How to completely remove themes from the Xiaomi phone: from standard to custom

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based phones offer one of the most flexible interface customization systems among Android devices. However, over time, accumulated themes — both standard and downloaded from MIUI Themes — can take up memory, slow down the system, or simply annoy visually. Unlike other manufacturers, where topics are removed in two clicks, in Xiaomi this process is often hidden behind several layers of menus or requires additional manipulation.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to remove themes on Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO and Black Shark smartphones (including the models of 2023-2026 on MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS), you will learn how to get rid of unnecessary themes through standard settings, clear the cache of themes, delete system files without root rights, and what to do if the the theme is stuck and not deleted by conventional methods.

1. Remove themes through the standard MIUI Themes menu

The most obvious way is to use the built-in Theme app (MIUI However, there are nuances: not all themes can be removed directly, and some options are hidden behind a long press or additional gestures.

To remove the downloaded themes:

• 📱 Open the Themes app (icon with brush on desktop).
• 🔍 Go to My Themes tab (or Manage new versions of HyperOS).
• 🗑️ Find an unnecessary theme, make a long press on its preview – the Remove button will appear (on some firmware – the basket icon).
• ⚠️ If no Delete button, the theme is system-based (see Section 3).

Important: in MIUI 14+, some topics are marked as “Recommended” and are not deleted via the interface. They can only be disabled, but the files will remain in memory.

2. Clearing cache themes and temporary files

Even after the theme is deleted, its files can remain in the cache, taking up from 50 MB to 500 MB of memory, to completely clear the traces:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Themes app (com.android.themes) and open its page.
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the cache and Clear the data.
4. For deep cleaning: Go back to the application list, find the MIUI System (com.miui.system) and clear its cache as well.

Warning: Cleaning the Topic app data will reset all your design settings (wallpaper, icons, fonts) to standard, and you can only restore them through a MIUI backup.

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Before cleaning the cache, take screenshots of current theme settings (My Themes → Current Theme) to quickly restore the design later.

3. Removal of System Themes without Root Rights

System themes (e.g., Default, Dark Mode, Mi Fan Festival) are usually hidden from removal. However, they can be deactivated or removed via ADB (Android Debug Bridge) without obtaining root rights. This method works on all Xiaomi models, including the POCO F5, Redmi Note 12 and Xiaomi 13T.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB Tools, and execute the command:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.theme.iconpack.{name themes]

To find out the exact names of the theme packages, use the command:

adb shell pm list packages | grep theme

List of common packages of system themes:

⚠️ Attention: Removing system themes can lead to graphical glitches in the settings menu or launcher.Before experimenting, back up through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.

4.Use of third-party applications for theme management

If standard methods don't work, you can use third-party tools.

• 🛠️ MIUI Hidden Settings – reveals hidden options MIUI, including removing protected themes. Download to Play Market.
• 🗑️ SD Maid – Finds and deletes residual themes in folders /data/system/theme/ and /sdcard/MIUI/theme/.
• 🔍 Files by Google – manually check folders: /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/theme/ /data/user/0/com.android.themes/files/ (root)

When using SD Maid or Files by Google, look for files with the.mtz (theme archives) and.apk (installed packages) extensions. Only delete those that are not currently in use.

Backup themes | Check free space (minimum 1GB) | Disable automatic updates to themes in MIUI Themes | Run the application on behalf of the administrator (if required)

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5. Reset theme settings to factory

If the themes are stuck and not removed in any way, the last option is to reset the design settings, which will not delete the theme files completely, but will return the interface to the standard look and allow you to re-apply the desired themes without glitches.

How to reset:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose Resetting Design Settings (not to be confused with a full reset!).
3. Confirm the action. The phone will reboot, and all user themes, wallpaper, fonts will be disabled.

After discharge:

• 🔄 Reboot the phone again – it will clear the launcher cache.
• 🗑️ Manually delete the remaining themes files via Files by Google (see Section 4).
• 🔒 Turn off automatic theme loading in Settings → Topics → Settings → Auto-update.

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g, POCO X5 Pro) Resetting the design settings also resets the Always-on Display settings and live wallpaper. save your favorite wallpaper in advance in the gallery.

6 Radical methods: removal via TWRP or complete reset

If the themes aren’t deleted even through ADB, and the phone’s memory is packed with unnecessary files, there are two radical ways to do this:

Method 1: Removal through Custom Recovery (TWRP)

Requires an unlocked bootloader and installed TWRP. Instructions:

1. Load the phone in TWRP mode (clip Power + Volume up).
2. Go to Advanced → File Manager.
3. Delete folders: /data/system/theme/ /sdcard/MIUI/theme/

Reboot to the system.

Method 2: Complete reset (Hard Reset)

This is an extreme measure that will remove all data from the phone, including topics, suitable if other methods have not helped or the phone is severely slowed due to accumulated files.

How to make a Hard Reset:

1. Create a backup copy of important data.
2. Go to Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Delete all data.
3. Choose Clear everything and confirm.

⚠️ Note: On HyperOS models (e.g. Xiaomi 14), a full reset can block the bootloader from unlocking within 7 days.

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Before radical methods, check if the problem is caused by a virus. Some malware masquerades as a theme file (.mtz) and recovers after removal. Scan the phone through Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light.

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing themes on Xiaomi