Personalizing the interface is one of the first steps that makes a new smartphone truly yours. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often want to see their favorite shots immediately after unlocking the screen or on the main screen of the system. However, the standard procedure for installing wallpaper in the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS has its own nuances that can confuse the inexperienced user.
Unlike many other Android smartphones, where the selection of a picture from a gallery automatically suggests that you set it to the lock screen and desktop, the Xiaomi ecosystem shares these concepts. The system requires clear indication of where exactly the image should be applied. This is done for flexibility of setting, but often raises questions: why did the photo stand only on the lock screen and the background of the desktop remained the same?
In this article, we will take a look at all the available ways to install static and dynamic images, learn how to properly activate Live Wallpaper, how to use widgets to create slideshows, and what file formats the system supports without loss of quality. Understanding these processes will allow you to create a unique visual atmosphere of your device.
Basic installation method through a standard gallery
The most common and quick way to change the background is to use the built-in Gallery app. The algorithm is very simple, but requires careful attention during the final confirmation stage. First, open the app and find the desired image in the Camera or Downloads album. Make sure the photo is sufficiently resolution, otherwise it may look blurry on the screen.
Once you open the image, click the three dots in the lower right corner or swipe up to see the action menu. In the options list, you need to select Set as wallpaper. This is where the big point is: the system will offer multiple uses for the picture. If you just click "Apply", the photo will most often only stand on the lock screen.
To get a photo to appear on the desktop (main screen), you need to choose the option Desktop or Desktop Wallpaper. In some versions of the firmware, combined use is available, but for static photos, it is better to choose the target purpose, which ensures that the application icons will read well against the selected background.
⚠️ Warning: If the photo looks stretched or cropped after installation, the system will automatically prompt framing.Don't ignore this step, as the proportions of the smartphone screen and the original shot often don't match.
For users who appreciate minimalism, it is important to remember contrast. app icons in the MIUI shell are white or black by default, so too motley background can make the interface unreadable. It is better to choose images with a uniform texture or darkened photos for better ergonomics.
Use of the Application Topics for Extended Functions
The second powerful customization tool is the Theme System App, which is pre-installed on all smartphones of the brand and provides access not only to the themes of the design, but also to a vast library of wallpaper, which is especially relevant if you want to install a photo that is already optimized for your screen resolution, or find new ideas for the background.
Inside the app, go to the wallpaper tab below, and you have a huge catalog of images divided into categories: nature, space, architecture, abstraction, and the thing about this section is that all images are pre-screened for compliance with Xiaomi quality standards, and you can preview how the image will look on the lock screen and desktop.
In addition, the Themes app allows you to upload your own images through the Local or Plus button, and once you download the photos from the device's memory, it passes through the built-in editor, where you can apply filters, change the brightness, or add effects before you install the picture on the desktop.
- 🎨 A huge selection of professionally selected high-resolution backgrounds.
- 🖼️ Ability to preview the background together with icons and widgets before installation.
- 🔄 Automatic change of wallpaper on schedule (function "Carousel wallpapers»).
- 📥 Upload your own photos with the ability to quickly edit inside the application.
It is important to note that the Themes app is regularly updated through the GetApps store. New versions often bring improved compression algorithms and new categories of backgrounds. If the standard gallery does not give the desired result, turning to this tool is the best solution.
What is a wallpaper carousel?
Setting up a slideshow through Wallpaper widget
For those who can't decide on a single image, there's a great solution, the Wallpaper widget (or Wallpaper Carousel depending on the software version), which allows you to turn your desktop or lock screen into a dynamic gallery, and the images will change automatically at a given time interval or every time you turn on the screen.
To activate this feature, you need to go to the desktop editing mode. To do this, make a long tap (tap and hold) on the free area of the screen or pinch with two fingers to see all the pages. In the lower menu, select Widgets. In the list that opens, find the Tools category or immediately look for the Wallpaper widget.
Once you add a widget to the screen, click on it to set it up, and the system will suggest you choose the source of the images: this can be a specific folder in the gallery, an album from the Mi Cloud cloud, or an online directory. You can select several folders at the same time, creating a mix of family photos and landscapes.
| Setup parameter | Description of function | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Shift interval | The time through which the picture changes | Every screen switching on |
| Source | The Chosen (Favorites) | |
| Order. | Slides switching algorithm | Random (Random) |
| Effects. | Animation of the transition between photos | Dissolution or Shift |
Using a desktop widget requires slightly more CPU resources than a static image, but on current Redmi Note models and Mi flagships, this is completely unnoticed. However, if you have an energy-saving theme installed, the system can limit the frequency of updates to the widget to save power.
⚠️ Attention: When choosing a large number of high-resolution photos for a slideshow on the desktop, the consumption of RAM may increase slightly. 4 GB RAM and less is recommended not to exceed 50-100 photo-folder.
☑️ Checking slideshow settings
Installation of live wallpaper and video backgrounds
Modern. AMOLED-Xiaomi smartphone screens are ideal for playing live wallpapers, which are video files or animated scenes that respond to touch or just play back in cycles.
The built-in Themes app contains the Live Wallpaper section, where certified animations are collected, optimized for minimal energy consumption, and to install them, just click on the one you like and select Apply -> Desktop. The system will download the necessary components.
If you want to set your own video as a background, it's harder to do this with standard tools. You'll need a third-party app like the Video Live Wallpaper available on Google Play. Once you install the video and set up the app, it will create a special wallpaper file that the system recognizes as standard.
- 🎥 Live wallpaper enlivens the interface, but consumes more battery power.
- 🔋 Nana OLED-screens are better to use wallpaper with a predominance of black color.
- ⚙️ To install video backgrounds, storage access rights are often required.
- 📱 Animation can be turned off in power saving mode automatically.
Consider that active desktop animation can create micro-latency when you scroll through pages on older CPU models. If you notice a slowdown in the interface, it’s better to go back to a static image or simplify animation.
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Advice: To maximize the effect on AMOLED-On screens, choose live wallpapers where black is real black (#000000).This not only looks deeper, but also saves battery power, as the pixels in such areas simply turn off.
Solving quality and display problems
Often, users are faced with a situation where the installed photo looks worse than in the gallery, this is due to compression algorithms. The MIUI shell and HyperOS can aggressively compress images for speed. To minimize losses, it is important to use files in the right formats.
The optimal format is JPG with a quality of 90-100% or PNG for lossless graphics. HEIC format (standard for iPhone) can be converted upon installation, which sometimes leads to artifacts. If the quality is critical, pre-convert the photo to PNG through any online service before installation.
Another common problem is the shifting of the image after installation, which is due to the difference in the ratio of the screen to the photo. The system cuts the edges automatically. To avoid this, open the photo in the editor before installing and frame it according to the proportions of your screen (for example, 19.5:9 or 20:9).
Recommended permission for modern Xiaomi:
1080 x 2340 pixels (FullHD+)
1220 x 2640 pixels (1.5K)
1440 x 3200 pixels (WQHD+)Also worth checking is the theme settings. Some third-party themes downloaded from the store have their own wallpapers that override the system. If the photo doesn't get set, try temporarily switching to a standard Classic or Default theme.
Features of work in HyperOS mode
With the release of the new HyperOS operating system (which replaces MIUI in global versions), the personalization process has become even deeper, there is support for layers and more complex interactions between widgets and wallpaper, the installation principle remained the same, but the feature “Infinite screen” has been added.
HyperOS has improved deep dimming, and if you use a dark theme, the system can automatically darken bright wallpapers to keep your eyes from blinding, which can be adjusted in the display settings, and the rendering engine has been updated to allow you to put HDR photos on your desktop with extended dynamic range.
An important change has been the integration with the ecosystem: Photos installed on the desktop of a smartphone can sync with a Pad tablet or even Xiaomi Smart Display smart displays, if the corresponding option is enabled in the Mi Account.
⚠️ Note: When upgrading to HyperOS, old live wallpaper created for MIUI, They may stop working or cause instability. Remove them and reinstall them through the updated Topics app.
The new system is also stricter on application permissions. If the wallpaper widget stopped updating after the update, check the autorun settings and permissions for the Gallery and Themes app in the Settings -> Apps section.
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The main advantage of HyperOS in the context of wallpaper is the smart adaptation of the color range of widgets for the installed photo, which creates a single harmonious interface style without manually adjusting each element.