How to completely remove themes from Xiaomi: All ways 2026

Installing beautiful themes is one of the features of MIUI firmware on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones. But what if the theme started to slow down, takes up too much space or just disliked? Deleting themes in MIUI is not always intuitive: somewhere the button is hidden in the depths of the menu, and some themes do not want to disappear after standard removal.

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to remove themes from basic to radical (including resetting), focus on problem situations: when a topic is not deleted from a menu, takes up space in memory or returns after a reboot, learn how to clear the cache with the help of freeing up additional megabytes, and what system tools will help return the standard MIUI look.

If you are experiencing an error, you could not delete the theme or after changing the theme there are artifacts (for example, old icons or fonts), here you will find solutions. Instructions are relevant for all modern versions of MIUI (including MIUI 14/15) and Xiaomi models from Redmi Note 10 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

Before you start, check the version of MIUI in Settings → About Phone. Some methods only work on certain firmware, we will warn you about this in advance.

1. Standard removal of topics through the "Themes" menu

The most obvious way is to delete a topic through the built-in Themes app, but there are nuances: not all topics can be deleted this way, and some continue to take up space in memory after being deleted.

To remove the topic in the standard method:

1. Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
2. Go to My Themes (or Installed in older versions of MIUI).
3. Find the topic you want to remove and click on it.
4. In the window that opens, tap the Remove button (or the basket icon).

If there is no Delete button, then the theme is system (for example, standard). MIUI Default) or was installed through APK-It's a manual file, and in those cases, you're going to need alternative methods, which I'm going to talk about later.

⚠️ Attention: Removing themes through the menu does not clear the cache. To free up space completely, go to Settings after deleting. → Warehouse → Clear cache for the Topics app.

2. Remove themes through the "Settings" of the phone

If the theme is not removed through the Theme app, try to do so through system settings, which works for most custom themes, including those downloaded from the MIUI Theme Store.

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search bar, enter the Topics and select the Topics app (com.miui.themeeditor).
3. Slip on the Warehouse (or Memory in older versions).
4. Click Clear Data and confirm the action.

This method will reset all installed themes to a standard look, but will not delete their files completely. For deep cleaning, you will need to use manual deletion through the file manager (see the next section).

⚠️ Attention: Cleaning the Themes app data will also reset your personal settings (wallpaper, fonts, icons).We recommend that you take screenshots of the current settings beforehand.

3. Manually delete theme files via file manager

Some themes, when removed from the menu, leave files in the phone's memory. To completely erase them, you'll need access to system folders, and any root file manager (such as MiXplorer or Solid Explorer) or built-in Explorer with hidden file mode enabled will do.

The path to topics at MIUI:

/data/system/theme/


/sdcard/MIUI/theme/

Instructions:

1. Open the file manager and follow one of the paths.
2. Find a folder with the name of the deleted theme (usually a set of numbers and letters, such as com.example.theme123).
3. Delete the entire folder.
4. Reboot the phone.

If the folder is not deleted, you do not have root rights or the theme is protected by the system, in which case only resetting the settings (see section 5) will help.

4. Removal of topics via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can try removing the theme through Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which requires connecting the phone to your computer and basic command line knowledge.

What you need:

• 🖥️ A computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and ADB.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times press to unlock the developer mode, then Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to your computer and allow debugging.
2. Open the command prompt (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) and type: Adb devices Make sure the device is defined.
3. Enter the command to delete the theme (replace package.name with the real name of the theme package, which can be found through App Inspector): adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 package.name

If the command is successful, the theme will be removed for the current user. For complete removal (if there is root) use:

adb shell su -c "pm uninstall package.name"

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB Do not delete packages that have miui or android in their name, which are system components.

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If you don’t know the name of the theme package, install the App Inspector app from Google Play, which will show the full names of all the themes installed.

5. Resetting phone settings to remove themes

If none of these methods worked, the radical solution is to reset the phone to factory settings, which will delete all user data, including themes, but return the phone to its original state.

How to reset:

1. Create a backup of important data (photos, contacts, messages).
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select Reset all settings (or Delete all data in older versions of MIUI).
4. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot.

Once reset, the phone will boot with a standard MIUI theme, a method guaranteed to remove all traces of custom themes, but should only be used as a last resort.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 11 and later) may require re-assignment of your Mi Account after reset!

6 How to avoid problems with topics in the future

To avoid having to remove topics, follow these tips:

• 🔍 Before installing, check the rating and reviews about the topic in MIUI Theme Store.Themes rated below 4.0 often contain bugs.
• 📥 Do not install topics from unofficial sources (APK-They may conflict with the system or contain malicious code.
• 🗑️ Regularly clean the cache of the application Topics in Settings → Annexes → Topics → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 🔄 Do not update themes automatically. Enable this option only for verified themes.

Important: Some themes change system fonts and icons, which can cause third-party apps (such as banking) to crash. If apps start crashing after the theme change, return the standard theme and restart the phone.

If you’re a frequent experimenter with themes, consider using a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher) that lets you change icons and wallpaper without deep system tampering.

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The safest way to avoid problems is to use only official themes from the MIUI Theme Store and clean the cache regularly.

7. Frequent errors and their solutions

When removing themes, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and how to solve them:

Mistake: "I failed to delete the subject"

• 🔄 Restart your phone and try again.
• 🗑️ Clear the Topic app cache (see Section 2).
• 🔧 If the topic has been established through APK, Remove it as a regular app in Settings → Annexes.

The topic has been removed, but its elements remain (icons, fonts)

• 🔄 Restart your phone – sometimes changes don’t apply immediately.
• 🎨 Set a standard theme MIUI Default manually through the Topics menu.
• 🧹 Delete residual files through the file manager (see Section 3).

After removing the topic, the phone began to slow down.

• 🗑️ Clear the system cache in Settings → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 🔄 Perform a soft reboot (hold the power button for 10 seconds).
• 🛠️ If the brakes are left, check the CPU load in Settings → Battery → Battery use. Maybe the problem isn't the topic, but another app.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions