How to return the icon “Phone” to the desktop Xiaomi: all ways + problem solving

Did you accidentally remove the Phone label from Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO desktop — and now you can’t make a quick call? or did the icon disappear on its own after the MIUI update? This problem occurs on all models, from the budget Redmi Note 12 to the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra. In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to return the icon to the screen, including hidden settings and workarounds for non-standard situations.

It's important to understand that in MIUI, the app shortcut and the app itself are not the same thing. Deleting the desktop icon doesn't mean that the program is uninstalled. However, without a shortcut, it becomes inconvenient to use the phone book. We'll look at solutions for different versions of the shell (from MIUI 12 to MIUI 14), and explain why sometimes standard methods don't work and what to do in such cases.

1. Standard method: Restore through the application menu

The easiest method is to return the icon from the list of all installed programs, which works on 90% of Xiaomi devices if the shortcut was manually removed (rather than disappeared after a crash).

Instructions:

• 📱 Swipe your finger up the desktop to open the app menu (App Drawer).
• 🔍 In the search bar, type “Phone” (or “Phone” for English firmware).
• 🖱️ Press the app icon and drag it to your desktop. If the menu doesn't support drag-and-drop, click on the three dots next to the name and select Add to Home Screen».

If there is no “Phone” icon in the app menu, this can mean:

• ⚙️ Application disabled in settings (see Section 2).
• 🔄 There was a failure after the update. MIUI (decision in section 4).
• 📦 The application has been removed (how to restore - in section 5).

2. Enabling the Phone application in the system settings

Sometimes the icon is not lost because of deletion, but because the com.android.dialer app itself was disabled through settings.

• 🧹 Cleaning the cache of system applications.
• 🛠️ Memory Optimizers (e.g., Security or Clean Master).
• 🔧 Manual shutdown of “unnecessary” services to save charge.

To return the app:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Show all apps."
3. In the list, look for “Phone” (or “Dialer”, “Contacts”).
4. If the status is "Disabled", click "Enabled".
5. Restart the device – the icon should appear in the application menu.

Warning: If you see duplicates of Phone in the app list (e.g., from Google and Xiaomi), turn on both.

• 📞 Quick dialing from the desktop.
• 📇 Synchronization of contacts with Google Account.
• 🔔 Notifications of missed calls.

3.Resetting launcher settings (without data loss)

If the icon is missing after the update MIUI or changes in themes of design, can help reset the settings of the standard launcher POCO Launcher/MIUI Launcher: This method does not affect user data, but will return the standard shortcut location.

Instructions:

1. Click on the empty space on your desktop and select Desktop Settings (or Home Screen Settings).
2. Scroll down and find the option “Reset Settings” (may be called “Reset layout” or “Restore default”).
3. Confirm action. After the launcher reboots, the Phone icon will appear in the initial position (usually in the dock or on the first screen).

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If the launcher reset didn’t help, try temporarily installing a third-party launcher (like a Nova Launcher or Apex Launcher).After returning to the standard launcher (MIUI Launcher), icons are often restored automatically.

4.Recovery after a MIUI failure or update

After major updates (e.g., with MIUI 13 on MIUI 14), users often experience system shortcuts being lost.

• 🔄 Conflict of old launcher settings with a new shell version.
• 📦 Automatically disable “duplicate” applications (if the device is installed Google Phone along with the standard Xiaomi Dialer).
• 🔧 Errors in the cache of system services.

Decisions:

Method 1: Cleaning the cache of system applications

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Press three points. → «Show system-based».
3. Find and open: MIUI Launcher (or POCO Launcher) System UI Telecom (telephony service)

Clear the cache

Reset the device.

Method 2: Forced shutdown and restart of services

If cleaning the cache didn't help:

1. In the same app settings, find Telecom and Contacts.
2. Click on Stop (the button "Forced Stop").
3. Return to the desktop and try adding the icon again through the app menu.

5. Installation of an alternative application “Phone”

If standard methods don't work, you can use a third-party call app temporarily, and this is true for:

• 📱 Devices with custom firmware (for example, Pixel Experience), where there is no standard Xiaomi Dialer.
• 🔧 Smartphones after unsuccessful removal of system applications through ADB.
• 🛠️ Devices with damaged system (before repair or flashing).

Best alternatives:

Important: If you have installed a third-party dialer, but want to return the standard Xiaomi Dialer, the only way is to flash the device through Fastboot or Recovery. Restore via MIUI Backup will not return remote system applications.

6.Solution for root access devices

If you have root rights, you can return the Phone icon manually through system file editing or ADB commands.

Instructions via ADB:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and enable USB Debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times press to unlock the developer mode).
2. Open the command line on your PC and type: adb shell pm enable com.android.dialer adb shell pm enable com.android.contacts
3. Reset the device.

If the icon does not appear, check if the shortcut file in the system folder is deleted:

1. Use Root Explorer or Solid Explorer with root access.
2. Go to /system/priv-app/Dialer or /system/app/Dialer.
3. Make sure there are Dialer.apk and Dialer.odex files. If they are not, download the original Dialer for your Xiaomi model and return it to its place.

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Using root methods can lead to loss of warranty and unstable operation of the device. Before editing system files, make a backup via TWRP or MIUI Backup.

⚠️ Attention: on devices with a locked bootloader (Xiaomi blocks it by default) commands ADB If you want to turn on system applications, it may not work, in this case, only unlocking the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool will help.

7.If nothing helps: reset to factory settings

The extreme measure, hard reset, should be applied only if:

• 🔄 All of the above methods did not work.
• 📱 The device is unstable (hangs, errors when calling).
• 🔧 You suspect system files are damaged after a failed update.

How to reset your settings without losing data:

1. Back up via Settings → About Phone → Backup or Mi Cloud.
2. Open Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.
3. Select “Resetting” (not to be confused with “Reset All Data”!).
4. Confirm the action. The device will restart, but the files will remain in memory.

If the icon does not appear after reset, only:

• 📦 Fastboot (see instructions for your model on Xiaomi Firmware Updater).
• 🛠️ Contact the service center (if the device is guaranteed).

⚠️ Note: on some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi) 9A or POCO M3) After the reset, you may need to re-assign your Mi Account. Make sure you remember your login and password!

FAQ: Frequent questions