How to completely remove the desktop on the Xiaomi phone: hide icons, widgets and folders

The desktop on Xiaomi smartphones often turns into a chaos of icons, widgets and banner ads — especially if you are actively installing apps or using the standard MIUI launcher. Many users want to return a minimalist look of the screen, but do not know how to properly hide unnecessary elements without removing the programs themselves. In this article, we will analyze all the working ways to clean the desktop on Redmi, POCO and Mi phones — from basic settings to hiding system applications and disabling recommendations.

It's important to understand that there are many ways to "remove the desktop": someone wants to just hide all the icons, leaving only the wallpaper, someone wants to turn off unnecessary widgets, and someone needs to get rid of annoying banner ads at the bottom of the screen. We'll look at all the options, including solutions for different versions of MIUI (12 to 14) and alternative launchers. You'll also learn how to bring hidden items back if something goes wrong.

Warning: Some methods require superuser rights (root) or shutdown of system processes, which can affect the stability of the phone. If you are not sure about your actions, stick to the "safe" ways in the first sections.

1. Basic ways to clean a desktop without root

Let’s start with the simplest methods that don’t require third-party apps or root permissions, which will be suitable for the majority of Xiaomi users and will quickly bring the desktop in order.

The first thing you can do is hide the unnecessary app icons, and MIUI has a built-in feature for this:

1. Press the icon of the app you want to hide.
2. In the menu that appears, select Remove (do not delete!).
3. The icon will disappear from the desktop, but the application will remain in the menu of all programs.

If you want to hide the icon forever, even from the app menu, do the following:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find the right application in the list and tap it.
• 🔄 Scroll down and select Hide (on some firmwares this option may be called Disable).

Note that hidden apps will not appear in the search and menu, but will remain in the system. To return them back, go to Settings → Applications → Hidden applications.

2. How to remove widgets and folders from the desktop

Widgets and folders take up a lot of space on the screen and often interfere with them, they can be deleted or temporarily hidden.

Removal of widgets:

• 🖱️ Press the widget with your finger and drag it up the screen to the inscription Delete (or Remove on English firmware).
• 🗑️ Release your finger, the widget will disappear. Some system widgets (such as weather or calendar) can not be removed completely, but they can be disabled in the settings.

Hiding folders:

• 📂 Press the folder and drag it to the Remove icon at the bottom of the screen.
• 🔄 If the folder contains important applications, first remove them from there (open the folder). → pinch the icon → drag it to the desk).

Some Xiaomi firmware has a bug: once the widget is removed, it may reappear after the reboot.

⚠️ Note: If the widget returns after deleting, try turning it off in Settings → Desktop → Find the problem widget in the list and move the slider to the off position..

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If you use widgets often but want them to stay out of the way, try placing them on a separate screen. To do this, swipe your finger to the right on your desktop and add a new screen.

3. Disabling recommendations and advertising on the desktop

One of the most annoying features of MIUI is the banner ads and "recommendations" at the bottom of the desktop, which you can turn off, but the way it works depends on the firmware version.

For MIUI 12/13:

• 📵 Hold an empty space on the desktop → Select Desktop Settings.
• 🔕 Go to the Recommendations section and turn off the slider Show recommendations.
• 🚫 Also, turn off Advertising Notices in the same menu.

For MIUI 14:

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Desktop.
• 📛 Choose Desktop Style → Standard (this will disable recommendations).
• 🔄 If the option is inactive, try to turn on No-Braze first, then return to Standard.

On some firmware (especially for Redmi Note and POCO), these settings may be hidden.

Use of alternative launchers (Nova, Apex, Lawnchair)

If the built-in MIUI settings don't give you enough freedom, you can install a third-party launcher, which will not only remove all icons from the desktop, but also completely change the appearance of the interface.

The best launchers for Xiaomi:

• 🌟 Nova Launcher – the most flexible, with support for gestures and hiding icons.
• 📱 Lawnchair is a lightweight open source launcher similar to the standard Pixel Launcher.
• 🔧 Apex Launcher – Good for fine-tuning animations and folders.

How to hide all icons from the desktop in Nova Launcher:

1. Install Nova Launcher from Google Play.
2. Click the empty space on the desktop → Settings.
3. Go to the Home Screen → Hidden Apps.
4. Select all the apps you want to hide and click Ready.

After that, the only thing left on the desktop is wallpaper, and to return the icons, you just go to the same menu and remove the ticks from the apps.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party launchers, some functions MIUI (For example, navigation gestures or system notifications may not work properly. Check compatibility with your Xiaomi model before installing.

5. Hiding system applications (requires root or ADB)

If you want to remove system applications (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music, Browser) from your desktop, you can’t do that with standard tools — you can only disable them. You need the rights of a superuser (root) or ADB command to completely hide them.

Method 1: Through ADB (without root)

This method works on most Xiaomi devices and does not require unlocking the bootloader:

adb shell pm hide com.miui.video


adb shell pm hide com.miui.music




adb shell pm hide com.android.browser

Replace the package names (com.miui.video, etc.) with those you want to hide.

adb shell pm list packages -s

Method 2: Through root (complete removal)

If you have root, you can use applications like Titanium Backup or Root App Deleter to remove system programs.

• 💀 Removing critical apps can lead to bootloop (locked download).
• 🔄 Before deleting, make a backup copy through TWRP.
• 📌 Do not remove apps with the names miui, android or google in the package.

Important: After use ADB-commands to hide applications can only be returned via the same command with the unhide parameter (for example, adb shell pm unhide com.miui.video.

6. Resetting desktop settings to factory

If after all the manipulations the desktop began to work incorrectly (for example, icons disappeared, folders do not open or widgets are not updated), you can return the standard settings.

Soft reset (without loss of data):

• 🔄 Hold an empty space on the desktop → Desktop settings.
• ⚙️ Scroll down and select Reset Settings.
• 📲 Confirm the action – all icons and widgets will return to factory condition.

Hard reset (if the launcher does not respond):

• 📵 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find Launcher. MIUI (or POCO Launcher, if you have one. POCO).
• 🗑️ Press Warehouse. → Clear the data and clear the cache.

After a hard reset, all launcher settings will reset, including:

• 📌 Location of icons and folders.
• 🎨 Wallpaper and themes.
• ⚡ Gestures and animations.

⚠️ Note: If you used a third-party launcher (like Nova), reset your settings MIUI Launcher won't affect it. To return a standard launcher, go to Settings. → Default applications → Launcher and select Louncher MIUI.

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Before resetting the desktop settings, take screenshots of the current location of the icons - this will help to quickly restore the usual look of the screen.

7. Additional tips for organizing the desktop

If you don’t want to completely remove icons, but strive for minimalism, use these tips:

Grouping of applications:

• 📁 Create folders by category (for example, "Social networks", "Games", "Work").
• 🔤 Rename folders for convenience (click the folder) → Rename).
• 🎨 Use folder icons from themes MIUI uniformly.

Use of gestures:

• 👆 Set up gestures on your desktop (like swiping up to open the app menu).
• 🔄 B Settings → Additionally. → Gestures can be assigned to double touch, clamping, etc.

Themes and wallpaper:

• 🎨 Set a dark theme in Settings → Screen. → Dark topic – it will reduce the load on the eyes.
• 🖼️ Use minimalist wallpaper without bright elements (you can download it in Google Play or in themes). MIUI).

If you often lose icons on your desktop, turn on the layout fix:

1. Click the empty space on the screen → Desktop settings.
2. Activate the option to Secure the layout (or Lock Desktop on English firmware).

Now the icons will not move with casual touches.

FAQ: Frequent questions about setting up Xiaomi desktop