How to completely remove the wallpaper carousel on the lock screen in MIUI 12: a step-by-step guide

The wallpaper carousel on the lock screen in MIUI 12 is one of the most controversial features of Xiaomi’s firmware. On the one hand, it offers automatic background changes that can diversify the look of the device; on the other, many users find it intrusive, slowing down the system and consuming excess battery, and it is especially annoying that the carousel cannot be turned off with standard means in some versions of the shell.

If you are among those who want to regain control of the lock screen, this article will help you understand all the available methods. We will look at both the official methods (if they are available in your version of MIUI 12) and alternative solutions - from editing system files to using ADB. It is important to understand that some methods require superuser rights or can affect the stability of the device.

Note: the instructions in this article are valid for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO MIUI 12 devices (including MIUI 12.5 and MIUI 12 Enhanced Edition).If you have a newer version of the shell, some methods may not work – in this case, check the relevance of the information for your firmware.

Why the wallpaper carousel can interfere: the main problems

At first glance, automatic wallpaper change seems like a harmless function, but in practice it causes a number of inconveniences:

• 🔋 Increased battery consumption: The carousel uploads new images from the network (if you have an online wallpaper option enabled) and constantly updates the cache, which leads to additional energy consumption, according to tests, this feature can increase consumption by 5-12% depending on the device model.
• 🐢 Slowing down the system on weak devices (e.g. Redmi) 8A or Redmi Note 7) animation wallpaper change can cause slowdown when unlocking the screen.
• 📱 Intrusive content: Some wallpapers contain advertising elements or images that are not appropriate for your style (especially if online collections are included).
• 🔒 Privacy when using online wallpapers MIUI may collect data about your preferences to personalize content.

In addition, the carousel often resets custom wallpapers to standard after a system update or reboot device, which is especially annoying for those who are used to customizing the lock screen to suit themselves.

⚠️ Note: If you use wallpaper from Xiaomi Gallery (such as holiday themed collections), disabling it may cause some decoration elements to disappear. K30 Pro after removing the carousel disappear animations when unlocking.

Method 1: Disable the carousel through the standard settings MIUI 12

In some versions of MIUI 12 (especially on flagship models like Mi 10 or Mi 11), the developers left the option to turn off the wallpaper carousel through the settings menu.

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to Lock Screen (or Lock and Password → Lock screen settings on some devices).
3. Find the wallpaper carousel or Automatic wallpaper change.
4. Move the slider to the off position.
5. Confirm the action if the system requests additional confirmation.

If there is no such item on the menu, then your version of MIUI 12 does not support standard shutdown, in which case move on to alternative methods.

Make a backup copy of the data

Check the version of MIUI in Settings → About the phone

Make sure that the battery charge is > 50%

Turn off automatic wallpaper synchronization in Settings → Accounts. → Mi Account-->

Method 2: Using ADB to turn off the carousel (without root)

If the standard method didn’t work, you could use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a tool for debugging Android devices, which doesn’t require superuser rights, but requires connecting your smartphone to your computer.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔧 Doesn't require root rights.
• 🔄 Reversible process (you can return the carousel back).
• 🛡️ More secure than editing system files.

To start, make sure that your computer has ADB drivers installed and USB debugging enabled on your smartphone:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm the debugging permission.

Now run the following commands in the terminal (command line) on your computer:

adb shell


pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper.earth




pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper.liveearth

These commands remove the system applications responsible for the wallpaper carousel. Once you do, reboot the device. The wallpaper on the lock screen will be recorded in the last image you choose.

⚠️ Note: On some devices (Redmi Note 8 Pro, Mi 9) SE) After these commands are executed, you may not be able to install wallpaper through the standard menu, in which case you will have to install wallpaper through a gallery or third-party applications like Wallpaper Craft.

💡

If the carousel returned after the system update after completing the commands, repeat the procedure. To avoid this, turn off the automatic installation of system applications in Settings before updating → Applications → Application Management → Settings (cogs) → Auto-update system applications

Method 3: Editing system files (root required)

For power users who have root rights, there is a more radical method, which is editing system files, which is guaranteed to remove the carousel, but requires caution, since improper actions can lead to a system failure.

You'll need:

• 📱 Smartphone with unlocked bootloader and installed Magisk or other root solution.
• 💻 PC fitted ADB file manager with root access (e.g., Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
• 🔧 Backup of the system (required!).

Instructions:

1. Open the root conductor and follow the path /system/priv-app/MiuiWallpaper.
2. Find the files: MiuiWallpaper.apk MiuiWallpaper.odex (if any)

.bak

MiuiWallpaper.apk.bak

Reset the device.

After this, the wallpaper carousel will be completely disabled, and the standard wallpaper change functions will remain functional. If you want to return everything back, just delete the.bak from the file names.

Method 4: Using third-party launchers and applications

If you don't want to mess around with system settings, you can get around the limitations of MIUI 12 with third-party apps, which doesn't remove the carousel completely, but it does get around it.

The best applications for replacing wallpaper without a carousel:

• 🎨 Wallpaper Craft -- allows you to set static and live wallpapers, ignoring the system carousel. Supports automatic shifting on a schedule.
• 🖼️ Zedge – a large community with wallpaper and the ability to block changes from the system.
• 🔄 Muzei Live Wallpaper – Open Source Wallpaper Management with Plugin Support.
• 📱 Nova Launcher – if the problem is not only on the lock screen, but also on the desktop, this launcher allows you to completely replace the standard interface MIUI.

How to set up Wallpaper Craft to bypass the carousel:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Select your favorite wallpaper and click Set on the lock screen.
3. In the application settings, activate the option to Prohibit changes to the system.
4. Reset the device.

The downside of this method is that MIUI 12 can periodically reset the wallpaper back onto the carousel after the updates, in which case you will have to repeat the procedure.

💡

Third-party apps don't physically remove the carousel, they just cover it with their wallpaper, which is the safest method, but it requires regular monitoring after system updates.

Method 5: Retrace to the previous version of MIUI (extreme case)

If none of the methods worked, and the wallpaper carousel critically interferes with the work, you can consider the option of rolling back to an earlier version of MIUI, where this function was not yet available or it could be disabled by standard means.

Pre-rollback warnings:

• 🔙 Data loss. rollback will reset the device to factory settings.
• 🔒 bootloader lock: New devices (Xiaomi 12, Redmi Note 11) may need to unlock through the Mi Unlock Tool.
• 🛡️ Security issues: Older versions of firmware may contain unpatched vulnerabilities.

How to perform rollback:

1. Download the required firmware version from the official Xiaomi website (Download → Archive section).
2. Unpack the archive and place the.tgz file in the folder downloaded_rom phone-on.
3. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
4. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Select the firmware file.
5. Confirm the installation and wait for the process to be completed.

Recommended versions for rollback (without wallpaper carousel):

• MIUI 11 (Stable version 11.0.5 and below)
• MIUI 12 (early builds 12.0.1-12.0.3 for some models)

⚠️ Note: Firmware rollbacks can cause some applications (e.g. banking) to have problems as they check the system’s relevance. Also, on new devices (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and later), rollbacks can block access to some camera features.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When trying to remove the wallpaper carousel, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

Critical information: On devices with MIUI 12.5 Enhanced Edition (e.g. Xiaomi Mi) 11 Ultra) standard shutdown of the carousel through ADB It may not work because of the additional protection of system applications, in which case only editing files with root rights or using a Magisk module called the "Magisk" will help. Disable_MiuiWallpaper.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions