How to return the old screensaver on Xiaomi Redmi

Users of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often face a situation where, after another update to the operating system MIUI or HyperOS, the familiar appearance of the device changes without their knowledge, especially with the lock screen, which instead of the usual static image begins to show a dynamic carousel of photos, a feature known as Wallpaper Carousel, is designed to diversify the visual experience, but many owners of gadgets it seems intrusive and distracting.

Getting back to the old, classic lock screen is a real challenge, but it can vary depending on the firmware version and the regional settings of the device, and in this guide, we’ll go into detail about how system themes work, look at the hidden lock screen settings, and learn to force a static image where the system insists on offering a slideshow.

Understanding how MIUI’s theme management works will allow you not only to get back old wallpaper, but also to have full control over the visuals of your smartphone. We’ll touch on optimization issues, as live wallpaper can consume more power, and touch on ways to disable advertising elements that are sometimes disguised as decoration elements.

Reasons for Automatic Interface Change

The main reason for the sudden change of the screensaver is the automatic update of system components through the Themes app. Xiaomi shell is designed to personalize the device as much as possible, often using artificial intelligence algorithms to match content. When you connect to Wi-Fi or mobile network, background services can download new registration packages if the settings are ticked for automatic updates.

Another factor is the region change in system settings: When switching from India to Russia or the Global version, for example, the smartphone loads local settings, which may include pre-installed sets of Carousel Wallpapers, a standard practice for adapting content to a specific market, but it often leads to the user losing their usual static background.

⚠️ Attention: Automatic downloading of themes can consume a significant amount of mobile traffic and take up space in the memory of the device.

Also worth mentioning is factory resets: If you've recently done a full Wipe Data reset, the system restores the default state that many new models have, in this case, the "old screensaver" hasn't gone away, it's just been replaced by the factory default setting when the system is initialized.

Disabling Wallpaper Carousel function

The most common scenario that requires user intervention is the activation of the Wallpaper Carousel function, a service that periodically changes images on a locked screen, uploading them from the Internet, and to return a static image, you need to find and deactivate this service, not just change the picture in the gallery.

You have to go to the device settings first. The path may vary slightly depending on the Android version, but the logic remains the same. You have to find the partition that controls the look of the locked screen, often hidden in the deep submenu of the screen settings or in a separate system application.

• 📱 Open the Settings app on the main screen.
• 🔍 In the search bar, enter "Carousel" or "Wallpaper" to quickly find the desired item.
• ⚙️ Go to Lock Screen or Always On screen and Lock screen.
• 🚫 Find the wallpaper switch and turn it to the "Off" position".

Once you do this, the system will stop downloading new images from the network, but to guarantee that you will return exactly the picture you had before, one shutdown of the carousel may not be enough: you will need to manually install the previously saved image through the gallery or the standard wallpaper selection menu.

Installation of static images through the Gallery

If the automatic services are disabled, but the screen is still not the image you want, you need to perform a forced wallpaper installation. The standard algorithm for working with media files in MIUI allows you to assign images to different types of screens: the main screen, the lock screen or both.

Open the Gallery app and find a photo you plan to use, which can be a picture you took earlier or a high-resolution image you downloaded from the Internet, and it is important that the file format is supported by the system (usually JPG or PNG) and the resolution is consistent with your display matrix to avoid stretching.

Path to function: Gallery → Select photos → More (three dots) → Install as wallpaper

In the menu that opens, the system will suggest selecting a framing area. Once confirmed, you will see a request for application: Lock screen, Desktop or Both screens. To return the "old screensaver", select the option that suits your needs. If you want the image to be only on the locked screen, select the appropriate option.

Setup through the Topics app

Themes is the central visual style management node in Xiaomi smartphones, and it’s where profiles are stored that can overwrite local settings. If you can’t change the screensaver using standard methods, a third-party theme may be active, which dictates its own design rules.

Log in to the Themes app and go to the user profile (usually the person icon in the lower right corner) and there is My Pages or Settings section. In this menu you can see which theme is currently active. Often users forget that they have installed a theme that forcefully changes the wallpaper every time they unlock.

To ensure that you remove foreign items, select the Classic or Unnamed theme (standard MIUI theme) and apply it. When using it, select the "Apply All" option or separately mark "Wallpaper" and "Block screen" items. This action will overwrite any custom settings, returning the system standard.

Hidden Settings and Developer Options

In some cases, especially on global firmware versions, standard switches may be hidden or not work properly. This is where the developer's advanced settings come in. Although they're designed to be debugged, they contain behavioral controls that can help capture a static image.

To access these settings, you need to click on the build number several times in the About Phone section. Once the developer menu is activated, a new option will appear in the main settings. Look for the section related to animations or windows. Sometimes turning off transition animation helps to "fix" the static background, preventing it from flashing or replacing it.

⚠️ Warning: Changing the settings in the developer menu can affect the stability of the system. Do not change the parameters, the value of which you do not know, especially those related to scaling. DPI or frequency of renewal.

Also on the developer menu, you can find a subset that controls background activity, and limiting background activity for the Wallpaper Carousel app (if it's displayed in the app list) can prevent it from starting and swapping an image, a more radical method, but it's effective if the regular shutdown doesn't work.

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Search inside the settings menu. Type the word "Develop" or "Build" to get quickly to the menu you want without manually flipping through long lists of options.

Problems with access rights and permits

A common cause of intrusive behavior is excessive permissions given to system applications. The wallpaper application can have access to the network and storage, allowing it to download and install new content without hindrance, and restricting these rights is an effective way to combat unwanted changes.

Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the Carousel Wallpaper app (can be called Carousel Wallpaper or have a gallery icon) and go to Permissions, where you need to turn off mobile data and Wi-Fi, and limit background activity.

• 🔒 Disable permission to use the network (Internet).
• 📂 Disable access to storage if the system allows (this will prevent new photos from being read).
• 🔋 In the Battery section, select No Limits mode or Conversely, Saving Hard to check the behavior.
• 🚫 Clear the app data to reset the cache of uploaded images.

After this manipulation, the application will not be able to physically download the new image from the network, and even if the function is formally enabled in the screen settings, the lack of Internet access will make it inoperable, and the last stored static image will remain on the screen.

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Restricting network rights for system applications is the most reliable way to prevent automatic downloading of content without root rights.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)