How to permanently remove the wallpaper carousel in Xiaomi: from simple ways to radical

The wallpaper carousel on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is one of the most controversial features of the MIUI shell. On the one hand, it offers quick access to changing background images, and on the other, it constantly eats away battery power, brakes the system and annoys with pop-up notifications about new wallpapers, especially on budget models with limited resources, where every percentage of performance counts.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can disable wallpaper carousels, from standard settings to hidden commands for power users. Importantly, the methods work on MIUI 14 and MIUI 15 (including global and Chinese versions), but some may require ADB or root rights. If you’re not ready for radical measures, start with the first three, they don’t require technical skills.

We warn you right away: Xiaomi regularly changes the location of settings in new versions of the firmware, so if you do not have a menu item, check the relevance of MIUI in the Settings → About Phone section. For convenience, we have indicated alternative paths and universal solutions that work even after updates.

1. disable the carousel through standard MIUI settings

The safest and most obvious way is to use the built-in options. Unfortunately, Xiaomi does not provide a direct switch to turn off the carousel, but you can limit its activity through several menus.

Try this path first:

1. Open Settings → Wallpaper (or Themes in some versions).
2. Slap the gear icon (⚙️) top-right.
3. Find Auto Update Wallpaper or Wallpaper Recommendations and turn it off.
4. Return to the main wallpaper menu and check if the carousel at the bottom of the screen has disappeared.

If this method does not work, try an alternative:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 In search, type Themes (or Themes for the global version).
• 🚫 Open the app and click Stop, then Disable (if available).
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Attention: Disabling the Themes app can cause theme and widget store to malfunction. If interface artifacts appear after the reboot, return the settings back.

On some models (such as the POCO F5 or Redmi Note 12), the wallpaper carousel is integrated into the MIUI Launcher.

1. Click the empty space on the main screen.
2. Select the Home Screen Settings.
3. Find the option to Show wallpaper recommendations and deactivate it.

2.Use of Developer Mode for Hidden Settings

If standard methods don't work, you can try turning off the carousel through developer mode, which doesn't require root rights, but it does require care.

First, activate the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap the MIUI version several times until you become a developer!
3. Return to the main Settings menu, and a new section for developers will appear.

Now, follow the following steps:

• 🛠️ Open the Settings. → For developers.
• 🔍 Find the option to Limit Background Processes and select No Background Processes (or Maximum 1 Process).
• 📵 Scroll down and turn off Windows animation, transition animation and animation scale (this will speed up the system).
• 🔄 Reset the device.

These adjustments won't remove the carousel completely, but they will significantly reduce its activity and frequency of occurrence, and more radical measures will be needed to completely shut down the carousel.

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If after disabling background processes, some applications stopped updating (for example, messengers), return the setting to the Standard Limit value and try another method.

3. Disconnection via ADB (no root)

For users who are willing to work with ADB (Android Debug Bridge, there's a way to disable the wallpaper carousel through the command line. This method doesn't require root rights, but it requires a computer and a computer. USB-cable.

First, prepare everything you need:

• 💻 Install. ADB Tools on PC.
• 📱 Turn on Debugging. USB In Settings → For developers.
• 🔌 Connect your phone to your computer and confirm your trust in the device.

Now run the following commands in the terminal (or cmd for Windows):

adb shell pm hide com.miui.miwallpaper


adb shell pm hide com.android.themes

If the commands fail (Operation not allowed error), try the alternative:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.miwallpaper


adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.themes

Once you've done the commands, restart the phone. The wallpaper carousel should disappear. To get it back, use:

adb shell pm enable com.miui.miwallpaper


adb shell pm enable com.android.themes

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi firmware, disabling com.android.themes can cause a theme store to malfunction.If errors occur after the reboot, return the settings with the enable command.

Install ADB Tools on PC|

Enable debugging over USB on your phone |

Connect the phone to the computer |

Allow debugging on the smartphone screen |

4. Radical solution: removal through root

If you are willing to go to extreme lengths and have root rights (like Magisk), you can completely remove the system applications that are responsible for the wallpaper carousel. This method irreversibly deletes the system files, so use it only if other methods have not helped.

You'll need:

• 📱 Smartphone with unlocked bootloader and root rights.
• 🛠️ Any file manager with root support (e.g., Root Explorer or Root Explorer) FX File Explorer).
• 🔄 Backup of data (in case of failure).

Instructions for removal:

1. Open the root manager and go to /system/priv-app/.
2. Find and delete the following folders: MiuiWallpaper ThemeManager (if any) WallpaperCarousel (on some firmware)

/system/app/

Themes

Settings → Storage → Clean the cache

Reboot the phone.

Once removed, the wallpaper carousel will disappear forever, but you will also lose access to the theme store. If you need wallpaper from Xiaomi, you will have to restore deleted files through a backup or reflash the device.

5. Alternative launchers: a workaround

If none of these methods worked, or you're afraid to interfere with system files, install a launcher to the sides, and it won't remove the wallpaper carousel from the system, but it will hide it from your eyes.

The best options for Xiaomi:

After installing an alternative launcher:

1. Press the Home button and select the new launcher as the main one.
2. Click the blank space on the screen and set up widgets/wallpaper through the launcher menu.
3. Turn off the standard MIUI Launcher in Settings → Applications (optional).

This is root-free and completely secure, and the main disadvantage is that some Xiaomi features (like dual apps or Read Mode) may become less accessible.

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Alternative launchers are the only way to completely remove the wallpaper carousel without interference, and are suitable for users who don't want to risk the stability of the phone.

6. MIUI Update: When the Problem Solves Itself

Sometimes the wallpaper carousel is due to bugs in a particular version of MIUI. Xiaomi regularly releases updates that fix such problems.

How to update firmware:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click Check for updates.
3. If a new version is available, download it and install it.

If the update does not come automatically:

• 🌍 Check the firmware region: sometimes updates are released first for China, then for the Global and European versions.
• 🔗 Download the firmware manually from the official website MIUI Downloads and install through System Update → Three points. → Select a firmware file.
• 📡 If the update is “hanging” on the download – connect to another network (for example, mobile Internet instead of Wi-Fi).

After updating, the wallpaper carousel can:

• ✅ Disappear completely (if it was a bug).
• 🔄 Return, but with new settings (check Wallpaper section) → Settings).
• 🚫 Stay unchanged (then use other methods from this article).

⚠️ Note: When you manually install firmware, never choose the Clean All option in the Mi Flash Tool unless you want to lose all data.

7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

When trying to remove the wallpaper carousel, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

Problem 1: After the disabling, the themes lost the wallpaper on the lock screen.

• 🔧 Solution: Set wallpaper manually through Settings → Lock screen → Wallpaper.
• 🖼️ If wallpaper does not apply - reset the launcher settings (Settings) → Annexes → MIUI Launcher → Warehouse → Clear the data).

Problem 2: ADB-The commands are not working (device unauthorized error).

• 🔑 Solution: Check if debugging is enabled by USB Have you confirmed your trust in your computer on your phone screen.
• 🔄 Reconnect. USB-Cable and restart adb with adb kill-server && adb start-server.

Problem 3: After deleting system files through the root phone, it doesn’t turn on.

• 🛠️ Solution: Go to Recovery Mode and run Wipe Cache. If it doesn't work, run your phone through Fastboot.
• 📱 In the future, do a backup through TWRP before deleting system files.

Problem 4: The wallpaper carousel returned after resetting the settings.

• ⚙️ Solution: This is normal behavior -- resets all system applications back. Repeat the steps to disable (ADB root).
• 📲 To avoid the problem, write down all the commands executed before reset or backup through Titanium Backup (requires root).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions