Xiaomi smartphone owners often face a situation where unwanted interface elements appear on a locked display, usually widgets that suggest launching music, reading news or opening a store app. For many users, these elements become an annoying factor, especially when they overlap important information or simply take up space.
MIUI and its modern version of HyperOS are built to make content as fast as possible, but aggressive marketing of its own services leads to links to apps appearing where the user did not intend to see them, and fortunately, the system allows you to flexibly customize this aspect, removing the unnecessary.
In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can clean your lock screen, learn how to turn off specific widgets, change your design style, and even use third-party solutions to take full control of your device’s appearance.
Reasons for the appearance of links and widgets on Xiaomi
Before you start removing elements, you need to understand the nature of their origin. In the MIUI Android operating system, the Lock Screen system app is responsible for the appearance of the locked screen, and it loads the widgets of music, pedometer or news feed.
Often users accidentally activate features that add app shortcuts, such as when you first set up your phone or after a major firmware update, some options can turn on automatically, part of the company's philosophy of making the interface more lively and informative, although in practice this is often perceived as visual noise.
Also, consider that some links may be part of the theme of the design. If you downloaded a third-party theme from the GetThemes store, it can bring its own set of widgets that can not be removed by standard methods without changing the theme.
⚠️ Warning: Do not confuse system widgets with banner ads. If an advertisement appears on the lock screen offering to install a game or buy a product, this is a sign of infection of the device with an ad virus or installing a malicious application.
It is important to distinguish between regular interface elements and intrusive advertising: regular widgets (music, camera, flashlight) are controlled through system settings, while advertising banners require checking the list of installed applications and cleaning the cache.
Removing widgets through lock screen settings
The easiest and safest way to get rid of unnecessary links is to use the built-in system settings, which works on most current Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco models, and you don’t need superuser rights or a computer connection.
You need to get to the settings menu first. Find the Settings icon (usually a gear) on your desktop and click on it. In the list that opens, look for a section that may be called Lock Screen or Always On screen and Lock Screen.
Inside this menu, you'll see a lot of switches, and that's where the widget settings are hidden, and you can choose which elements you'll see when the phone is in sleep, and you turn them off, and you remove the corresponding links from the screen.
☑️ Checking the lock settings
Note the option "Widgets" or "Display widgets on the lock screen." If this switch is active, the system will show application cards. Switch it to an inactive state to clear the space.
Also on this menu is often the setting "Double tap to wake up." Sometimes users confuse the quick start of the camera or voice recorder with the usual widgets. If you don't need fast buttons in the corners of the screen, you can also turn them off in the same section.
Setting up music and camera widgets
Multimedia widgets are worth special attention, and users often complain about the appearance of the YouTube Music logo or Yandex.Music immediately after unlocking or right on the locked screen, this is because the system “remembers” the last active audio application.
To remove a link to a player, it's not enough to just close the application. You need to change the behavior of the system. Go to Settings → Notifications and status bar → Lock screen. Here you can see "Show media controls." Disabling this option will hide the player.
The camera is similar. Fast-starting the camera with double-pressing of the volume button or the power button is a handy feature, but it creates a permanent link to the camera app in the corner of the screen. If you often take the phone out of your pocket and accidentally activate the camera, it's best to deactivate this feature.
- 📷 Open Settings and find the section "Block screen».
- 🎵 Find the item “Media File Management Elements” and disable it to remove the player.
- 📸 Find the “Run Camera” or “Rapid Start” option and turn off activation by buttons.
- 🔍 Check the result by blocking the screen and seeing if the links have disappeared.
Once you do this, the lock screen will be cleaner, with only the time, date and possibly notifications from messengers, if you haven't turned them off.
Removing application shortcuts and folders
In some versions of MIUI, you can add app shortcuts directly to the lock screen, which is similar to widgets, but is a static icon, most often it is a Tools folder or individual applications like Calculator or Dictator.
To delete a link, try clicking on it and holding your finger. In some design themes, you'll see a menu with a "Delete" suggestion or a cross in the corner. However, in a standard theme, this may not work, as system shortcuts are protected from accidental removal.
If just clicking doesn't help, go deeper into the settings. In Settings → Lock screen, look for the "Tags" or "Applications" subsection. This shows a list of programs that are allowed to display before unlocking.
Why are labels coming back?
In the app list, just uncheck the apps you don't need, and this action instantly removes their links from the lock screen, and if the app you want isn't on the list, it's controlled by the theme of the design.
In this case, only changing the theme to a standard one ("Classic" or "Basic") will help. Third-party themes often have a rigidly defined structure that cannot be changed through the standard settings menu.
Using design themes to clean the interface
As mentioned earlier, the theme plays a key role in what we see on the screen. GetThemes Themes offers thousands of options, but many are overloaded with graphics and widgets. If standard settings don't help remove the link, changing the theme is the most effective solution.
Go to the Themes app. Search for the word "Minimal," "Clean," or "Stock," and these keywords will help you find themes that mimic pure Android without any extra embellishment. In these themes, the lock screen usually only contains a watch.
Once you install and apply a new theme, the system will completely redraw the lock interface, all the old widgets and shortcuts that belonged to the previous theme will disappear, this is a guaranteed way to get the desired look.
Remember that after changing the theme, some settings may reset, you will have to reconfigure the notification display or the time format if the new theme does not support the old settings.
Comparison of methods of cleaning the lock screen
To make it easier to choose a method of solving the problem, we have prepared a comparison table that will help you understand which way will suit your situation, depending on the type of link or widget.
| Type of element | Deleting method | Difficulty | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| System widgets (Music, Camera) | Settings → Lock screen | Low. | 100% |
| Application shortcuts (Folders) | Changing the topic or setting shortcuts | Medium | 100% |
| Banner advertisements | Removal of malware / Antivirus | Tall. | Depends on the virus. |
| Third-party theme elements | Setting up a standard theme | Low. | 100% |
As you can see from the table, most of the time, the problem is solved software-based through customization, and only in the case of viruses or specific topics, more radical measures are needed.
Use this chart as a checklist, and if one method fails, move to the next one on the list, and it saves you time and nerves.
Additional settings and advice
There are a few other things that not everyone knows about, like Wallpaper Carousel, which often adds its links and buttons to the lock screen, which is a service that changes the wallpaper every time you turn on the screen.
If you're not using this service, you better turn it off. It not only adds visual debris, but it also consumes traffic and battery power. You can turn it off in the same Settings section → Lock screen → Wallpaper carousel.
💡
Turn off the wallpaper carousel unless you need to change your images constantly, which will significantly speed up unlocking your phone and remove unnecessary buttons from the screen.
It’s also worth checking notification settings. Sometimes a link is not a widget, but a smart notification that the system considers important. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Lock screen and turn off the content of notifications if you want complete sterility.
Don't be afraid to experiment with settings. MIUI is robust enough that you can't break your phone just by turning off the widgets. In the worst case scenario, you'll have to reset your settings.
⚠️ Warning: When you turn off system widgets, you lose quick access to features.Make sure you don't really need weather or pedometer widgets before turning them off completely.
Remember, the goal of the setup is user comfort. If you're annoyed by the widget, put it away. Your smartphone should work the way you want it to work, not the way the interface designers intended it to work.