How to return the default theme to Xiaomi: all ways to restore

Changed the theme to Xiaomi and disappointed with the result? Or did the MIUI update look different and make it look different? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO and Mi smartphones — especially after experimenting with custom themes from Theme or third-party sources. In some cases, an unsuccessful theme can even lead to system freezes, icon display errors or menu malfunctions.

In this article, we will discuss all the working ways to bring back the standard MIUI theme, from the simple (via phone settings) to the radical (full reset or ADB commands). The instructions are relevant for versions of MIUI 12, 13 and 14, including global and Chinese firmware, and you will learn how to avoid typical mistakes when changing themes and what to do if the interface is “slow” after installing customization.

Why Xiaomi Themes May Not Work Well

The issues with Xiaomi themes usually arise for three reasons:

• 🔄 Version Conflict: Theme Downloaded for Old Version MIUI, but set to a new (or vice versa) for example, a topic for MIUI 12 may not be correctly displayed in MIUI 14.
• 📥 Damaged files: If the theme was downloaded from third-party sources (not from the official Theme Store), its files could be corrupted or changed.
• 🔧 System restrictions: Some themes block the ability to return to standard design through the Settings menu → Topics.

Most often, users are faced with the fact that after applying a custom theme:

• 📱 App icons are black or transparent.
• 🎨 The menu and notification colors are distorted (for example, instead of white background – green or purple).
• ⚙️ Phone settings open with the error "Theme app stopped".

If you experience at least one of these symptoms, don’t rush to hard reset – 90% of the time, the problem can be solved without data loss.

Method 1: Return to the standard theme through MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to return the factory design through the Topic menu, which works if:

• 📲 The phone is turned on and reacts to touch.
• 🔓 Themes App opens without errors.
• 🔄 The list of themes has the option "By default" or "Standard".

Instructions:

1. Open the Themes app (the icon with a brush on your desktop).
2. Go to the tab "My topics" (or "Installed").
3. Scroll down the list and find a theme called “Default,” “Standard MIUI,” or “Default.”
4. Click on it and select "Apply".
5. Confirm the action and wait for the interface to restart (usually takes 10–30 seconds).

If there is no standard theme on the list, try:

• 🔍 Manually find it through a search in the Topic app (enter the query "default").
• 📥 Download the official theme from the Recommended section (sometimes hidden behind the Free tab").

⚠️ Note: If the app icons are distorted after applying the standard theme, try restarting the phone. In rare cases, the theme app cache needs to be cleaned (see Method 3).

Method 2: Reset the settings of the “Themes” application

If there is a standard theme on the list, but nothing changes when it is applied, the problem may be in the cache or the Topic application data, in which case the reset will help:

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Topics list (or com.android.thememanager) and open it.
3. Press "Storage."
4. Select "Clear Cache" and "Clear Data" (confirm the action).
5. Return to the Themes app and reapply the standard design.

Once you reset, all downloaded themes will be deleted, but the default system will remain. If this method does not work, move on to the next method.

Method 3: Remove custom theme through file manager

If you can't apply a standard theme and the problem arises after installing a third-party design, you can try to delete its files manually.

1. Install a file manager with access to system folders (such as MiXplorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/theme/ All installed themes are stored in.mtz format.
3. Find a file with the topic name (usually the same as the name in the store) and delete it.
4. Reboot the phone.

When the theme file is deleted, the system automatically returns to standard design, and if /MIUI/theme/ is empty but the problem persists, the theme is integrated into the system files, you will need an ADB or reset.

💡

Before you delete the theme files, back them up (copy them to another folder) and this will help restore the design if something goes wrong.

Method 4: Return a standard theme through ADB (for the experienced)

If previous methods did not work, and you do not want to reset, you can use the ADB debugging bridge.

• 🔧 Mode for developers and debugging by USB.
• 💻 Access to a computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 The telephone is determined in ADB (Checked by Adb Devices Command).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and confirm debugging via USB.
2. Open the command prompt (CMD or Terminal) and type: adb shell pm clear com.android.thememanager This command will reset the settings of the Themes app.
3. If the standard theme is not restored, try to force it to apply: adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.thememanager/.ThemeManagerActivity
4. Manually select a standard theme in the menu that opens.

If the interface has not changed after executing the commands, then the problem is deeper - perhaps the MIUI system files are damaged. In this case, only a complete reset or flashing will help.

💡

ADB commands only work when USB debugging is enabled. If you haven't activated it beforehand, this method won't work - use reset (method 5).

Method 5: Complete resetting of settings (last resort)

If none of these methods work, the last option is to reset to factory settings, which will bring not only the standard theme, but all the other parameters back to the original state, and all the data on the phone will be deleted, so first:

• 📱 Make a backup copy through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.
• 🔐 Write down or take photos of important passwords (from Mi Account, Google, banking apps).
• 📁 Save photos, videos and documents to your PC or cloud.

Resetting instructions:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select "Erase all data."
3. Enter the password from Mi Account (if tied) or the pattern lock.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the completion (it will take 5-10 minutes).

Once rebooted, the phone will be like new, with a standard MIUI theme and a clean system. If the theme isn’t what you expected after the reset, it may be that your Xiaomi model uses a different factory theme (for example, on POCO it may be different from Redmi).

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro) POCO F3) After the reset, you may need to re-authorize in Mi Account to unlock the bootloader!

How to avoid problems with topics in the future?

To avoid having to return a standard theme, follow these rules:

• 🛡️ Download themes only from the official store (Theme App (APK-Files, forums, and other content often contain corrupted or malicious topics.
• 📋 Check compatibility: Before installing the theme, see which version MIUI It is intended (as stated in the description).
• 🔄 Backup: Before applying a new theme, save your current settings through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.
• 🚫 Avoid "heavy" themes: some designs change not only icons, but also system fonts, animations, sounds.

If you like to experiment with the look of Xiaomi, consider the alternatives:

• 🎨 Use launchers (such as Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher) that allow you to customize your icons without risking the system.
• 🖼️ Install icon packages through the Play Market (they are safer than those). MIUI).
• 🔧 Set up the built-in parameters MIUI: In Settings → Screen. → Screen style can be changed fonts, colors and animations without installing themes.

FAQ: Frequent questions about topics on Xiaomi