Home News Xiaomi Redmi 9: all working methods

Did you change the theme on your Xiaomi Redmi 9, but the new color scheme or icons were uncomfortable? Or did the interface look different after the system update? MIUI-You can use a variety of methods, from simple settings to complete resetting. In this article, we will discuss all current methods, including hidden functions and commands for experienced users.

It’s important to understand that Redmi 9 (M2003J15SC/M2003J15SS models) runs on a shell-based MIUI where theme is integrated at the system level. This means that some changes can affect not only the visual design, but also system fonts, animations, or even the layout of menu items. If you encounter bugs after changing the theme — for example, incorrect notifications or icons in the control panel disappear — returning to the factory theme often solves the problem.

Before you start, check the MIUI version: go to Settings → About → MIUI version. On Redmi 9, MIUI 12-14 versions (depending on the region) remain current, and the paths in the menu may differ from this. All instructions below are tested on the latest stable builds.

1. Return the standard theme through MIUI settings

The easiest way to do this is to return a factory theme directly from the themes menu, which works if you've installed the theme from a store. MIUI Themes or through APK-file, but did not make changes to system files.

Open the Topic app (the icon with the brush on your desktop). If it is not available, search the system (Conductor → Search → “Themes”).

• 📱 Go to the My Themes tab (bottom of the screen).
• 🔍 Scroll down to the Standard or Default section.
• 🎨 Choose a topic with a title MIUI Default, Standard or Basic (name depends on firmware version).
• 💾 Click Apply and confirm the change.

If a standard theme isn’t on the list, try updating the theme base: in the same app, go to Settings → Update the theme list. Redmi 9 with MIUI 13+ may need to reboot the device to fully apply the changes.

⚠️ Warning: If app icons are missing after changing the theme or artifacts appear (e.g., black squares instead of icons), don’t try to reinstall the theme again. This is a sign of cache damage – go to the cache cleaner method.

2. Reset theme settings to factory

If the standard theme doesn't apply or if the Theme app shows an error, try resetting the design settings. This method doesn't affect user data, but will return all visual parameters to the original ones.

Follow the following steps:

1. Open Settings → Additional → Resetting settings.
2. Select Reset Theme Settings (on some versions of MIUI it may be called Restore Themes by Default).
3. Confirm the action and wait for the device to restart (it will take 1-2 minutes).

After the reboot, check if the standard theme is used. If not, move on to the next method. On Redmi 9 with custom firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.eu), this method may not work due to modified system files.

3. Cleaning the cache of the "Themes" application and system services

When the themes are bugged, not applied, partially displayed or cause lags, the fault is the damaged cache, and cleaning helps 80% of the time, especially if the problems started after the MIUI update.

Follow the instructions:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find the Themes app (or Theme Manager) and open it.
• 🧹 Click Clear Cache, then Clear Data (this will delete all downloaded themes, but return the standard one).
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

If this doesn’t work, clear the cache of two more system services:

1. com.android.systemui (responsible for the notification panel and icons).
2. com.miui.home (launcher) MIUI, desk-manager).

To do this, in the same Application Management menu, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Show System Processes. Be careful - cleaning up these applications' data can reset the location of the icons on the desktop.

4. Removing Third-Party Themes via ADB (for experienced)

If you have been installing topics from unverified sources (APK-files or modified.mtz, they could conflict with system files. ADB — Android debugging tool.

You'll need:

• 💻 Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB Redmi 9 (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 taps → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Connect your phone to your PC and execute commands in the terminal (command line):

adb shell


pm list packages | grep theme

In the conclusion, look for packages with names like com.android.theme or com.miui.thememanager. To remove a third-party theme, use:

pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.example.themepackage

Replace com.example.themepackage with the real name of the package from the list. After deleting, restart the device.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove the com.miui.thememanager or com.android.themes system packages, which will lead to a crash of the interface and require a complete flashing of the phone.

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Before working with ADB, create a restore point in TWRP (if you have customized Recovery installed), which will allow you to roll back changes if something goes wrong.

5. Completely reset the phone to factory settings

If no methods have worked, then there's a radical solution, hard reset, which will bring Redmi 9 back to the "out of the box" state, including the standard theme, but delete all the data from the internal memory. → Additionally. → Backup.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Erase All Data (or Restore Factory Settings).
3. Enter the password (if installed) and confirm the action.
4. Wait for the process to be completed (5-10 minutes) and the phone set up as new.

Once reset, the standard theme will be applied automatically, and if that doesn’t work, the problem may be the damaged firmware (see next section).

6. Phone flashing (extreme case)

If the standard theme doesn’t return even after the reset, the MIUI system files may be damaged, in which case only flashing through Fastboot or Recovery will help.

For Redmi 9 official firmware can be downloaded on the website Xiaomi Firmware. Choose the version for your model (M2003J15SC for the global version or M2003J15SS for the Russian).

Instructions for firmware through Recovery:

1. Download the firmware in.zip format and rename the file to update.zip.
2. Move it to the root directory of the phone’s internal memory.
3. Turn off Redmi 9 and press Volume Up + Power to enter Recovery.
4. Select Install update.zip and confirm the installation.
5. After completion, select Reboot.

If you have TWRP installed, the process is similar, but with additional cleaning of the Dalvik and Cache partitions before firmware.

⚠️ Attention: Fastboot firmware requires an unlocked bootloader. On Redmi 9, unlock erases all data and binds your Mi Account to your device for 30 days!

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Check the MIUI version before you install it: If you install an older firmware than the current one, you may need to unlock the bootloader or use special tools like the Mi Flash Tool.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

When returning a standard theme, Redmi 9 users often face typical problems.

• 🚫 Failed to apply the theme error: Clear the theme app cache and restart the phone. If it doesn't work, delete the theme through ADB (see section 4).
• 🔄 Theme Resets After Rebooting: This is a Sign of a corrupted file theme_manager.xml. Try resetting the themes or making a complete reset.
• 📱 App icons are missing: Most likely, a conflict between the launcher and theme. Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher) or reset the settings com.miui.home.
• 🔒 You can't change the subject - button is inactive: Check if Saving Charge or No Sound is on (sometimes MIUI Blocks changes to the design in these modes).

If none of the methods worked and the theme still doesn’t apply, check the integrity of system files through the MIUI Diagnostics app (available in Settings → Additional) which will scan the system for damaged packets and suggest that they be restored.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions