How to completely remove live wallpaper on Xiaomi Redmi Note 7: from standard methods to ADB

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is still one of the most popular budget smartphones due to the balanced characteristics and flexible firmware MIUI. However, many users face a problem: live wallpaper, installed by default or downloaded from MIUI themes, begin to “brake” the system, drain the battery or simply annoying visually. Unlike static images, animated background images are integrated deeper into the shell, and their removal is not always obvious.

In this article, we will look at all possible ways to remove live wallpaper, from basic actions in the settings menu to advanced methods using ADB and manual cache cleaning. We will focus on the nuances of the MIUI 10/11/12 firmware, since the algorithms for working with wallpaper vary depending on the version, and you will learn why some live wallpapers “return” after rebooting and how to avoid this.

If you've tried to reset your wallpaper through the standard menu, but the animations are still there, don't rush to reset your phone to the factory settings. 90% of the time, the problem is solved without data loss.

Why can’t the Redmi Note 7’s wallpaper be removed?

Before you start removing, it is important to understand what exactly you are dealing with. Live wallpaper on Xiaomi is divided into three types:

• 📱 Standard wallpaper MIUI — Integrated animations (e.g. Weather or Space) are stored in system folders and protected from simple removal.
• 🎨 Theme wallpapers are downloaded from the Topic app, and are installed as separate packages and may conflict with system processes.
• 🔧 The third-party wallpaper - installed through APK (For example, Zedge or WallpapersCraft, often run as separate services in the background.

The main reasons why the wallpaper is not removed:

1. Themes app cache – even after changing the wallpaper, old data can remain in memory and periodically download.
2. Automatic Recovery – Some versions of MIUI return wallpaper after rebooting due to a glitch in the com.android.launcher3 file.
3. System resolutions – Xiaomi’s live wallpapers often have the status of a “system application”, which blocks their removal without superuser rights.

Fun fact: On the Redmi Note 7 with MIUI 12.5+ firmware, live wallpaper can consume up to 15% of battery life per day due to the constant running of the Adreno 506 graphics accelerator.

Method 1: Remove via standard MIUI settings

Let's start with the simplest method, which works 60 to 70 percent of the time, and it's suitable for wallpapers installed through the Theme app or downloaded from third-party sources.

Steps:

1. Open Settings → Wallpaper (or press and hold an empty space on the home screen → Wallpaper).
2. Choose the category Live Wallpaper (if any) or go to the tab My Wallpaper.
3. Find the current live wallpaper, click on them and select Remove (basket icon).
4. Confirm the action. If there is no Delete button, move to the next one.

After removal, it is mandatory to:

• 🔄 Reboot the phone (this will clear the wallpaper cache from RAM).
• 📁 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Topics and click Clear cache.

If the live wallpaper is back after this, the problem is deeper, most often due to a failure in the launcher configuration file, in which case resetting the launcher settings (see Method 3) will help.

⚠️ Attention: Some topics from the official store MIUI They set the live wallpaper as "systemic" and can't be removed through the standard menu, you'll need to roll back to the factory settings or use it. ADB.

Method 2: Disable live wallpaper through the “Themes” app

The Themes app on Redmi Note 7 often works as a standalone service that can restore deleted wallpaper, and to avoid this, you need not only to remove the wallpaper, but also to untie it from your Mi Account.

Instructions:

1. Open the Themes app (brush icon on your desktop).
2. Go to the section My topics → Wallpaper.
3. Find the live wallpaper you want to remove and click on three dots (⋮) near.
4. Choose Remove from my wallpaper (if the option is active).
5. Return to the main Themes menu, click on the profile avatar → Settings → Reset theme settings.

If there is no button to delete, try:

• 🔗 Untie Mi Account in phone settings (this can reset tied themes).
• 📦 Remove the updates to the Themes app through Settings → Annexes → Topics → ⋮ → Remove updates.

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If after removing the wallpaper, the screen began to twitch when scrolling, try to turn on the option “Speed up animation” in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times to unlock the developer’s settings).

Method 3: Resetting the settings of the MIUI launcher

The MIUI launcher stores wallpaper information in a separate configuration file, and if that file is corrupted, the wallpaper can stick or recover after being deleted, and the launcher reset will return the standard settings without losing data.

How to drop the launcher:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Launcher app (or MIUI Launcher) and open it.
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the data (not the cache, but the data!).
4. Confirm the action. The phone will reboot and the wallpaper will reset to standard.

After discharge:

• 🔧 Install new static wallpaper through Settings → Wallpaper.
• 🚫 Do not install live wallpaper from the Themes app for 10 minutes (let the system stabilize).

⚠️ Attention: Launcher Reset will delete: Desktop icon location; folder and widget settings; Background images from launcher memory (but not from gallery) We recommend that you take desktop screenshots before reset for quick recovery.

Method 4: Remove via Safe Mode

If the live wallpaper is installed by a third-party application (such as Zedge or Kappboom), it can work as a service in the background, in which case the safe mode that disables all third-party programs will help.

How to Sign In to Safe Mode on Redmi Note 7:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button and hold it until the Redmi logo appears.
3. As soon as the logo appears, release the power button and immediately press Volume down.
4. Keep Volume down until the phone boots into Safe Mode (there will be a sign at the bottom of the screen).

In safe mode:

• 🔍 Check if the live wallpaper is gone. If so, the problem is in the third-party app.
• 📱 Go to Settings. → Apps and remove suspicious programs (e.g. Live Wallpapers, 3D Parallax).
• 🔄 Restart your phone in normal mode.

If the wallpaper is still in Safe Mode, it is sewn into the system files, and you will need ADB or factory reset.

💡

Safe Mode is the only way to detect if a problem is caused by a third-party app or system failure. If the wallpaper disappears in Safe Mode, the software is to blame, if not, the firmware.

Method 5: Removing live wallpaper through ADB (for advanced)

This method is suitable if:

• 🔧 The wallpaper is back after all the manipulations;
• 📛 Wallpaper is installed as a system and is not removed through the menu;
• 🛠️ You have experience working with ADB (or).

What you need:

• Computer with installed drivers Xiaomi and ADB;
• USB-cable (preferably original);
• The USB debugging on the phone is enabled.

Steps:

1. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times) → Additional → For Developers.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command prompt (cmd) in the ADB folder.
3. Enter the commands in turn: adb devices (should appear serial number of your phone) adb shell pm list packages | grep wallpaper (this will show all packets associated with wallpaper)
4. Find a live wallpaper package (e.g. com.android.wallpaper.livepicker) and delete it: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.wallpaper.livepicker

If the desired package is not, try to reset the wallpaper to the standard:

adb shell cmd wallpaper clear

Important observations:

• 🔐 Teams. ADB They do not require root, but they only work for the current user (--user 0).
• 🔄 After removing the phone, restart it.
• ⚠️ Do not remove packages called miui or launcher – this can break the firmware.

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If ADB Does not recognize the device, try reinstalling drivers through the Mi Flash Tool or using another one USB-cable (cheap cables often do not support data transmission).

What do you do if nothing helps?

If all methods have been tried and the live wallpaper is still active, two radical options remain:

1. Reset to factory settings: 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Resetting settings. 🔄 Select to erase all data (take backup copy!). ⚠️ After reset, do not restore settings from the cloud - this can return wallpaper.

Fastboot flashing through Fastboot

• 🔧 Download the official firmware for Redmi Note 7 (lavender) from the Xiaomi website.
• 📥 Use the Mi Flash Tool for clean installation (select clean all).
• 🛡️ This will delete all data, but it is guaranteed to solve the problem.

Before you resort to extreme measures, check:

• 🔋 Does the battery run out due to another process (see Settings) → Battery).
• 📊 No updates. MIUI (Sometimes the bugs with wallpaper are corrected in new versions).

⚠️ Note: On some versions MIUI 12.5 for Redmi Note 7 there is a bug in which live wallpaper “Weather” can not be removed without rollback MIUI 11.In this case, only reflashing will help.

FAQ: Frequent questions about live wallpaper on Redmi Note 7