Live wallpaper on Xiaomi smartphones with a MIUI shell look spectacular, but often cause slowdowns, overheating of the device or simply annoy with time. Unlike static images, animated background images consume additional CPU and battery resources, which is especially noticeable on budget models like the Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5. In addition, some live wallpapers are installed along with system updates or third-party themes, and their removal is not always obvious.
In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can remove live wallpaper on Xiaomi, from standard methods through settings to radical solutions like reset to factory settings, how to get rid of animations on the home screen, lock menus, and even built-in wallpapers that don’t get deleted in the usual way, and focus on the hidden features of MIUI 14/15 that few people know about, but which allow you to clear the system of unnecessary background processes without losing data.
Why live wallpaper can interfere with the work of the smartphone
Before you get to the instructions, it is important to understand the harm animated wallpapers do to your Xiaomi. Unlike static images, they:
- 🔋 Battery discharges 15-30% faster – constant animation forces GPU and CPU work in the background even when the screen is off (for example, wallpaper with paralax effect).
- 🐢 Slow down the interface – on weak chipsets (for example, Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 or Helio) G88) They can cause lags when scrolling the desktop.
- 🔥 Provoking overheating - especially noticeable in games or with prolonged use of the camera.
- 📦 Take up space in memory – some packets of wallpaper weigh up to 100-200 MB, which is critical for devices with 64 GB of storage.
In addition, live wallpapers are often installed along with themes from the MIUI Theme Store, which may contain advertising modules or background services, such as popular themes like Xiaomi's Super Wallpapers are integrated into the system and not removed by standard methods.
⚠️ Warning: If after installing live wallpaper, the smartphone spontaneously reboots or emits an error com.android.systemui, this is a sign of a conflict with the shell.
Method 1: Remove via standard MIUI settings
The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI tools.It is suitable for most live wallpapers installed by the user or downloaded from the MIUI Theme Store.
Instructions:
- Open Settings → Wallpaper (or Themes → Wallpaper on older versions of MIUI).
- Choose the Live Wallpaper tab (if any) or scroll to the My Wallpaper section.
- Find the animated background you want to remove and hold it with your finger for 2-3 seconds.
- In the menu that appears, click Remove (or the basket icon).
- Confirm the action if the system requests.
If there is no Delete option, then the wallpaper is system (for example, built-in Super Wallpapers for Mi 11 or Redmi K50).
Check if they are not system-specific.|Reboot your smartphone and try again.|Try to delete through "Themes" → "My downloads"|Use third-party applications (see Method 3)-->
Method 2: Disconnect via "Themes" (for wallpaper from MIUI Theme Store)
Many live wallpapers are installed along with themes from the official Xiaomi store, and even if you delete the theme itself, the animation can stay in the system.
Steps:
- Go to Settings → Themes.
- Open the tab My themes or downloads.
- Find the theme from which the live wallpaper came, and click on it.
- At the bottom of the screen, select Remove (if the theme is active, apply the standard one first).
- After removing the theme, restart the device – this will clear the animation cache.
If the theme is not deleted (for example, it gives an error that you could not delete the package), try:
- 🔄 Reset the theme to standard in settings.
- 📱 Clear the "Themes" application data in Settings → Annexes → Application management → Topics → Warehouse → Clear the data.
⚠️ Attention: Data cleanup of the Themes app will remove all downloaded themes and wallpapers, including static ones!
Standard Super Wallpapers from Xiaomi| Downloaded from MIUI Theme Store| Installed via APK| Created in third-party apps | Don't know-->
Method 3: Removal through third-party applications (for stubborn wallpaper)
If the live wallpaper is not removed by standard methods, third-party software will help.
| Annex | What's the point? | Link (Google Play) | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallpaper Changer | Removal of user wallpaper | Download | It works without root, but requires storage permissions |
| Live Wallpaper Picker | Disconnection of system live wallpaper | Download | Allows you to drop the wallpaper to standard |
| SD Maid | Deletion of residual wallpaper files | Download | Requires root for complete cleaning |
Instructions for Wallpaper Changer:
- Install and open the application.
- Go to the Wallpaper Management section.
- Select the live wallpaper you want to remove and click Remove.
- Confirm the action and restart the device.
System wallpapers (e.g., Super Wallpapers) may need to be disabled via ADB (see Method 4).
💡
If you have your wallpaper back up after you delete it, check the /sdcard/MIUI/wallpaper/ folder, sometimes backup files are left there, and you can manually delete them through any file manager.
Method 4: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)
Some live wallpapers (such as those built into MIUI 14/15) are not removed by standard methods, and Android Debug Bridge (ADB) – a low-level system management tool – will help in this case.
Step-by-step:
- Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. Click on MIUI Version 7 times until you become a developer.
USB debugging
Settings → Additional → For Developers
command-line
Terminal
adb shell
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.wallpaper.livepicker
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.maml(This will disable the system modules of live wallpaper).
Reset the device.
If after completing the commands, the wallpaper remained, try an alternative method:
adb shell cmd overlay list | grep wallpaper
adb shell cmd overlay disable [name of the wallpaper from list]⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB If you're not sure what you're doing, skip this or see a specialist, and if you're not sure what you're doing, some visual effects may disappear after you turn off the system wallpaper. MIUI.
What if the ADB does not recognize the device?
Method 5: Reset to factory settings (extreme case)
If none of these methods work, you're left with a complete reset, which is a radical solution that will delete all the data, including apps, photos and settings, and only use it as a last resort!
How to reset:
- Back up your important data (via Settings → About Phone → Backup or manually).
- Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.
- Select Settings Reset.
- Confirm the action and wait for the reboot (it will take 5-10 minutes).
Solution: Use SD Maid for deep cleaning or turn off wallpaper via ADB.