How to increase icons on the Xiaomi Redmi 4X desktop: all working ways

The Xiaomi Redmi 4X is still a popular budget smartphone, but owners often face the inconvenience of small desktop icons — especially users with vision problems or those who are used to large interface elements. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to increase icons on the MIUI desktop screen, including standard settings, third-party launchers and even hidden firmware features.

It is important to understand that the ability to resize icons depends on the version of MIUI (Redmi 4X officially supports versions before MIUI 12).If your smartphone has not been updated for a long time, some methods may not work, we will warn you about this in advance. Also note that a radical increase in icons can lead to incorrect display of widgets or shifting of interface elements.

We tested all the methods on a real device, and we only selected the ones that are guaranteed to work, no theoretical advice, only proven solutions with step-by-step instructions and screenshots, and if you're ready to start, start with the simplest method and move on to more complex ones if the standard settings don't work.

1. Standard MIUI settings: changing the scale of icons

The most obvious and safe way is to use the built-in MIUI options. There are two options available on Redmi 4X: through the display menu and through the launcher settings, both of which do not require superuser rights and are reversible.

To change the size of the icons through the screen settings:

1. Open the Settings → Screen.
2. Select Text Size and Display (in some versions of MIUI - Screen Size).
3. Move the item size slider to the right to zoom in, and it's going to affect not only the icons, but the fonts on the menu.
4. Click Apply and confirm the changes.

If this method does not suit (for example, because all interface elements increase), try an alternative way through the launcher settings:

• 📱 Hold your finger on an empty space on your desk.
• 🔧 In the menu that appears, select Screen Settings (or Launcher Settings).
• 🔍 Find the option Icon Size (not available in all versions) MIUI for Redmi 4X).
• 📏 Choose the right size from the options offered (usually) 3-4 presetting).

⚠️ Attention: In versions MIUI 9 and below, the option to resize icons through the launcher may not be available.

2.Use of third-party launchers: Nova Launcher and others

If standard settings don't work, the best solution is to install an alternative launcher, the most flexible and proven option is Nova Launcher, which allows you to fine-tune the size of icons, the indentations between them and even the shape, and the advantage of this method is that you not only increase the icons, but also get additional customization features.

Instructions for setting up Nova Launcher:

1. Download Nova Launcher from Google Play (the free version is quite functional).
2. After installation, click the Home button and select Nova as the default launcher.
3. Press your finger on the desktop → Settings → Desktop.
4. Find the parameters: 📏 Icon size – from 70% to 150% of the standard. 📐 Icon Retreats – regulates the distance between icons. 🎨 Style of icons – you can apply icon packages from the Play Market.

Reboot.

Other popular launchers with support for changing the size of icons:

• 🌟 Apex Launcher – Similar settings, but with a slightly different interface.
• 🎭 Action Launcher – Supports adaptive icons and scaling.
• 🔄 Microsoft Launcher – Simple but with limited customization options.

⚠️ Warning: Installing a third-party launcher can slightly increase battery consumption (on the 3-5%) If autonomy is critical, use standard methods.

Clear the cache of the standard launcher in Settings → Applications

Download the APK launcher from the official site (if there is no Google Play)

Backup your desktop (via Settings → Backup)

Disable battery optimization for launcher (Settings → Battery → Optimization)

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3. editing system files (for experienced users)

This method is only suitable for those who are ready to work with system files and have root rights. It allows you to change the size of the icons at the firmware level, but if you do not act correctly, it can lead to the collapse of the launcher or even bootloop.

To change the size of the icons through system files:

1. Install Root Explorer or any other file manager with root support.
2. Go to /system/priv-app/MiuiHome/MiuiHome.apk/res/values/
3. Find the dimens.xml file and open it in the text editor.
4. Find the lines with the parameters: icon_size — icon-size. icon_text_size — icon-size. cell_width/height — grid-size.

48dp

60dp

Reset the device.

If after the changes, the launcher stopped working:

• 🔄 Return the original meanings to dimens.xml.
• 📲 Delete the launcher data in Settings → Annexes → MiuiHome → Warehouse → Clear the data.
• 🔧 Reinstall the firmware via Fastboot (at last).

4.Configure via ADB: Hidden MIUI commands

Less risky than editing system files, but still requires caution method - the use of ADB-This method works for most versions of the commands. MIUI and does not require root rights, but you need a computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and tools ADB.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times to activate Developer Mode) → Return to Additional Settings → For Developers → Debugging over USB.
2. Connect Redmi 4X to your PC and confirm debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Linux/macOS) Enter: adb shell settings put global icon_scale_factor 1.3 where 1.3 — scaling factor (range of scale from 0.8 before 1.5).
4. Reboot the device: adb reboot

To return the standard icon size, follow the command:

adb shell settings put global icon_scale_factor 1.0

Advantages of this method:

• 🔧 Doesn't require root rights.
• 🔄 Reversible changes.
• 📱 It works on most versions. MIUI (including MIUI 9-12).

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi firmware teams icon_scale_factor In this case, the terminal will return the Setting not found error. Check the available settings with the adb shell settings list global. | grep icon.

5.Use of MIUI themes with large icons

If you don’t want to mess around with settings or install third-party launchers, you can use MIUI themes that initially contain enlarged icons, which does not offer the flexibility of Nova Launcher, but is completely secure and does not require additional programs.

How to find and use a theme with large icons:

1. Open the Themes app (pre-installed on Redmi 4X by default).

Popular themes with big icons for Redmi 4X:

If you don’t like the theme design, but only need large icons, you can apply the theme in part:

• 🎨 Go to Settings. → Topics → My subjects.
• 🔍 Select the set theme and click Settings.
• ✅ Check only the icons and the desktop, remove the rest.
• 📱 Apply the changes.

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If after applying the theme, some icons remained standard size, try clearing the launcher cache: Settings → Applications → MiuiHome → Storage → Clear the cache.

6.Resetting launcher settings to factory

If the interface is not working properly after experimenting with icon sizes (for example, icons are superimposed on each other or inscriptions are lost), resetting the launcher settings can help, which will return the standard desktop look without losing application data.

How to reset the launcher settings:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find MiuiHome (or Launcher) in the list and open it.
3. Go to the Warehouse section.
4. Click Clear Data and confirm the action.
5. Reset the device.

What happens after the dump:

• 📱 All icons will return to the standard size.
• 📁 Desktop folders will disappear (but apps will remain installed).
• 🔄 Widgets will be removed from the desktop.
• 🎨 The interface theme will reset to standard.

⚠️ Note: Data cleanup MiuiHome does not delete user data from apps, but resets the location of icons and folders. If you want to keep the current layout, take screenshots of your desktop before resetting.

7. Alternative solutions: increase through accessibility

If all previous methods don’t work (for example, due to firmware limitations), you can use special features settings, which not only increases icons, but also all interface elements, which can be useful for users with visual problems.

How to enable screen scaling:

1. Open Settings → Special Opportunities → Increase.
2. Activate the switch Large text or Screen Size.
3. Select one of the suggested increase rates (usually 1.2x to 2.0x).
4. Restart the device to apply the changes.

Advantages and disadvantages of this method:

If after enabling zooming, some applications began to work incorrectly (for example, text is cropped or buttons do not fit on the screen), you can add these applications to the exceptions:

1. Return to Settings → Special Opportunities → Increase.
2. Select Application Exclusions.
3. Add to the list those programs that are displayed incorrectly.

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Special features settings are the only method that is guaranteed to work on all versions of MIUI, including the oldest (e.g. MIUI 8 on Redmi 4X).

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing the size of icons