How to completely remove themes from Xiaomi Redmi: instructions for MIUI 12-14

Xiaomi Redmi smartphones based on firmware MIUI allow you to customize the interface with the help of design themes - from minimalist to animated 3D-However, over time, accumulated themes occupy a precious place in the memory of the device, and some of them may conflict with system fonts or icons. MIUI has its own nuances: some of the themes are sewn into system files, and others are installed as APK-packet.

This article covers all the current ways to remove themes on Redmi (including Note 10/11/12, Redmi 9/10 and the new Redmi 13 series) running on MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS. We will analyze both standard methods through the themes menu, and advanced methods using ADB and manual cache clearing.

Why topics are so important to remember and when to delete them

Each theme in MIUI is a set of files that includes:

• 🎨 Graphic resources: wallpaper, icons, interface elements (weight of one theme can reach 50-150 MB).
• 📜 Configuration files: font parameters, animations, color schemes.
• 🔄 Cache: temporary files to speed up loading (can grow to 200-300 MB with frequent change of topics).

The system automatically stores the last used themes in the /data/system/theme/ folder, even if you don’t use them. For example, after testing 10 themes, up to 1 GB of unnecessary data can remain in memory.

• 📉 The smartphone began to “brake” when changing the wallpaper or opening the menu.
• 🔄 New topics are used with the error "Not able to load the topic".
• 🗑️ In the Settings section → Memory can be seen that "Themes" take up more than 500 MB.
• 🎨 After updating MIUI Standard icons are lost to “squares».

⚠️ Note: Removing system themes (e.g., Default or Default) MIUI Classic) can cause interface failure, and can only be restored through a full reset or flashing.

Method 1: Remove from the Topics menu (standard method)

The safest method that is suitable for themes installed from the official MIUI Themes store is that it does not require superuser rights and works on all Redmi models:

1. Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
2. Go to My Themes (or Management in the new MIUI 14).
3. Find the topic you want to remove and hold it for 1-2 seconds.
4. In the menu that appears, select Remove (or the basket icon).

If there is no Delete button, then the theme is system or was installed through APK-file (see Method 3). MIUI 14 and HyperOS some themes are marked as “Protected” – they cannot be removed in the standard way.

After removal, clear the cache of the Topics app:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find themes and select Warehouse.
3. Click Clear Cache and Clear Data (Warning: This Will Reset All Downloaded Themes!).

Method 2: Remove via Settings (for embedded themes)

Some themes (such as Dark Mode or Lite) are integrated into the system and do not appear in the Topic menu.

1. Open the settings → Screen → Themes.
2. In the Local Themes section, select an unnecessary topic.
3. Click Reset on Standard (if the theme is active) or Remove (if available).

To completely remove system themes, you will need to disable their update:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Topics.
2. Press Three dots. → Disable updates.

⚠️ Note: If after removing the theme, the interface is displayed incorrectly (for example, icons disappear), restart the smartphone in Safe Mode (hold the power button). → Safe Mode. This will reset the graphic cache.

Method 3: Removing those through APK-files (advanced)

If the theme was installed via an.apk file (for example, downloaded from the 4PDA forum), it cannot be deleted in the standard way.

1. Install a file manager with access to system folders (e.g. Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Go to /data/app/com.android.theme.iconpack/ or /data/app/com.miui.home/.
3. Find a folder with the theme name (usually theme or icon) and delete it.

For themes set as separate annexes:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the theme by name (e.g. Pixel Theme) and click Delete.

After removal, execute the command to clean the packages:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 title.packet.topics

You can find out the exact name of the package through the command:

adb shell pm list packages | grep theme

Method 4: Remove themes via ADB (for power users)

It is suitable for removing system themes or when standard methods do not work, requires the USB debugging mode and the ADB drivers installed.

1. Connect Redmi to your PC and execute the command: Adb devices (you should display your device).
2. List of identified topics: adb shell pm list packages | grep -i theme
3. Remove the selected theme (replace package.name with real name): adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 package.name

To completely clean the cache, do:

adb shell pm clear com.android.themes

💡

If after removing the theme through ADB, icons on the desktop disappeared, restart the launcher: press and hold the empty space on the screen → Home screen settings → Reset the settings.

⚠️ Note: Removing system packages through ADB may disrupt MIUI. Before experimenting, back up with adb backup -apk -shared -all -f backup.ab.

Method 5: Reset the themes to factory settings

If previous methods didn’t help or the topics conflict with the system, do a soft reset without losing data:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Reset Theme Settings (in some versions of MIUI, this option is called Restore Standard Theme).
3. Confirm the action and restart the smartphone.

It'll bring back:

• 📱 Standard icons and wallpaper.
• 🎨 Default color scheme.
• 🔄 Animations and fonts MIUI.

If there is no option to reset themes, perform a full reset (with loss of data):

1. Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset → Resetting settings.
2. Select Delete all data (make sure important files are saved!).

💡

Resetting themes does not remove downloaded themes from memory! after the procedure, be sure to clean the /MIUI/theme/ folder manually.

How to Prevent Automatic Recovery Themes

Once the theme is removed, MIUI can restore it when the system updates next, to avoid:

1. Turn off automatic themes update: Settings → Applications → Topics → Auto Update → Disable
2. Disable background activity of the app Topics: Settings → Applications → Topics → Battery → Background activity management → Limit
3. Delete the theme cache folder via TWRP Recovery (for advanced users): /data/system/theme/

If the themes are recovering after a reboot, check for MIUI updates:

• 🔄 Updates often bring "default" themes back.
• 📥 Opt out of downloading themes via Mi Cloud (if sync is enabled).

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

After removing the theme, the smartphone stopped using new design styles - this means that the critical system file was deleted. miui_theme_manager.apk. It can be restored only through firmware or manual installation. APK firmware.

Other common problems and ways to solve them:

If none of the methods worked, check the integrity of system files through the Mi Flash Tool (unlocked bootloader required).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions