How to put shortcuts on the desktop in Xiaomi

Modern Xiaomi smartphones running MIUI shells or the latest HyperOS offer users huge customization options. However, basic settings often hide elements that seem obvious but not obvious to the beginner. One such issue is managing app shortcuts and widgets on the home screen.

Many users are faced with a situation where, after installing a new software, its icon does not appear on the desktop, but hides in the application menu. This is not a mistake, but a feature of the launcher configuration, and understanding how to manage these elements allows you to create a truly user-friendly work environment.

In this guide, we will go into detail about the mechanisms of adding, removing and editing shortcuts, and you will learn not only to move icons, but also to create complex widgets that display information on the screen without opening programs, which will significantly speed up the work with the device in everyday life.

Basic settings of the MIUI and HyperOS launcher

Before you start moving items actively, you need to make sure that your interface is configured correctly. Xiaomi shells have two main modes of displaying applications: “Classic” and “No App Menu”, and it depends on the choice of this parameter where new shortcuts will appear.

If you prefer that all installed programs automatically appear on the desktop, you need to choose a mode without a separate menu, in which case removing the shortcut from the screen will lead to the removal of the application itself, an important nuance that is worth remembering, so as not to accidentally lose data.

To check your current settings, go to Settings → Desktop. This is the Desktop Mode switch. Choosing the right one will determine the logic of the entire navigation system. If you just upgraded from MIUI 14 to HyperOS, the settings may have gone astray.

You can also set up the screen grid and font size in this section, and the larger the grid (like 6x9), the more shortcuts you can fit on a single page, but the smaller the size, and the optimal balance is a 5x6 or 5x7 grid.

⚠️ Note: When you switch desktop modes, the system can automatically regroup all your current icons. Prepare in advance for having to re-arrange widgets in their places.

Remember, the launcher is a system process, and if you notice that the interface has started to slow down after the changes, it makes sense to clear the launcher's cache through the application management menu, which will bring back the smoothness of animations when dragging and dropping.

How to Add an Application Shortcut to the Main Screen

Adding a new icon is the easiest and most popular scenario, and if you installed a game or utility but didn't find it on your desktop, it's probably on the general list of all programs, and to bring it out, swipe up the app menu or click a button.

Find the program you want in the list. Most versions of MIUI just hold the icon for a few seconds, and then the system will offer two options: "Delete" or "Add to desktop." Choose the second option.

If you press the app's context menu immediately, rather than drag and drop mode, try changing the tactic. Hold the icon and drag it to the top of the screen, where the thumbnail of the current desktop is usually displayed. Release your finger when you see the screen preview.

• 📱 Find the app in the general menu "All applications».
• ✋ Press the icon with your finger before the vibration appears.
• 📤 Drag the object to the free desktop area.
• ✅ Release your finger to fix the label.

In some cases, especially on global firmware, drag and drop from the settings menu. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the right program, click on it and select the "Create a shortcut" option, guaranteed to create a copy of the icon on the home screen.

⚠️ Note: If when dragging an icon to a free place, it “bounces” back in the menu, then there is no free space on the desktop. You need to remove unnecessary widgets or move some applications to a new page.

Working with widgets and folders

Labels are just the tip of the iceberg. Xiaomi's smartphone performance is revealed when using widgets. These are dynamic blocks that display weather, currency rates, steps or music directly on your desktop without running apps.

To add a widget, run a long tap across the empty desktop area, and at the bottom of the screen, a menu will appear where you want to select "Widgets" and a library of all available components installed in the system will open.

The widget library in HyperOS has been significantly redesigned, and now there's a separate "Recommended" tab where algorithms offer widgets based on your habits, and third-party widgets are also available, if developers have provided that option.

To create a folder, just drag and drop one app icon on top of another. The system automatically creates a container. You can rename the folder by clicking on the name and change its color scheme or shape if you use a theme that supports such features.

Folders allow you not only to group applications, but also to hide them from prying eyes if you use the "Hide the contents of the folder" function in the theme settings. This is useful for preserving a minimalist desktop design.

Set up the grid and element sizes

The standard 5x6 grid isn't for everyone, some people want huge icons for better visual experience, and some people want to fit as many tools as possible on one screen, and setting up the grid is the first step to personalization.

You can change the settings through the desktop editing menu. Click the empty space, select Settings (cog icon) or go through System Settings → Desktop. Here you will find a slider or drop-down list to select the grid size.

Important: changing the size of the grid will affect the location of all existing widgets. If you have a 4x2 weather widget and you shrink the grid, the widget can shift or change its size, which will knock your composition down.

And you can also turn on or off the "Enlarged Mode" feature in the same menu, and when you activate it, the signature font under the icons gets bigger, and the icons themselves move a little bit apart, which is useful for visually impaired users.

• 🔍 Clutch the empty area on the screen.
• ⚙️ Click on the settings icon in the corner.
• 📐 Choose the desired size of the grid (from 4x5 before 6x9).
• 💾 Save the changes and evaluate the results.

Some third-party themes from GetThemes store can ignore the system settings of the grid, imposing their own style, in which case only changing the theme to a standard or compatible one will help.

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Tip: Before changing the grid, take a screenshot of the current location of the icons, which will help you quickly restore the familiar structure if the new grid seems uncomfortable.

Removal and management of labels

Sooner or later, the desktop will become a waste of junk. Removing shortcuts is the reverse of adding, but it has its own nuances, depending on the type of object being removed, the main thing is not to confuse deleting the shortcut with deleting the application itself.

To remove the standard shortcut, press it and drag it to the top of the screen, where a red zone will appear with the words "Delete" or the basket icon. If you are in edit mode (two finger pinches), crosses will appear above the icons.

If you want to uninstall the app completely, the action is similar, but the system will ask for confirmation: "Delete the app?" Be careful when reading the pop-up. In "No App Menu" mode, removing from the desktop always leads to complete uninstallation.

The procedure for removing widgets is similar: long tap, drag and drop to the delete area. However, system widgets (such as Status or Tools) are often part of the theme. Deleting them will simply hide the block from the screen, but will not delete the theme files.

⚠️ Note: Removing the shortcut of the system application (such as “Conductor” or “Themes”) will not remove the application itself, as it is protected from uninstallation.

If the shortcut is not removed in the standard way (for example, it is frozen or is part of the widget), try first to remove the entire widget. To do this, press the widget, select “Delete widget”, and all its components will disappear.

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Remember, a label is just a link, and when you delete it, you don't free up the memory of the phone, you just take the icon out of your sight, and you have to delete the app to clean up the memory.

Solving the Problems with Missing Icons

Xiaomi users often complain that after a system update or a new theme is installed, shortcuts disappear, change appearance or stop opening, a common problem involving launcher cache or resource conflict.

The first step is to check if the app is hidden. Some themes have a hidden app feature. Go to the theme or security settings and check the hidden list, and the app may have been accidentally moved to the Tools or Google folder.

The second step is to clean up the launcher data. This action will return the desktop to factory status (icons will reset, widgets will disappear), but often solves the problem of ghost icons. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Search by name “Desktop” or “Launcher” → Clear the data.

Settings → Applications → All Apps → (Find the System Application “Desktop”) → Clean → Clean Everything

If the problem is with a particular app that isn’t updating or hangs in Waiting status, try removing it and installing it again. Errors when updating through GetApps or Play Market often result in broken shortcuts.

• 🔄 Check for system updates.
• 🧹 Clear the launcher's cache.
• 🎨 Change the subject to standard for inspection.
• 📲 Reinstall the problem app.

In rare cases, resetting your lock screen and desktop settings through the Advanced Settings menu helps, but this is an extreme measure to resort to if other methods have not helped restore normal operation of the interface.