How to increase icons on the Xiaomi desktop: from standard settings to hidden tricks

Small icons on Xiaomi’s screen can be uncomfortable, especially if you have a big screen or vision problems. Fortunately, MIUI offers several ways to scale interface elements, but not all of them are obvious. In this article, we’ll break down all the available icon augmentation methods, including hidden developer settings and workarounds for older versions of firmware.

It's important to understand that the customization options are dependent on the MIUI version and the smartphone model. For example, on the Redmi Note 12 with MIUI 14, the algorithm is different from the Poco X3 on MIUI 12.5. We took these nuances into account and prepared universal solutions that work on 90% of the brand's devices. If your smartphone does not support standard resizing, there are alternatives in the article.

1. Standard resizing of icons through MIUI settings

The easiest way is to use the built-in system options. It works on most modern devices (Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 11/12, Poco F4/F5) with MIUI 12.5 and later.

Open Settings → Screen → Text and display size. Here you'll see the Element Size slider -- move it to the right to zoom in on icons, text, and other interface elements. Changes apply instantly, but note: it affects all system components, not just the desktop.

• ✅ Suitable for: MIUI 12.5+ (including HyperOS)
• ⚠️ Limitation: Changes the scale of the ALL interface, not just icons
• 🔄 Alternative: If there is no slider, update the firmware or use the methods below

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Redmi) 9A) This option may not be available due to a simplified version. MIUI. In this case, go to the section about the developer settings or third-party launchers.

2. Change of the desktop grid (number of icons)

If you want to make the icons less dense, not so much bigger, you need to reduce the number of rows and columns on the screen, and that will indirectly increase their visual size through the space available.

Press the empty space on the desktop → select Screen Settings → Desktop Grid. Here you can choose between 4×5 and 5×6. The fewer numbers, the larger the icons will look. For example, the 4×5 option will make them 20-30% larger than 5×6.

This method doesn't change the physical size of the icons, but by reducing the number of icons on the screen, it creates a magnification effect, especially useful for users with thumbs or low vision.

3. Developer settings: hidden scaling parameters

For advanced users, there's a way to fine-tune it through developer mode, and that allows you to change the screen density (DPI), which is the parameter that determines the size of the interface elements. Careful: the wrong values can make the text blurry!

Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and 7 times click on the MIUI Version. Then go back to the main settings → Additional → For developers → Find the Minimum Width (dp) option. It is usually 360 or 411 by default. Reduce this value by 10-15% (e.g., 411 to 360) to increase the icons.

Activate the Developer Mode

Remember the current DPI value

Reduce the value by no more than 20%

Reset the device

Check the readability of the text-->

⚠️ Attention: Change DPI It can cause some applications (such as banking or gaming) to display incorrectly. If the interface becomes unreadable after the changes, return the standard value and restart the smartphone.

4.Using third-party launchers for flexible setup

If the built-in methods are not satisfied, install an alternative launcher.

• 📱 Nova Launcher – allows you to adjust the size of icons from 70% before 130%, and also change the grid to 10×10
• 🎨 Apex Launcher – supports adaptive icons and custom sizes
• ⚡ Microsoft Launcher – a simple interface with scale adjustment
• 🔧 Action Launcher – Advanced settings, including changing the shape of icons

After installing the launcher, go to its settings (usually long desktop press → Launcher settings → Icon Size). In Nova Launcher, for example, the path will be: Settings → Appearance → Icon Size.

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Before installing the launcher, back up your current desktop via Settings → Applications → Default Launcher → Backup. This will help you quickly return the standard interface if something goes wrong.

5. Manually modifying icons via ADB (for power users)

If you want to precisely manage the size of your icons without changing the rest of the interface, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a computer connection and basic command line knowledge.

First, enable USB Debugging in the developer settings (see Section 3). Then connect the smartphone to the PC, open the terminal and enter:

adb shell settings put secure icon_size [meaning]

Where [value] is a number from 80 (minimum size) to 130 (maximum size). For example, to increase by 20%, use:

adb shell settings put secure icon_size 120

⚠️ Note: Not all versions MIUI Support this command. On some devices, it may fail or cause a launcher to crash. Before experimenting, create a restore point in Settings. → System system → Backup.

Features for older versions of MIUI (up to 12.5)

On devices with MIUI 11 and older (e.g. Redmi Note 8, Mi 9), standard ways to resize icons are often absent.

• 🔄 Update your firmware to the latest available version via Settings → Updating the system
• 📲 Use themes: Some topics from the topic → Online have enlarged default icons (such as themes for seniors)
• 🛠️ Factory reset: Sometimes hidden options appear after a reset (but this will delete all data!)
• 🔧 Patches through Magisk: modules of the type MIUI Mods add additional interface settings

For the Redmi 4X/5A and other low-end models with MIUI 9/10, the only reliable way is to install a third-party launcher (see section 4).

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On devices older than 2019 (MIUI 11 and below), standard icon resizing is often not available. Priority solutions: firmware updates → third-party launcher → themes with large elements.

7. Additional Tips for Improved Visibility

If the increase in icons did not solve the problem, try these additional settings:

• 🌓 Dark theme: improves contrast. Included in Settings → Screen. → Dark subject.
• 🔍 Enlargement of font: Settings → Screen. → Font size (does not affect icons, but improves readability)
• 🎨 Color filters: for color blind or visually impaired in Settings → Special opportunities → Color correction
• 📱 Scaling gestures: triple touch for zoom (configured in Special Opportunities) → Increase)

For users with severe vision problems, MIUI has a "Big Text" mode (Settings → Special Opportunities → Large Text) that increases the ALL interface to 200%, but can break the layout in some applications.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing icons on Xiaomi