Double clock on the lock screen Xiaomi: how to remove forever

You turned on a Xiaomi smartphone, and instead of the usual lock screen, you saw two sets of watches — one on top of the other? This problem is familiar to many owners of devices on MIUI 12-15, especially after updating the firmware or installing third-party themes. Duplicate watches not only spoil the appearance, but can also signal malfunctions in the shell.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to remove double clocks on Xiaomi’s lock screen – from standard settings to hidden commands for power users. You’ll learn why this happens, which models are most affected by the bug (spoiler: Redmi Note 10/11, POCO X3/X4 and Mi 11 at risk), and how to avoid re-emerging the problem after resetting.

Important: If you use custom firmware (like Pixel Experience or LineageOS), some methods may not work – there are separate solutions for them, which we will also consider.

Why do you have a double watch on the lock screen of Xiaomi?

Duplication of clocks is not a virus or hardware breakdown, but a software bug of the MIUI shell.

• 🔄 Topics conflict: Install a third-party theme from the Mi Theme Store that incorrectly interacts with system fonts or animations.
• 📱 Update error: After switching to the new version MIUI (For example, from 13 to 14) the lock screen settings are reset incorrectly.
• ⚙️ Failure in the settings Always on Display (AOD): If the Always On Display feature is enabled but it works with errors, it can overlay the clock over the standard ones.
• 🧩 Weather widget issues: The weather widget on the lock screen sometimes "captures" the watch area, creating a visual take.

According to user observations, the bug is more often manifested on devices with AMOLED-screens (for example, Xiaomi 12 Pro or Redmi) K50), where the Always On Display function is active by default. LCD-displays (like those of POCO M4 Pro) the problem is usually related to topics or updates.

Method 1: Resetting themes and fonts to standard

In 60 percent of cases, double watches disappear after returning to the factory theme settings.

1. Open the settings → registration.
2. Go to the Topics section and select the standard MIUI theme (usually called "Default" or "No Theme").
3. Get back to the processing. → Fonts and install System font.
4. Reset the device.

Standard theme applied|Font dropped on system|Device rebooted.|Double clocks are gone.-->

If the problem persists, try removing all downloaded themes:

1. Press your finger on the empty seat of the main screen → Theme settings.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner → My themes.
3. Remove all third-party topics (except standard ones).

⚠️ Note: Some themes from the Mi Theme Store may contain hidden settings that are not automatically reset.If the clock is left after removing the themes, try clearing the theme app cache in Settings → Annexes → Application management.

Method 2: Turning off Always on Display (AOD)

The Always On Display feature often conflicts with the main lock hours to disable it:

1. Go to Settings → Screen → Always On Display
2. Turn off the slider Always on Display.
3. If you do not have an option, check the Settings section → Screen Lock → Additional settings.

On some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13), AOD is integrated into the lock screen settings.

1. Choose the style of the watch → Simple.
2. Turn off the option to show always.

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If the AOD clock is gone after the AOD shutdown, but you want to return the function, try turning it back on in 10-15 minutes, and sometimes the system cache has time to update, and the conflict disappears.

Method 3: Cleaning the cache of system applications

If the reset and disabling the AOD didn't help, the problem could be in the system services cache.

• 📱 Settings (com.android.settings)
• 🎨 Topics (com.android.themes)
• 🔒 Lock screen (com.miui.lockscreen)
• ⚙️ Systemic UI (com.miui.systemui)

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on three dots in the corner → Show all the apps.
3. Find the app by name (or package if you don't find it) and select Clear cache.
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Warning: Don't click Clear data for system applications - this can reset lock, fingerprint and facial unlock settings!

If the clock is left after cleaning the cache, try restarting the system UI via ADB (for power users):

adb shell am force-stop com.miui.systemui

This command will reboot the interface without rebooting the phone, and if you don't know what ADB is, skip this step.

Method 4: Reset the lock settings (without data loss)

If previous methods didn’t work, only partially reset the lock screen settings, and this won’t delete your files or apps, but will return factory unlock options:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 5-7 times on the MIUI version to activate Developer Mode.
3. Return to Settings → Additional → Resetting settings.
4. Select Reset Lock Settings (or Reset Lock Screen Settings).
5. Confirm the action and restart the device.

On some firmware (e.g. MIUI 14 Global), the lock reset option is hidden.

1. Open the Settings. → Passwords and security.
2. Select the screen lock settings.
3. Click on three dots in the corner → Reset settings.

Method 5: Manual editing of system files (for advanced ones)

If you use an unlocked bootloader and are ready to work with system files, you can manually remove the duplicate layer of the watch, which is suitable for MIUI 13-15 and requires Root access or ADB.

Instructions for ADB:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and activate USB Debugging in Settings → For Developers.
2. Run the command to remove the lock screen cache: adb shell pm clear com.miui.lockscreen
3. If it doesn’t work, delete the clock configuration file (Root required): adb shell su -c “rm /data/system/locksettings.db”
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Deleting locksettings.db will reset all lock settings, including passwords and biometrics. Before executing, back up the file with the command: adb shell su -c "cp /data/system/locksettings.db /sdcard/"

For custom firmware users (e.g. Pixel Experience):

• 🔧 Check Substratum or LSPosed settings – customization modules can duplicate hours.
• 📦 Reinstall Overlay modules responsible for the lock screen.

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If you're unsure of your ADB or Root skills, skip this method.Errors in editing system files can lead to loss of access to the phone and the need for a complete reset.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If all of these methods have not eliminated the double clock, the reasons may be deeper:

• 🐛 Critical firmware bug: On some versions MIUI 14 (e.g. 14.0.4.0 for Redmi Note 11) the problem is solved only by rolling back on the previous version or waiting for a patch.
• 🔄 Magisk module conflict: If you have Magisk installed, disable all modules associated with the system UI (MiuiHome Mod or Lockscreen Mods).
• 📲 Hardware failure: In rare cases, duplicate elements on the screen are associated with damage to the display module (for example, after a fall). HDMI (if maintained).

If you suspect a firmware bug:

1. Check the relevance of updates in Settings → System Update.
2. Visit the XDA Developers or 4PDA forums, where patches for specific models are often posted.
3. Contact Xiaomi support via Settings → Reviews by attaching a screenshot of the problem.

On some devices (such as the Xiaomi 12T), the double watch disappears after installing the MIUI beta via the MIUI bootloader. However, this is risky - beta firmware may contain new bugs.

FAQ: Frequent questions about double watches on Xiaomi