Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face visual “junk” on the lock screen, which appears after the updates to the MIUI or HyperOS shell. This is about duplication of hours when the current time is displayed large, and slightly below or in the corner – in fine print adds time of another time zone. This is not just an aesthetic flaw, but also a distraction factor and occupies usable space.
This feature was originally designed for travelers to see their hometown while on a business trip, but for most users living in the same time zone, it becomes an annoying interface element. Fortunately, the Android system, coupled with the shell from Xiaomi, allows you to flexibly adjust this setting, removing unnecessary details.
In this article, we will take a look at all the ways to eliminate second time, learn how to disable unnecessary widgets, change styles through Themes, and adjust region settings that can affect the display of data.
The reasons for the appearance of duplication of time on the screen
Before you start deleting, it is important to understand where this feature comes from. The main reason is the activated option “Double Clock” in the system settings of the blocker, which automatically turns on if the system detects the difference in time zones or if the user has previously chosen a certain style of design in the “Themes” application.
Another factor may be the specificity of the AOD (Always On Display) widgets, some users confuse the static image of a watch on a switched-off screen with the active time after waking up the device, and in the MIUI shell, these elements can conflict or overlap, creating a double effect.
Also consider the impact of third-party launchers and personalization apps, if you’ve installed custom themes from unofficial sources, they may force you to include a second time zone display as part of your design, in which case standard settings may not work and you’ll need to reset the style.
⚠️ Warning: Before making changes to system files or deep interface settings, make sure you have a backup of important data.While changing the watch style is safe, experimenting with system themes sometimes causes interface failures.
Disabling the function “Double clock” in the settings
The easiest and most effective way to eliminate the extra time is to use the built-in switch in the system settings menu, which works on 95% of Xiaomi devices and does not require additional software installation.
To start, unlock your smartphone and go to the main app menu, find the Settings icon and open it. You'll need to find the partition that controls the lock screen. It can be called differently in different versions of MIUI, but the logic of the search is the same.
Inside the menu, look for Lock Screen or Wallpaper and Personalization, and look for an option called Double Clock or Show Second City Time, and if the slider is active (blue or green), it should be put into an inactive state.
☑️ Checking the time settings
When you turn off the function, the changes are applied instantly. The screen goes out, and when you turn on again, you will see only one local time. If the option is absent or inactive, then the reason lies elsewhere, for example, in the chosen theme of the design.
Customize styles through the “Themes” app
The MIUI shell is famous for its visual flexibility, and users often choose a theme where the design of the watch involves two timestamps, in which case the system switch can be hidden or blocked by the theme writer.
To solve the problem, open the standard Themes app. Go to the profile (the human icon in the lower right corner) and select the Topics section. Here you will see an active theme. Try using the standard Classic or Default theme to see if the second time disappears.
If you want to keep a beautiful theme but keep the clock away, look for the "Castomize Blocker" option in the theme settings themselves. Many modern themes allow you to customize the view of widgets separately. If you don't have one, the only way out is to search for an alternative theme with a more concise design.
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Use a search for the keywords “Minimal” or “Clean” in the store to find designs with a simple display of time without unnecessary details.
It is worth noting that some topics can be cached. If you have a second time after changing the theme, try clearing the cache of the Themes app through the application management menu, which will force the system to reload the graphic elements.
Managing Always On Display and Widgets
The Always On Display feature is often a source of confusion. On many Xiaomi models, the new feature is a very simple one. AMOLED-Time is displayed even in sleep mode, and when you wake up the phone, you can create a visual effect of overlaying, where the new time appears on top of the old one.
You can check your AOD settings through the Settings → Lock screen → Always On Display. You can choose the display style here. Some styles, such as Digital or Analog, may have their own settings for displaying additional time zones, independent of the main system.
Also, look at the widgets that are on the lock screen. The new versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14 now allow you to add widgets directly to the locked screen. If you add a World Time or Clock widget, it will display regardless of the system time settings.
| Type of display | Where to turn off | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|
| System clock | Settings → Lock screen | Minimum |
| Always On Display | Settings → Screen → AOD | High (1-3% per hour) |
| World Time Widget | Editing the lock screen | Average. |
| Third-party topics | Annex “Themes” | Depends on the topic. |
Removal of extra widgets is done by long tap on the lock screen (if the OS version allows) or through the editing menu in the Themes app. Make sure that there is no widget on the screen that duplicates the clock function.
Changing the region as a method of solving the problem
There is a well-known regional nuance in the MIUI shell, and some users have noticed that when you install a region called India or China, you can add additional interface elements to global firmware versions that are specific to those markets, including time-specific widgets.
You can check and change the region from the Settings menu → Additional settings → Region. Try setting the region “Russia”, “Ukraine” or “Global”. After changing the region, the system may require a reboot or simply update the interface, which may remove unwanted elements.
This is especially true if you bought a phone from China and use global firmware, or vice versa. Conflicts between local and regional settings often lead to incorrect display of system widgets.
⚠️ Note: Change of region may affect the operation of some applications and system services, such as Mi Pay or news feed. After checking the display time, it is recommended to return the region corresponding to your actual location.
Use of third-party screen blockers
If Xiaomi’s standard tools fail to remove the second time (for example, due to firmware bugs), you can resort to third-party applications. There are many quality blockers on the Google Play Store that completely replace the standard lock screen.
Popular apps like Hi Locker or CM Locker allow you to customize the look in detail, so you can choose a style that only displays one time, adjust its size, font and color, and this gives you complete control over the look of the device.
But it has its downsides: Third-party blockers consume more battery life, as they are constantly hanging in memory, intercepting the event of the screen turning on, and they can conflict with biometric unlocking or notifications.
Should I put a third-party blocker?
To install such an app, download it from the store, run it and follow the permission instructions, you will need to give permission to “Map on top of other apps” and access notifications.
Resetting personalization settings
In the most difficult cases, when nothing helps and the second time continues to horn your eyes, you can reset personalization settings, which will return all visual parameters to factory values, but will not affect your personal data, photos or contacts.
To do this, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Restore and Reset. Select Reset option (not to be confused with a full factory reset!). In the list of options to be reset, make sure you select Lock screen settings and Wallpaper.
Once this operation is done, the phone will return to its "out of the box" state in terms of appearance, all custom themes, fonts and widget settings will be removed, and this will ensure that any artefacts caused by third-party software or erroneous settings are removed.
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Resetting personalization settings is a radical, but 100% effective method if the software bugs of the interface do not allow you to remove unnecessary elements in standard ways.