How to remove the theme from your Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Redesigning the visuals is one of the most popular ways to personalize Xiaomi’s smartphone, but over time, users face the need to bring it back, and the reasons may vary: the new theme is poorly optimized, battery drains quickly, or simply gets bored. Remove the theme from a Xiaomi phone in a number of ways, each with its own characteristics depending on the version of the MIUI shell or HyperOS.

The process of restoring a standard look doesn't require root rights or complex software. It's enough to know where the right switches are hiding in the system settings. It's important to understand that simply deleting a theme file from memory may not work if the appropriate style is activated in the personalization menu. In this article, we'll look at all the nuances of resetting.

Before we get into action, it's worth clarifying that some system components can be protected from change. The standard theme is the basic element of the system, and its complete physical removal is impossible without deep interference with firmware files, which is not recommended for ordinary users, our task is to deactivate third-party design and return factory settings to the screen.

Return to the standard theme through settings

The easiest and most secure way to remove third-party graphics is built directly into the system interface, so you don't have to download any additional utilities, you have to go to the settings menu and find the look section, and depending on the firmware version, the path may be slightly different, but the logic remains the same.

Find Wallpaper and Personalization or simply Themes in the list of options, and this section displays the current active design. To reset the changes, you need to select the factory reset option, and the system will automatically apply the standard set of icons, fonts and wallpapers that were installed when you bought the device.

⚠️ Note: After applying a standard theme, some third-party launcher widgets may shift. This is normal, since the grid of icons in the factory style is different from custom solutions.

If you used a complex theme with a modified control panel, it will also return to its original form. All system sounds and animations will switch to default ones. This ensures that the interface works smoothly, since the standard elements are optimized by Xiaomi developers for a particular model of the device.

Use of the “Themes” application for resetting

The second way is to use the Themes app, which is pre-installed on every smartphone in the brand, which is convenient because it allows you not only to reset the theme, but also to view your download history. Open the app and navigate to your user profile, which is usually indicated by the person icon in the corner of the screen.

In the My Themes section, you'll see a list of all the designs that have ever been downloaded. Find a item called Classic or Default. When you click on it, you'll see the Apply button. This action will force you to rewrite your current design settings to factory settings, which is especially useful if the settings menu isn't working properly.

The app also allows you to manage individual components, so you can leave wallpaper from one theme and take icons from another, but to completely remove the effect of a third-party theme, you better use the classic style as a whole, which eliminates conflicts between interface elements.

💡

If the Themes app doesn’t open or crashes, try clearing its cache through the Apps menu in your phone’s settings before trying to reset again.

In some regions, Themes may be limited or run in a stripped-down mode. If you can't find a classic theme on the list, try changing the region in your phone's settings to India or Singapore, reset, and then return the previous settings. This often unlocks the full functionality of the design repository.

Delete theme files through the file manager

For more advanced users who want to free up space in memory, there is a manual file deletion option available. Third-party themes take up space in internal storage, even if they are not active. To find them, open the standard File Explorer or any other file manager with access to system folders.

You have to go down the MIUI > theme path, and it stores all the uploaded designs, you can see files with the.mtz extension, or folders with obscure names, and you can free up space by deleting them, but remember that deleting the active file can cause a temporary failure in rendering the interface before you reboot.

It is not recommended to touch folders with the word data or config in their name if you are not sure about their content. An error can cause the phone to go into a reboot cycle or lose the ability to apply any themes. Always back up important data before cleaning the system directories.

Resetting launcher and desktop settings

Often the problem is not the theme itself, but the launcher settings, the program responsible for the desktop and application menu. In the MIUI shell, it is a system component that can be reset to factory settings, which helps if the icons are floating and the menu is running with delays after installing a new graphic.

Go to Settings, then select Apps and find All Apps. Find System Launcher or Launcher in the list. Click on Clean (Broom icon) and select Clear All. This action will return the icons and widgets to their original state, ignoring the third-party theme settings.

⚠️ Warning: After the launcher is reset, all widgets and folders on the desktop will be deleted. You will have to re-schedule the application shortcuts, but this is guaranteed to eliminate display errors.

It also resets gesture settings if they have been changed by the theme, for example, if the theme was supposed to swipe in the style of iOS, after resetting the launcher, standard Android navigation or MIUI will return.

Features of removing themes in HyperOS and MIUI 14

Newer versions of the shell, such as HyperOS and MIUI 14, have brought a change to the personalization architecture, with stricter control over system files, and the theme is sometimes more difficult to remove in these versions, as some elements can be integrated deeper into the system for security and stability.

HyperOS has a separate component management module. If a standard reset doesn't work, try disabling the theme module in the advanced feature settings. Also pay attention to the resolution of the Themes app: make sure it has access to memory and auto-start, otherwise the process of applying a standard theme can be interrupted by the power saving system.

Users note that new versions of the software work better mechanism "Super wallpaper" and dynamic elements. When removing the old heavy theme, the system can automatically suggest switching to lightweight dynamic wallpaper, which will positively affect the performance of the device.

What to do if the topic is not removed

In rare cases, the user is faced with a situation where the theme sticks to the system, it is impossible to delete it through standard means, and the file does not disappear in memory, this can be a sign of file system damage or version conflict, in which case the first thing you need to restart the smartphone in safe mode to eliminate the influence of third-party applications.

If that didn't work, you can use the command via ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to force the theme data to be cleaned, and that requires you to connect to a computer.

adb shell pm clear com.android.thememanager

This command will completely clear the theme manager’s data, including cache and active settings, and then the phone needs to be rebooted. The interface will go back out of the box. It’s a powerful tool that solves 99% of the problems with undeleteable themes.

💡

Use of the ADB-A radical but effective way to solve problems when a program reset through a menu doesn’t work.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)