How to Restore Disappeared Shortcuts to Xiaomi’s Home Screen: From Simple Ways to Hidden MIUI Features

Did you turn on your Xiaomi smartphone and your favorite Suddenly apps disappear from the home screen? Or did you lose all shortcuts except the standard ones after the MIUI update? This problem is familiar to many Redmi, POCO and Mi owners — especially after resetting, clearing the launcher cache or a failed update. In 80% of cases, the failure of the com.miui.home system launcher is to blame, but sometimes the reasons go deeper: from accidental removal to conflict with the shell.

In this article, 5 proven ways to return shortcuts to the desktop, including recovery through a backup of MI Cloud, reset launcher and even manual addition through ADB (for advanced users), we will analyze the solutions for all versions of MIUI (12 to 14+) and take into account the features of new models with HyperOS. And if the problem is a system failure, we will show how to return to work without losing data.

We warn you right away that some methods (like cleaning up the launcher data) will cause all icons to reset, so you have to re-place them, but it is guaranteed to solve the missing label problem. Let's start with the simplest one!

1.Reboot Launcher: A Quick Way to Return Shortcuts Without Resetting

Half of the time, the icons are missing because of a temporary failure of the com.miui.home system process, Xiaomi’s standard launcher, which can be “rebooted” without restarting the phone, often solving the problem.

How to do this:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 In the search box, type Launcher (or com.miui.home for older versions). MIUI).
• 🔄 Click Stop, then confirm the action.
• 🔙 Return to the home screen – in 5-10 seconds, the launcher will restart automatically.

If the labels do not appear, try additionally:

1. Click the empty space on the home screen → select Screen Settings.
2. Scroll down and click Reset Launcher settings (in some firmware, this item is called Restore by Default).
3. Confirm the reset – after the screen reboot, the shortcuts should return.

⚠️ Attention: POCO F5 Redmi Note 12 with HyperOS launcher reset can return the standard theme. To avoid this, pre-save the current theme in Topics → My subjects.

2. Recovery of shortcuts through MI Cloud backup

If you've previously enabled sync with MI Cloud, shortcuts can be returned from backup, which works even after you completely reset your phone, but requires:

• 📱 Authorization in the same Xiaomi account as when creating a backup.
• 🔄 Availability of a backup with saved launcher settings (check in Settings) → Xiaomi account → MI Cloud → Backup).

Step-by-step:

1. Open Settings → Xiaomi Account → MI Cloud
2. Select Backup and Restore → Find the latest copy with the desired date.
3. Click Restore and select System Settings (or Launcher Data in newer versions).
4. Wait for the process to be completed and restart the phone.

Important: Recovery from MI Cloud can take up to 15 minutes - don't interrupt! If a copy is missing, try the following method.

Check the Wi-Fi connection|Charge your phone at least 50 times%|Make sure there is free space (minimum 1 GB)|Shut down. VPN (It can block access to the cloud)-->

3. Manual addition of labels: if only part of the icons is missing

Sometimes not all shortcuts disappear, but only individual applications (for example, after updating them or moving them to a folder), in which case it is easier to add them manually:

Method 1: Through the Application Menu

1. Swipe up the main screen to open the Apps menu.
2. Find the right application, pinch its icon and drag it to the desktop.
3. If the app is not in the menu, check the Hidden Apps folder (click the three dots in the top right corner of the menu).

Method 2: Through the launcher settings

• 📌 Click the empty space on the main screen → Screen settings.
• 🔧 Select Add a widget/tag → Find the right application in the list.
• 🖼️ If the app doesn’t show up, try reinstalling it from Google Play.

On Xiaomi 13/14 with HyperOS, the algorithm is slightly different.

Long tap on the screen → “Change” → “Applications” → select the right → drag on the screen

⚠️ Note: Some system applications (e.g. Security or Themes) cannot be added to the home screen in the standard way. ADB (see section 5).

4.Resetting launcher settings to factory

If previous methods didn’t work, you’ll have to reset your launcher settings, which will bring back the standard icon layout (like after you bought your phone), but solve the missing shortcut problem.

Instructions for MIUI 12-14:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the launcher (or com.miui.home) and select it.
3. Click Warehouse → Clear Data (not to be confused with Clear Cache!).
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

For HyperOS (on Xiaomi 13/14, POCO F5):

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Home. → Resetting launcher settings.
• 🔄 Confirm the reset - after reset, the labels will return to their original state.

After resetting, all the labels will disappear, but you can add them again (see Section 3).This method works 100% if the problem was corruption of the launcher data.

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Before resetting the launcher, take screenshots of the current location of the icons - so you will quickly restore the usual order after cleaning.

5. Advanced Methods: ADB and Fastboot Recovery

If the labels disappear systematically or do not return after reset, the problem may be in the system file. launcher_db (The launcher database, in which case it will help ADB or flashing through Fastboot.

Method 1: Delete a damaged launcher database

Connect your phone to a PC with installed ADB-driver and perform:

adb shell


su




rm /data/data/com.miui.home/databases/launcher_db




reboot

After the reboot, the launcher will create a new database and the shortcuts will return (but their location will reset).

Method 2: Flashing the launcher through Fastboot

If the problem is that the system file miui-home.apk is damaged, you can reinstall it:

1. Download the firmware for your model from the Xiaomi Firmware Updater website.
2. Unpack the archive and find the file miui-home.apk in the folder system/priv-app/MiuiHome.
3. Connect your phone in Fastboot mode (Off → Press Power + Vol-) and do:

fastboot flash system system.img

⚠️ This method requires an unlocked bootloader and can result in data loss!

Prevention: How to avoid missing labels in the future

To prevent shortcuts from disappearing after updates or crashes, follow these rules:

• 🔄 Regularly create backup copies of MI Cloud (enable automatic backup in Settings) → Xiaomi account → MI Cloud).
• 📱 Do not clear the launcher cache through third-party cleaners (such as Clean Master or CCleaner) – they often delete important files.
• 🔧 Before the update MIUI Check the reviews on the forums (for example, 4PDA or XDA) — Some firmware has launcher bugs.
• 🛡️ Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair) – it’s less prone to crashes than a standard com.miui.home.

On new Xiaomi models (such as 14 Ultra or POCO F6), shortcuts are less common due to HyperOS optimization. However, if you use beta versions of the firmware, the risk of failure remains – in this case, we recommend rolling back to a stable version via Fastboot.

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Alternative launchers (like Nova Launcher) not only prevent shortcuts from missing, but also offer more options for customizing the screen.

FAQ: Frequent questions about missing shortcuts on Xiaomi