How to remove widgets from the screen Xiaomi: 5 working ways

Widgets on Xiaomi’s screen can be useful, but they often become a source of irritation: they take up space, slow down the system and distract from basic tasks. This is especially true for owners of devices with MIUI 12-14, where the manufacturer actively implements its own services through weather widgets, calendar or Mi Fit. In this article, you will find all possible ways to remove widgets from standard to hidden shell functions.

It’s important to understand that the term “remove” implies three different actions: hiding (the widget stays in the system, but does not appear), deleting (complete deletion of widget files), and disabling updates (so that the widget does not recover after the reboot).

If you’ve previously tried to remove widgets through a long press, but nothing worked out – don’t be surprised. Xiaomi specifically limits this feature to system widgets (like Weather or Steps).

1. Standard removal of widgets (for user and some system)

The easiest way works for most widgets of third-party applications (Google Weather, Spotify, Yandex.Weather) and some system, not tied to the MIUI kernel.

1. Press and hold your finger on the widget you want to remove.
2. At the top of the screen, a panel with icons will appear. Drag the widget to the Delete icon** (usually a red basket or cross).
3. Confirm the action if a request appears.

⚠️ Note: This method does not work for Weather, Calendar, Steps and other Xiaomi system services. These cannot be removed in the standard way - only hidden or disabled through settings.

If the widget reappears after you delete it, it's tied to the system process, and then move on to the following.

2. Hiding system widgets through MIUI settings

For widgets that cannot be removed in the standard way (Weather, Steps, Recommendations), Xiaomi has a concealment feature that does not remove the widget completely, but makes it invisible on the home screen:

1. Open the Settings. → Main screen screen.
2. Select Widgets or Widget Customization (name depends on the version of MIUI).
3. Find the desired widget in the list and transfer the slider to the “Off” position.
4. Confirm the action if the system requests permission.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware (MIUI 13+ For the global version, this section may be hidden, so use an alternative path:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Three points (menu) → Show system → Find a widget (for example, “Weather”) → Disable

Once disabled, the widget will disappear from the screen, but its data will remain in the system, which means that after the MIUI update, it can appear again.

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If the Weather widget continues to display after turning off, check the Mi Weather app settings - there may be a separate setting to display on the home screen.

3. Removal of widgets via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods do not help, and the widget interferes with the work, you can resort to ADB-This method requires connecting the smartphone to the computer and turning on the developer mode, but it is guaranteed to remove even the most persistent system widgets.

Before starting, make sure that:

• 🔹 On the smartphone enabled Developer Mode (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — press 7 times).
• 🔹 Debugging on. USB (Settings → Additionally. → For developers).
• 🔹 Drivers are installed on the computer ADB Fastboot (you can download from the official website of Xiaomi or through the SDK Platform Tools by Google).

Instructions for removal:

1. Connect your smartphone to your computer through USB-cable.
2. Open the command prompt (cmd) in the folder with ADB.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: adb devices If the device appears in the list, go further.
4. Remove the widget command (replace package.name with the real name of the package): adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 package.name Examples of packages: com.miui.weather2 - Weather widget; com.miui.calendar - Calendar widget; com.xiaomi.health - Steps widget.

⚠️ Note: Removing system packages can cause unstable firmware. Before executing commands, back up your data via Settings → Additionally. → Backup.

4. Use of third-party launchers (bypassing MIUI restrictions)

If you're tired of not only widgets, but also the MIUI shell, the best solution is to install a launcher on the side.

• 🔹 Completely disable system widgets Xiaomi;
• 🔹 Customize the look of the screen to your taste;
• 🔹 Remove advertising and unnecessary services.

Recommended launchers for Xiaomi:

After the launcher is installed:

1. Open the launcher settings (usually a long press on the free screen space).
2. Find the Widgets or Home Screen Settings section.
3. Turn off the display of unnecessary widgets or remove them manually.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi system widgets may continue to work in the background even after installing a third-party launcher. ADB or settings → Annexes → Shut down.

1. Download APK-file

2. Allow installation from unknown sources

3. Make a backup of the current launcher

4. Disable battery optimization for new launcher-->

5. disable widgets via Safe Mode (Security Mode)

If the widget is not removed and interferes with the smartphone (for example, constantly opens or brakes the system), you can use Safe Mode - a security mode where all third-party and some system applications are disabled.

How to log in to Safe Mode:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press the Power button and hold it until the Xiaomi logo appears.
3. As soon as the logo appears, release the power button and immediately press Volume down.
4. Keep Volume down until the smartphone boots in Safe Mode (the bottom corner will have an inscription).

In this mode:

• 🔹 Remove the problem widget in the standard way (if it is displayed).
• 🔹 Go to Settings. → Apps and disable the application to which the widget relates.
• 🔹 Reboot your smartphone in normal mode.

⚠️ Note: In Safe Mode, some Xiaomi features (such as Mi Account or Find Device) may not work. Don’t try to delete system files manually, this will lead to a device blink.

6.Reset launcher settings (if widgets return after deletion)

Sometimes widgets reappear after a reboot or MIUI update. This happens due to a failure in the settings of the standard Xiaomi launcher.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Launcher app (usually called MIUI Launcher or POCO Launcher for Poco devices).
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the data and Clear the cache.
4. Reboot your smartphone.

Once reset, all widgets and icons will return to factory settings, so you'll have to reconfigure the main screen, but all the ghost widgets that have not been removed before will disappear.

⚠️ Warning: Clearing the launcher data won’t delete your apps or files, but will reset:

• 🔹 Location of icons on the screen;
• 🔹 Wallpaper settings;
• 🔹 Application folders.

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If the widgets are back after reset, they are tied to the system process, in which case only disabling through ADB or installing a third-party launcher will help.

7.How to prevent the reappearance of widgets

Even after removal, widgets may return due to:

• 🔹 Automatic updates MIUI;
• 🔹 Synchronization with Xiaomi account;
• 🔹 Background activity of system applications.

To avoid this:

1. Turn off automatic MIUI update: Settings → About Phone → System Update → Three points (menu) → Settings → Disable Auto Update
2. Ban background activity for unnecessary apps: Settings → Apps → App management → Select App → Battery → Limit background activity
3. Turn off cloud-based widget sync: Settings → Xiaomi Account → Sync → Disable “Widgets”

Important: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi 12T and newer) have widgets tied to the msa (Miui System Ads) service, and you need to deactivate this service through ADB to completely disable them:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.msa.global

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing widgets on Xiaomi