Xiaomi smartphone users often face a situation where an unplanned blank page or screen appears on the desktop that cannot be removed with a standard swipe. Owners of the Redmi 9 model running on the MIUI shell are especially often wondering how to get rid of this visual debris taking up space in navigation. The problem can be both a software launcher failure and the peculiarities of setting up the widgets or Google widget.
So this requires a holistic approach, because there's no single button for Android to delete the screen, so you have to either move the icons, or reset the desktop settings, or change the screen resolution. It's important to understand that the desktop is a dynamic area, the number of pages depends on the content content content content content, and if there's no object on the page, the system has to automatically remove it, but sometimes the mechanism fails.
In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of cleaning the interface of your smartphone, we will look at safe ways to move shortcuts, the procedure for cleaning the cache of the system application and radical methods of resetting the launcher settings, and we will also pay attention to the specific settings of MIUI, which can create the illusion of an extra screen.
The reasons for the empty pages on Redmi 9
Before we take action, we need to understand the nature of the problem. The red screen on Redmi 9 is most often an artifact of the MIUI Launcher or Poco Launcher system launcher. The system reserves space for objects that have been deleted, but the indexation has not been updated instantly, sometimes hidden widgets or incorrectly deleted folders.
Another common reason is low screen resolution or interface scaling. If Redmi 9's settings have a non-standard resolution, the desktop grid can expand to create additional virtual pages, and the appearance of junk screens is also influenced by third-party themes that have not been optimized by developers for your version of the firmware.
Human factors should be considered: randomly creating folders outside the visible area or dragging widgets into the buffer zone can lead the system to consider the page busy. System cache also plays a role: accumulated errors of temporary files can block the automatic collapse of empty pages.
⚠️ Note: Before making changes to the system settings of the launcher, it is recommended to back up important data, although the risk of loss of information is minimal.
Understanding the cause will help you choose the most gentle solution, if the problem is caused by a topic, change the design, if it is an indexing failure, cleaning the cache will help, and if the launcher itself has a software error, you will need to intervene more deeply in the settings of the application.
Basic method: moving icons and widgets
The easiest and safest way to remove the extra screen on Xiaomi Redmi 9 is to force the re-indexing of pages by moving objects. The algorithm is simple: you need to “swipe” icons from filled pages to a problematic blank page, and then return them back, which will force the system to recount the number of pages required.
To start, go to desktop editing mode. To do this, on the Redmi 9 home screen, you need to pinch two fingers (put them together) or (hold your finger) in blank space, you will see reduced thumbnails of all your desktops, and find the page you want to delete.
If there is at least one item on the page, try dragging it to the next screen, then the page should disappear automatically. If the screen is empty but does not disappear, do the following:
- 📱 Create a temporary folder on the penultimate screen and drag any shortcut into it.
- 🔄 Move this folder to the “extra” screen that you need to delete.
- 🗑️ Delete the folder immediately or drag it back to the main page.
- 📉 Get out of editing mode and check the result.
This method works 90% of the time, because it triggers a forced recount of the desktop grid, and if the empty page is left in place after manipulation, then the problem lies deeper in the launcher's system files, and you need to clean the application data.
☑️ Check before resetting settings
Clearing the MIUI launcher data
If mechanically moving icons didn’t help remove the extra screen on Redmi 9, you should resort to cleaning the system application data responsible for the interface, which will reset the desktop settings to the factory, remove all widgets and shortcuts, but is guaranteed to solve the problem with “ghost” pages.
To perform the operation, you will need access to the full list of installed applications. Go to Settings, then select the App and go to All Apps. Find the Desktop (or MIUI Launcher) app in the list. Note that it is the system application that you are looking for, not the browser or file manager.
Once you enter the app menu, click on the Clean (Broom icon) button and select Clear Everything or Reset. The system will warn you that all data will be deleted. This is a normal reaction, since the location of the icons is the launcher data.
Path to Settings: Settings → Apps → All Apps → Desktop → Clean → Clean EverythingOnce reset, your Redmi 9 will restart the interface, you'll see a standard welcome screen or a classic Xiaomi layout, and the extra screens will disappear as the launcher database will be rewritten, and you'll have to re-arrange the widgets and sort the applications into folders, but that will keep the system running smoothly.
⚠️ Warning: Launcher reset does not delete the apps themselves or your personal photos or contacts. It only removes desktop shortcuts and widgets.
Sometimes, after a reset, the system may suggest choosing the default launcher. Make sure that the System Launcher or MIUI Launcher is selected to avoid interface conflicts.This action is also useful if the phone has started to run slower or animations have become jittery.
What to do if the “Clear Everything” button is inactive?
Setting up screen resolution and font size
In some cases, the extra screen on Xiaomi Redmi 9 appears due to incorrect display settings. If you changed the screen resolution manually or installed third-party themes with altered pixel density (DPI), the desktop grid could expand, checking these parameters is an important stage of diagnosis.
Go to Settings, then Settings, and find Screen Resolution. Make sure you select the recommended value (usually 2340×1080 for Redmi 9). If you set a lower resolution (such as HD+), the number of icons on the page decreases, which can visually create extra pages.
Also worth checking is the font settings and the size of the interface elements. In the Screen -> Text Size and Display menu, try changing the size slider. Scaling up can compress the content and the extra page will disappear by itself, which is especially true for users with large fonts.
| Parameter | Recommended value | Impact on screens |
|---|---|---|
| Permission | 2340 x 1080 (FHD+) | Maximum number of icons |
| Frequency of update | 60 Hz | Smoothness of animation |
| Density (DPI) | Standard (390-420) | Size of interface elements |
| Dark subject matter | By choice. | It doesn't affect the number of pages. |
Changing the resolution of the screen requires rebooting the interface, so the screens can blink. If after setting the recommended values, the problem persists, then it is not the density of the pixels, but the software failure described in the previous sections.
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Use standard screen resolution for better battery autonomy. Decreasing the resolution on Redmi 9 will not give a noticeable increase in performance, but can spoil the visual experience of the interface.
Use of third-party launchers
If standard MIUI tools do not allow you to effectively manage desktops or the problem with excess screens returns constantly, it makes sense to consider installing a third-party launcher.
Popular launchers like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Lawnchair have more flexible grid settings, which can be hard-wired to set the number of columns and rows, and disable the ability to create empty pages, and installing such an application from Google Play will take no more than a couple of minutes.
After installing the new launcher, Redmi 9 will ask which application to use as the default home screen. Select the installed launcher. Page management will now be done through its settings, where the removal function works more predictably and transparently for the user.
However, it’s worth remembering that third-party launchers may consume more battery life and not support some specific Xiaomi features, such as MIUI gestures or “Wallpaper Carousel” – a trade-off between functionality and the stability of a standard shell.
⚠️ Note: When installing a third-party launcher, some Xiaomi system widgets (such as a memory clearing widget) may stop working or appear incorrectly.
Using an alternative launcher is a great way to give a second life to the interface if the regular MIUI Launcher is unstable.You get full control of every pixel of the screen and you can adjust the grid so that extra pages simply can not appear physically.
Prevention of Systemic Garbage
In order not to face the problem of excess screen on Redmi 9, you should adhere to certain rules of operation of the smartphone. Regular cleaning of the cache and refusal to install questionable themes from unverified sources will help to maintain the integrity of the launcher file system.
It is not recommended to change the themes of the design often, especially those that modify the system icons and the structure of the desktop. Each theme makes its own changes to the configuration files, and with frequent change, conflicts can arise, leading to the appearance of interface artifacts.
- 🧹 Once a month, clean the cache through the built-in Security app».
- 🚫 Avoid installing widgets from unknown developers.
- 🔄 Timely update the system software through the menu "About the phone».
- 📂 Group rarely used applications into folders to avoid cluttering the space.
It's also useful to check the list of installed applications periodically, removing unused programs not only frees up memory, but also reduces the load on the desktop indexer, and optimizing the system is the best way to prevent glitches.
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Regular firmware updates and avoiding “heavy” third-party themes are the best desktop problem prevention on Xiaomi.