Xiaomi smartphone owners often encounter an intrusive feature that automatically changes the image on a locked screen.This system, known as Wallpaper Carousel, is designed to personalize the device, but in practice often becomes a source of annoyance, advertising and additional battery consumption. In the shell of MIUI 12, this mechanism works especially aggressively, loading content in the background and requiring constant interaction from the user.
Fortunately, the developers have left the option to completely deactivate the service, giving the user back control of the appearance of their gadget. The process of disconnecting does not require root rights or complex technical manipulations, but is hidden in several levels of the settings menu. Understanding where the switches are located will allow you to clean the system of unnecessary garbage.
In this article, we will take a look at each step necessary to forget about random switching of images forever. We will look at both standard methods through settings, and additional ways to clean the cache if the standard shutdown did not give the desired result. Your goal is to completely disable the wallpaper Carousel service without losing other personalization functions.
What is a wallpaper carousel and why it is worth turning it off
Wallpaper carousel is a built-in service from Xiaomi that periodically updates the image on the lock screen, which formally looks like a beautiful feature offering high-quality photos of nature, architecture and art. But behind the visual appeal lies a mechanism that many users find intrusive and even malicious.
The main problem is that the service is constantly connected to the Internet to download new images, which leads to an invisible but constant consumption of traffic and battery power, and in the free version of the service, advertising content is often found that can overlap important notifications or widgets.
- 📉 Reduced system performance due to background loading processes.
- 🔋 Increased battery consumption even in standby mode.
- 📢 The appearance of banner ads and offers on the lock screen.
- 🔄 Accidental switching of wallpaper when unlocking the device.
⚠️ Attention: Complete removal of system components of the carousel through ADB It is recommended to use the standard methods of disabling described in this manual.
Many users also complain that the settings are reset and the Carousel is back on track after the firmware update, and understanding how it works helps prevent it from being activated again, and in the following sections we will look at how to effectively combat this phenomenon.
Preparation for setting up the MIUI 12 system
Before you make changes to system settings, make sure the device is ready to work properly.The MIUI 12 interface has its own menu-organization logic, which may differ from pure Android.It's important to understand that turning off the carousel will not delete your personal photos, but return a static image.
It is recommended to check for system updates, as in new security patches Xiaomi sometimes changes the location of menu items, and it is also worth making sure that you have a stable connection to the network if you need to reset the theme settings.
☑️ Checklist for shutdown preparation
It's not superfluous to take a screenshot of the current lock screen settings, which will help you quickly get things back to where they were when you accidentally change the wrong setting during the setup process, and keeping the original state is a good practice when working with system interfaces.
Main method: Disconnection through lock settings
The easiest and safest way to get rid of the intrusive feature is to use the built-in settings menu, which requires no third-party software installation and is completely reversible. The algorithm is the same for most MIUI 12 devices, regardless of the smartphone model.
First, you need to go to the main settings menu of your device, find the section that is responsible for the appearance and security of the screen, usually called "lock screen" or "Always on screen and lock".
Inside this section, you'll need to find a wallpaper carousel item that can be called wallpaper carousel, or glance, or wallpaper carousel. Click on this item to open a detailed service management menu.
Settings → Lock screen → Wallpaper carouselSo here you'll see a switch that activates or deactivates the function, and you'll turn it off, and then the system can tell you to choose a static image or leave the current one, and you can confirm the action, and the carousel will stop updating.
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Turning off the switch in the settings menu completely stops the loading of new images and advertising content.
If the images continue to change after switching the tumbler, it is possible that the app cache still stores the old data, in which case additional cleaning will be required, which we will discuss below, but in 95% of cases, simply turning off is enough.
Deletion of cache and application data Carousel
Sometimes the visual switch is turned off, but the background processes continue to work, which can be due to cache errors or residual files from previous versions of the MIUI shell. To ensure that the service is completely stopped, you need to clear its data.
You need to find the service that's responsible for the carousel in the app list, and it can be called different things in different versions of the firmware: wallpaper carousel, Wallpaper Carousel, or Mi Content Provider, and you can find it in the general list or by looking for settings.
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications.
- 🔍 In the search, type “Carousel” or “Wallpaper».
- 🗑️ Select the app found and click “Clear».
- ✅ Confirm the cache and data cleanup.
After this procedure, the system will delete all uploaded images and reset the service settings to factory settings, because the switch is already off, it will not be activated again, and this action will also free up space in the internal memory of the device.
⚠️ Attention: Clearing the app data will reset your preferences in choosing wallpaper categories. If you decide to turn on the carousel again, you will have to choose the settings again.
It is important not to confuse this application with the system gallery or standard wallpaper. Delete the data only of the service that is responsible for automatically changing images on the lock screen.
Comparison of disconnection methods and their consequences
Users often wonder which is better: simply turn off the switchboard or completely clean the application data, both of which have pros and cons to consider before you start manipulating the system.
Simply turning off the settings takes a few seconds and does not affect the files stored in memory. This is ideal for those who want to quickly solve the problem and are not afraid that when updating the firmware settings may fly.
Cleaning up data and cache is a more radical approach, which ensures that there are no background processes left, but it takes more time and understanding what files you delete, and for advanced users, it's the best way to keep the system clean.
| Parameter | Turning off the tumbler | Clearing the data and cache | Disconnection through ADB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Low. | Medium | Tall. |
| Risk of error | Minimum | Low. | Medium. |
| Efficiency | Tall. | Maximum | Absolute. |
| Implementation time | 1 minute | 3-5 minutes | 10-15 minutes. |
Choose a method that matches your comfort level when working with your smartphone, and in most cases, the combination of the first two methods gives the best result without unnecessary risks.
Alternative ways and working with themes
Sometimes the wallpaper carousel is part of the set theme, and if you use a third-party theme from MIUI Themes, it can force the service to activate, in which case the settings may be temporarily blocked or reset.
Check the active theme. If you see that after changing the theme, the carousel turned on again, try going back to the standard Classic or Default theme, which will help you understand whether the problem is in the system settings or in a particular theme file.
Can I remove the app completely?
It's also worth checking the app permissions, and you can find the carousel service on the app list and see what rights it's given, and shutting down the Internet and geolocation can be an additional barrier to its operation, even if it somehow gets started.
Some users prefer to install third-party screen locking apps that completely replace Xiaomi's standard mechanism.This is an extreme measure, but it ensures that no carousel will ever appear again.