How to remove the theme on Xiaomi: a complete guide to reset design

Changing the visual style on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is a fascinating process that allows you to personalize the device to your liking. However, it often happens that the installed theme does not live up to expectations: icons become unreadable, system fonts interfere with the perception of text, and interface colors cut your eyes.

Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide flexible tools for managing the look and feel.You can not just delete a specific file, but also completely reset all changes to the factory state with a single click.This action is safe for your personal data, photos and contacts, as it affects only the visual components of the interface.

In this article, we will take a look at all the ways to return to classic design, we will look at both standard methods through settings, and options for solving problems when the topic is “hanged” or deleted incorrectly, and we will also focus on cleaning up junk files left after using third-party theme.

Staffing method of resetting through the application Topics

The easiest and safest way to remove a theme on Xiaomi is to use the built-in functionality of the Themes system application, which does not require a computer connection or advanced access rights. It is ideal for situations where the phone is stable and you just want to change the design to a more familiar one.

To start, you need to open the Themes app on the home screen or in the Tools folder. Go to the Profile tab, which is usually located at the bottom right of the interface. This shows your entire download history and current active design components.

In the list that opens, you'll see all the pre-loaded designs. The current active theme will be labeled with the appropriate icon or at the top of the list. To remove it, click on the selected theme icon, and in the menu that opens, select the Remove option. The system will request confirmation of the action, after which the file will be erased from the device's memory.

However, simply deleting the theme file does not always return all interface elements to their original state. Often, application icons or fonts remain changed. To completely reset, you need to find a standard theme called Classic or Default in the same menu (Profile → Topics).

⚠️ Note: If the icons of the apps didn’t return to their original appearance after applying the standard theme, they may have been changed separately. In this case, the Profile menu also needs to check the icon section and reset it separately.

It's important to understand the difference between deleting a theme file and applying a default style: Deleting simply erases data from the storage, but does not change the active skin if it is already used. Applying a classic theme is an active action that forcibly returns all visual elements to factory settings.

Application of the default theme Classic

The Classic theme (or Default) is a basic design template that is pre-installed on every Xiaomi device. It doesn't have a pronounced style, uses standard system colors and original app icons, and it's the file that controls how your smartphone looks immediately after you buy or reset your settings.

To ensure that any third-party theme is removed, even if it causes interface errors, follow the algorithm. Go to the Topic app, go to Profile and select Topics. In the list, find an item called Default, Classic or a black square icon with the MIUI logo. Click on Apply (or Use).

After pressing a button, the system can freeze the interface for a few seconds. This is a normal reaction, because all the elements of the shell are redrawn. The screen can blink, the icons on the desktop can disappear and reappear. Don't panic or try to restart the device at this point - the process takes 3 to 10 seconds.

In some cases, especially on global firmware versions, a standard theme may be called differently or hidden in the back of the directory. If you can't find it in your profile, search within the app. Type the word Classic or Standard into the search box. The official theme from Xiaomi Inc. developers is usually in the first search results and is available for free download.

It is worth noting that the default theme also resets changes to system fonts if they were part of a third-party package, but if you installed the font separately, it will need to be changed separately through the Font section in your profile.

Removal of third-party theme and modules

Users who want more freedom in customizing the look and feel often use third-party theme apps like zTheme, MIUI Theme Editor or modules for Magisk. Remove theme installed through such tools is not always the standard method. They can make changes to system files that are not overlaid by simply applying the classic style.

If you have used a third-party launcher or theme modifier, the first step should be to remove the tool application itself. Find suspicious names or utilities you installed for customization in the installed list of programs. Once the application is uninstalled, the system may automatically suggest returning the standard settings, but not always.

If you use Magisk modules for theme (for example, for deep integration of iOS or OnePlus themes on Xiaomi), the removal is done through the module manager. Open the Magisk app, go to the Modules section (the cube icon at the bottom) and find the active theme module. Click on the cart icon or delete button next to the module name, and then reboot the device.

• 📱 Find a third-party themizer app in the program management menu.
• 🗑️ Completely remove the application and clear its data before uninstallation.
• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone to reset cached interface elements.
• 🛠️ If Magisk was used, remove the corresponding module through the manager.

Special attention should be paid to topics that have been set in circumvention of the region’s official restrictions, sometimes tied to an account or left tails in the system, and may require manual folder cleaning or even factory resets if the visual artifacts don’t disappear.

⚠️ Note: When removing third-party theme theme with superuser (Root) rights, make sure you don’t manually delete system files through Explorer unless you’re sure of their purpose.This can lead to a “bootloop” (cyclical reboot).

Cleaning the cache and application data Topics

Sometimes the problem isn't the topic itself, but the accumulated debris or the system app caching error. If you delete the theme but the old design elements are still visible, or if the Theme app is not working properly, you need to clean up its data.

To do this, go to your smartphone Settings. Find the Apps section and select All Apps. In the list that opens, find the Themes app (an icon with a brush). Click on it to open the Control menu.

At the bottom of the screen, you'll see two buttons: Clean and Delete. We need the first one. Click on Clean and in the menu that appears, select Clear All (or Clear Data) and this action will reset all the settings of the Themes app to factory, delete the list of downloaded themes from the cache, and force the current design to be updated.

Once the data is cleaned, the application can run a little slower on its first run, as it will need to re-index the available themes, which is normal behavior, and in most cases, this procedure helps untie the stuck interface elements.

It's important to distinguish between cache cleaning and data cleaning. Cache is temporary files that speed up work, but can contain errors. Data is settings and lists. Data cleaning is more radical, but it's often required to completely reset the topic on Xiaomi.

Resetting the design settings in HyperOS and MIUI

With the release of the new HyperOS shell, the menu structure has changed a little, although the principle has remained the same. HyperOS has increased integration with the ecosystem, and some theme settings can be synchronized through the Xiaomi Account. If you change your phone or upgrade, the old settings can be pulled up from the cloud.

To remove a theme in HyperOS, the algorithm is similar: Themes app → Profile → Themes → Classic. However, if the theme returns after a reboot, check the sync. Go to Settings → Xiaomi account → Cloud and see if the theme data is synchronized. If so, turn it off and delete the old data from the cloud.

Older versions of MIUI (e.g. MIUI 11, 12, 13) had a feature: when you change the region of the phone, the themes could be reset or blocked. If you can't remove the theme, try temporarily changing the region in the settings (Settings → Additional → Region) to India or Singapore, apply the standard theme, and then return your region.

Newer firmware versions also include a “Second Space” or “Guest Mode” feature, so make sure you change the theme in your main user profile, rather than in your guest account, where settings may differ.

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If you use third-party widgets, removing them may not remove the theme’s traces completely.Replace the widgets with standard Xiaomi widgets before resetting the theme for desktop cleanliness.

Problem Solving: The topic is not deleted or returned

When a theme doesn’t want to be deleted or comes back after a reboot, it’s not common, but it’s a lot of inconvenience, most often because the active component (like the lock screen) is taken from one theme and the wallpaper from another, and the system gets confused about priorities.

The first thing to do is to check the Lock Screen section of the theme profile. Often users forget that the live wallpaper or the specific style of the clock on the locked screen is part of the theme. Choose the standard lock screen from the list of available ones.

If the problem persists, you can try a more radical method, resetting the lock screen settings. Go to Settings → Always on screen and Lock screen → Settings (cogs) → Reset. This action will return the lock screen behavior to factory.

• 🔍 Check the “Block screen” section in the theme profile and apply the standard one.
• 🖼️ Change the live wallpaper to a static image from the gallery.
• 📵 Turn off the internet before applying a standard theme so it doesn’t reboot from the cloud.
• 🔄 Completely reboot the device (not just turn off the screen, but Restart).

In rare cases where a system has undergone a deep modification, it may be necessary to clean the Themes partition through the file manager.The path to the folder usually looks like MIUI > theme > cache. Deleting the contents of the cache folder can help, but only for advanced users.

⚠️ Warning: Do not manually delete.mtz files from system folders unless you know exactly what they are responsible for. This may cause the Themes app to stop opening.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The most reliable way to remove any theme is to find the standard Classic theme in the Themes app profile and click Apply, after clearing the app cache.