How to permanently remove pop-up wallpaper on Xiaomi phone: system and hidden settings

Why Xiaomi is getting pop-up wallpapers and how to fix it

Pop-up wallpaper on Xiaomi smartphones is one of the most annoying features of MIUI that can be activated without the user’s knowledge. Most often, the problem occurs after updating the firmware, installing themes from the Mi Theme Store or activating live wallpaper services. In some cases, the wallpaper begins to change on its own, blocking the desktop with advertising or animation, which not only distracts, but also increases battery consumption by 15-20% due to the constant operation of the GPU.

The reasons for this wallpaper can be divided into three categories: system (embedded MIUI features), sidelines (applications or viruses) and errors (failures after updates). In this article, we will discuss all the ways of removing it, from simple settings to radical measures like reset to factory settings. It is important to understand that some methods may differ depending on the version of MIUI (for example, in MIUI 14 and HyperOS, the paths to settings have changed).

If you find that the wallpaper returns after a reboot or reset, this is a sure sign of the background process, in which case you will not only need to turn off the visual effect, but also block its source - whether it is a system application com.miui.miwallpaper or third-party software.

Method 1: Disable live wallpaper through MIUI settings

The most obvious and safe method is to deactivate live wallpaper in standard settings, which is suitable for most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models on MIUI 12-14 or HyperOS. Importantly, if the wallpaper is set as “dynamic” (for example, through Mi Wallpaper Carousel), they should be removed separately.

Step instructions:

1. Open Settings → Wallpaper (or Settings → Screen → Wallpaper in new versions).
2. Select the section Live wallpaper or Dynamic wallpaper.
3. Click on the current wallpaper and select the option to Remove or Disable.
4. Return to the main wallpaper menu and set a static image (e.g. from the gallery).

If you don't have a Live Wallpaper on the menu, it's another problem -- maybe you have a third-party wallpaper installed, so move on to the next one.

Make sure your phone is over 30 times charged%|

Close all background applications |

Check the version of MIUI in Settings → About Phone |

Backup important data (in case of reset)

-->

Method 2: Remove from "Themes" and Mi Theme Store

Many users install wallpaper from the official Mi Theme Store without realizing that some packages contain hidden “live” elements. For example, themes marked Dynamic or Live can automatically download animations even if you choose a static background.

To remove such wallpaper:

• 📱 Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
• 🔍 Go to the section My topics → Wallpaper.
• 🗑️ Find the current wallpaper and click Remove (or Reset).
• 🔄 Back to Settings → Wallpaper and select a standard background.

If there is no delete button in the Mi Theme Store, then the wallpaper is built into the system theme, in which case resetting themes to the standard ones will help:

1. In the Topics app, go to Profile → Settings.
2. Select Reset theme to standard.
3. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

💡

If the wallpaper returns after removing, check Settings → Applications → Application Management → Themes and turn off auto-update themes.

Method 3: Locking system processes (for advanced)

If previous methods failed, the problem may lie in the background of MIUI processes, such as com.miui.miwallpaper for changing wallpapers, and com.miui.thememanager for applying themes, which can be temporarily disabled, but this will require ADB or root access rights.

Instructions via ADB (without root rights):

1. Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone).
2. Enable USB debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper
4. To block the theme manager, use: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.thememanager

⚠️ Attention: Disabling these services can cause themes and wallpaper to malfunction. If the wallpaper returns after the reboot, the process automatically restarts. In this case, only complete removal through the root or reset of the phone will help.

Method 4: Reset wallpaper settings and themes to factory

When none of these methods work, the radical solution is to reset the wallpaper and theme settings, and it doesn't affect your data (photos, contacts, messages), but it brings all the visuals back to standard.

Step-by-step:

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → System and device → Resetting settings.
• 🎨 Select Reset Wallpaper and Theme Settings (in some versions) MIUI This item is called Reset screen settings).
• 🔄 Confirm the action and wait for the phone to restart.
• 📱 After switching on, set static wallpaper manually.

If this reset doesn’t work, you’ll have to do a full reset to factory settings.Be sure to back up the data through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset before doing so.

Once a week |

Once a month |

Only when the subject changes |

Never change.-->

Method 5: Removal through third-party apps (if the virus is to blame)

Sometimes pop-up wallpapers are caused by adware or viruses that masquerade as system utilities, such as Live Wallpaper Picker or Wallpaper Changer, which can install wallpaper ads without your knowledge.

How to find and remove such programs:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Sort the list by installation date (Recently installed).
3. Check for apps with suspicious names (e.g. com.live.wallpaper.free).
4. Click on the suspicious app and select Remove (if the button is inactive, first disable the Device Administrator in the security settings).

If deletion is not possible, use an antivirus (such as Malwarebytes or Dr.Web) to scan the system. Some viruses block standard deletion, so you may need to secure mode:

• 🔄 Press the power button and hold the power off until the window appears Safe Mode.
• 🛡️ In Safe Mode, Remove Suspicious Apps.
• 🔄 Restart your phone in normal mode.

💡

If the wallpaper comes back after you delete the app, check the phone for root rights or hacked firmware. Some viruses are embedded in system files and require flashing.

Table: Comparison of methods for removing pop-up wallpaper

What do you do if nothing helps?

If you’ve tried all the ways but pop-up wallpaper keeps popping up, the problem may be related to:

• 📱 Damaged firmware (requires flashing via Fastboot or Recovery).
• 🔧 Modified MIUI (For example, custom firmware like Xiaomi.eu or PixelExperience can conflict with system wallpaper).
• 🛠️ Hardware failure (in rare cases, the problem is associated with memory damage, where wallpaper settings are stored).

In such cases, there are two options:

1. Flashing through Mi Flash Tool (full cleaning and installation of official firmware).
2. Contact a service center (if the phone is warranty or you are not sure about your skills).

⚠️ Warning: Firmware removes all data from your phone, including photos and apps. Be sure to back up your phone via Mi Cloud or Google Account before the procedure. If you have never stitched Xiaomi yourself, it is better to entrust it to specialists – a mistake can turn your phone into a brick".

FAQ: Frequent questions about pop-up wallpaper on Xiaomi