Installing shortcuts on the Xiaomi POCO desktop: the complete guide

Modern Xiaomi smartphones, including the POCO sub-brand, offer users the flexibility to personalize the interface. However, the standard shell of MIUI or its successor HyperOS sometimes hides obvious features or changes the logic of the work, which causes difficulties for device owners. Often users are faced with the situation when after installing a new application, its icon does not appear on the home screen, but hides in the menu.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all the ways to quickly display the desired shortcut to the desktop of your phone. We will look not only at standard applications, but also at creating links to websites, as well as adding widgets that make using the gadget more convenient and efficient.

Understanding how Xiaomi’s firmware-based Android shortcut management works will help you clean up the digital space, learning not just to move icons, but also to create shortcuts for specific actions, saving time in everyday smartphone use.

Basic principles of working with icons in MIUI and HyperOS

Xiaomi shells have a unique shortcut storage architecture that is different from pure Android. By default, many settings are minimalist-oriented, so new programs may not be displayed immediately after installation.

To understand where to look for missing items, you need to know the difference between all the menus of applications and desktops: in the first case, the full list of installed software is stored, in the second case, only the user's favorite shortcuts are stored.

It is important to consider that depending on the firmware version, menus may be called differently, but the logic remains the same: MIUI security sometimes blocks shortcuts for applications downloaded from an off-site store, requiring additional confirmation.

⚠️ Note: If you use a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher), Xiaomi’s standard settings may not apply and shortcut management will take place through the launcher’s interface itself.

To access the main display options, go to Settings → Desktop, where the key switches that affect how your icons look and where they are located are located, and ignoring these settings often leads to confusion.

Set up automatic shortcuts after installation

The most common question is why new programs don't show up automatically, and Xiaomi and POCO have a switchboard in their system settings, and if it's turned off, you'll have to manually search for each new app in the general list.

To fix this, open your smartphone settings and find Desktop. In the settings list that opens, you must locate the option “Add shortcuts to new apps to the desktop.” Activating this switch ensures that any new program immediately gets its icon on the home screen.

If you prefer to keep your desktop clean and add only the essentials manually, it's best to leave it off, which avoids visual noise and clutter.

It is worth noting that once you change this setting, the already installed applications will not automatically appear. The option only applies to software that will be installed after the feature is turned on.

Manually creating a shortcut from the menu of all applications

If you're automatically creating something, or you want to display a specific program, you use a manual method, which is a basic skill that every POCO owner should know, and it's simple, but it has its own nuances depending on the type of menu display.

First, open the menu of all apps by swiping up from the bottom of the screen (or pressing the corresponding button if button navigation is enabled). Find the desired application in the list. Hold your finger on the program icon for 1-2 seconds until you feel a slight vibration or see animation.

Then, without letting go of your finger, drag the icon to the desktop area, and the system will switch you to the home screen, where you can choose a free place to place, and release your finger to pin the label.

• 📱 Press the icon in the app menu before the vibration appears.
• 📲 Without letting go, drag the element to the free screen area.
• ✅ Release your finger to fix the label at the selected point.

In some cases, if there is no free space on the screen, the system will suggest creating a new page or putting an item in an existing folder, which helps to save the structure and not lose important shortcuts among many other files.

💡

If the app icon is grey or has a lock icon, it may be hidden in Second Space mode or protected by the application password.

Creating shortcuts for websites through the browser

Often users need quick access to their favorite sites without having to open a browser and enter an address each time, and Web shortcuts are ideal for this function, which works through standard browsers like Chrome or MI Browser.

Open your browser on your Xiaomi and go to the site you want to add. Click on the menu (usually the three dots in the top right corner). In the drop-down list, find the item "Add to the home screen" or "Create a shortcut."

The system will suggest that you confirm the name of the label and its location, and after you confirm it, you will see an icon on your desktop that will immediately open the page you want to click on, which is especially convenient for online banking, social networks or news portals.

Using such shortcuts allows you to turn the site into a kind of full-fledged application, sometimes even with the ability to work offline, if the site supports the technology. PWA (Progressive Web Apps: This saves your phone memory, as it doesn’t require heavy installation. APK-file.

Adding and configuring widgets on the desktop

Widgets are not just static images, but dynamic elements that display current information, such as weather, currency, calendar or music. POCO owners can significantly improve the functionality of the device by using this tool correctly.

To add a widget, make a long tap (click) over an empty space on the desktop. In the bottom menu, select "Widgets" (or "Add widget").

Find the widget you want, like "Clock" or "Weather." Click on it and select the size that best fits into your screen layout. After selecting, drag the item to the desired location and release your finger.

• 🕒 Clock and calendar – for a quick look at the time and date.
• 🌤 Weather – displaying temperature and forecast in real time.
• 🎵 Music – Player control without logging in to the app.
• 🔋 Battery – monitoring the charge of the device and connected gadgets.

⚠️ Note: Some widgets require a constant Internet connection to update data.

Many widgets in HyperOS support deep customization. By clicking on the added widget, you can often change its color, font style or display information to match your wallpaper perfectly.

Solving the Problems of Label Disappearance

Sometimes users are faced with a nasty situation: the label disappeared from the screen spontaneously. This can be caused by a launcher failure, system update or accidental removal. Xiaomi has several ways to recover what was lost.

The first thing to check is if the app is hidden, and in some design themes or Do Not Disturb modes, icons can become transparent or disappear, and try changing the theme to a standard one or restarting the device.

If the shortcut is missing after the update, the launcher's permissions may have gone wrong. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, search System Launcher (or Launcher3) and click Clear Cache. Important: Don't confuse it with Clear All Data, as this will reset the location of all icons.

In rare cases, reinstallation of a problematic application helps. If the site shortcut stops opening the page, delete it and recreate it through the browser, because URL-The address may have changed or the security certificate may have become obsolete.

💡

Resetting the launcher settings to factory settings returns the standard icon layout, but does not delete your apps and personal data.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)