without unlocking the gadget, but this intrusiveness is not suitable for everyone.

Often, users don't even notice the health data being activated in the background to the lock screen, which happens after you update your Mi Health system app or change the theme. Some third-party themes have hard-to-define interface elements that you can't change through standard customization settings.

⚠️ Attention: Constantly activating sensors and updating graphics on the display off increases power consumption. If you do not use the pulse monitoring function every minute, it is better to turn it off to save battery power.

Also worth considering is that new versions of HyperOS have revised the widget algorithms. The system may offer to display the pulse if you notice that you regularly use an activity tracker. Automatic activation of health widgets only occurs when there is a paired device within Bluetooth range. If the bracelet is disabled or removed from the list of trusted, the widget should disappear, but sometimes manual reset of display settings is required.

Always on Display is set up via the system menu

The most direct way to control elements on a locked screen is in the system settings of the display. This is where the Always On Display technology works. To take the pulse off, you first need to go to the AOD style management menu. To do this, open Settings and go to the Lock Screen or Wallpaper and personalization section, depending on the version of your operating system.

In the personalization menu, find Always on screen and lock. Here you will see the current active style. If you choose Classic or Digital style, but there is a pulse on the screen, then an additional widget is activated inside this style. Click on the Settings button (usually a gear) next to the selected style or select the Select Style option to change the layout.

Inside the style editor, you can find switches for different elements: date, time, calendar events and health indicators. Turn off the switch that displays steps or pulse. If a specific switch is missing, try changing the design style itself to a more minimalist one, such as Text or Simple, where complex graphic elements are not provided by default.

After making the changes, be sure to click Apply or OK. The screen should blink to confirm that the parameters are saved. If the pulse has disappeared after a few seconds after blocking, then the problem is solved. Otherwise, if the settings are reset or the widget returns, the source is hidden deeper - in third-party applications or themes.

Managing Mi Health app widgets

The main source of your heart data is the Mi Health system app (or Mi Fitness on global firmware), which collects statistics and broadcasts them to the lock screen. To completely remove your heart rate, you need to prevent the app from displaying this data in standby mode. Open a list of all apps on your smartphone and find the Mi Health icon.

Go to the app settings (hold your finger on the icon and select About app or gear). Find the Notifications or Permissions section. There may be a separate item that allows data to be displayed on the locked screen. However, a more effective method is inside the app itself. Launch Mi Health, go to the profile (usually the Profile tab or the person icon at the bottom) and find the settings of the connected devices or widgets.

In the widget list, look for Pulse or Heart. Click on it to open the detailed settings. It should have the option to "Display on Lock Screen" or "Add to AOD." Deactivate this feature. Also check the widget settings on your desktop if it's installed there: sometimes the widget on your desktop and lock screen are synchronized.

If you don't use the Mi Health app at all, but it's installed by default, you can try to clear its data. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Mi Health → Memory and click Clear Data. This will reset all widget settings to factory ones, where the default heart rate display is turned off.

Impact of Design Themes and Third-Party Launchers

Often, the cause of the intrusive pulse is third-party themes downloaded from the Themes store. Theme designers often embed heartbeat animation as part of an artistic concept, and the standard means of the system does not turn it off. If you recently changed the design of the interface, try to go back to the standard theme Classic or Default.

To check, go to the Themes app, click on the profile icon and select My Themes. Activate the standard device theme. If the pulse is gone, it was a third-party design, in which case you can only remove the item by changing the theme or by finding the widget switch in the settings of a particular theme (if the developer left it) in the settings of a specific theme.

Using third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher can also affect the lock screen if they are given the appropriate permissions. Check the settings of the launched launchers in the Special Rights Applications section. Make sure they are not allowed to "Map on top of other apps" or "Block Screen" unless you use their lock features specifically.

Disabling widgets in standby mode (Standby)

In modern versions of MIUI 14 and HyperOS, there is a separate layer of widgets that can be swiped left or right on a locked screen, and the pulse can be there, rather than being part of the main AOD style. To check this, lock the phone and swipe your finger across the screen, and if you see a pulse card, it needs to be removed from the widget set.

Swipe right to the end of the widget list or click on the edit button (usually "-" or "Configure"). Find a Mi Health card or "Pulse" and click on the minus to remove it from the active list.

⚠️ Note: Removing the widget from the list does not remove the accumulated statistics in the application. your health data will remain safe inside the archive of the Mi Health application.

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If the pulse widget is not removed, try temporarily disabling Bluetooth.The system can block the removal of widgets of active wearable devices until they are completely disconnected.

Also worth checking is the Smart Lockscreen settings. In some regions, this feature is called "Glance." It can show news feeds and health widgets. Turn this feature off in Settings → Lock Screen → Lock screen wallpaper by selecting "No" or "Static Image."

Specifics of working with fitness bracelets Mi Band

Owners of Mi Band fitness trackers often face a situation where phone settings are ignored due to the priority of bracelet settings.The Mi Fitness app (formerly Zepp Life) can force the brace and phone dial to synchronize. Go to the bracelet control app, go to the device profile and find the "Digital" or "Display" settings.

It can be marked with a “Sync with the phone” or “Show on the phone” check the clock, and check if the wristband itself has a pulsed dial that is broadcast to the phone via the “Show on the phone” feature (although this is rare, such cases are recorded in older versions of the firmware bracelets).

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Completely turning off the bracelet in the Bluetooth settings of the phone is guaranteed to remove the pulse, but deprive you of automatic synchronization of activity data.

If you use third-party bracelet management apps like Notify for Mi Band, check their settings. They have powerful tools to create their own widgets and can override Xiaomi's system settings. In such applications, you should look for the Lock Screen or Wear OS/phone Widgets section and disable the corresponding modules there.

Table: Comparison of methods of turning off pulse

For convenience, we systematize the methods we've examined, and the choice of method depends on what is the source of the problem in your particular case.

Use this table as a checklist. Start with low-complexity methods. If a simple switch in the AOD menu didn't work, move on to app settings. Only as a last resort, use data cleanup or resetting, as it takes time to reconfigure your smartphone.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)