How to put time on the screen of the Xiaomi phone: all ways + hidden settings

Have you just bought a new Xiaomi or updated your firmware and suddenly found that your watch is missing on the home screen? Or want to move the time to another corner, change its format or add a stopwatch? In this article, we will explore all the possible ways to display time on the screen of Redmi, POCO and Mi smartphones – from basic settings to hidden MIUI features.

The problem with a missing watch is especially relevant after upgrading to MIUI 14 or resetting. Many users experience time either hidden under icons or displayed in an uncomfortable format (for example, no seconds or dates), We will detail how to return the watch to its place, adjust its appearance and even add a weather and time widget with a single click.

Important: The instructions in the article are tested on current firmware versions (2026) and are suitable for most models, including the Redmi Note 12/13, POCO X5/F5, Xiaomi 13/14 and older devices on MIUI 12.5+. If your phone runs on pure Android (for example, POCO F1 with custom firmware), some menu items may differ.

1. Basic method: turning on the clock through launcher settings

The easiest way to return time to the home screen is to use the built-in MIUI shell settings, which work on 90% of devices and do not require additional applications.

Open Settings → Home screen. Here you are interested in two key parameters:

• 🕒 Time display – the main switch that turns on/off the display of the clock.
• 📍 Clock position – allows you to choose the upper left or right corner (on some models, the center of the screen is available).
• 🎨 Watch style – changes font, color and size (not available on all versions) MIUI).

If the Home screen is not in the settings, try an alternative path:

1. Hold your finger on the empty spot on the main screen.
2. In the menu that appears, select the Home Screen Settings.
3. Activate the option to Show the clock and save the changes.

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If after turning on the watch they still do not appear, try to restart the phone - sometimes the MIUI launcher hangs and does not apply the settings immediately.

2.Tune the time format: 12 or 24 hours, date, seconds

Xiaomi's default time is 24-hour, no seconds, and if you have to change that, you'll have to go through the system settings.

Go to Settings → Additional → Date and time. The following options are available here:

• ⏰ Use it. 24-Time-Spanished – Turn off to switch to 12-clockwork (AM/PM).
• 📅 Date format – choose how the date will be displayed next to the time (for example, 24.05.2026 or 24 May).
• ⚡ Automatic Date and Time – If the clock is going down, check if this option is enabled.

To add seconds to the time on the home screen, you will need a third-party app (discussed in Section 5), which is hidden in standard MIUI settings.

3. Time widgets: how to add a watch with weather or calendar

If the standard home screen clock isn't enough, you can add an interactive widget with advanced information. MIUI offers several built-in options:

Addition of the widget:

1. Hold your finger on the empty seat of the main screen.
2. Select Widgets from the bottom menu.
3. Scroll through the list to the Weather or Hours section.
4. Drag your favorite widget to the screen (such as Watch + Weather or Analog Clock).

Comparison of built-in widgets:

If built-in widgets seem boring, Google Play has alternatives like Chronus, UCCW or KWGT (the latter allows you to create custom watches with animation).

Built-in digital watch | Analog watch |Weather widget |Third-party widget (KWGT et al.) |I don't use widgets-->

4.Time display problems and their solutions

Sometimes the Xiaomi watches are weird: they disappear after an update, they don’t appear completely or they get lost. Consider typical malfunctions and how to fix them.

Problem 1: The watch disappeared after the MIUI update.

⚠️ Note: After major updates (e.g., with the MIUI 13 on MIUI 14) The launcher can reset the display settings. In this case, it does not help to simply turn the clock on in the settings - you need to reset the launcher cache: Settings → Annexes → Application management → Launcher → Warehouse → Clean the cache After that, restart the phone.

Problem 2: Time is not fully displayed (cut with icons).

• 📱 Reduce the number of icons in the top row of the main screen.
• 🔄 Drag the clock to another corner (in launcher settings).
• 📏 Change the font size in Settings → Screen. → Size of text.

Problem 3: The clock is not showing the right time, despite automatic synchronization.

This could be due to the incorrect operation of time servers.

1. Turn off automatic time, manually set the correct one, then enable autodetermination again.
2. Change region to Settings → Additional → Language and region (for example, from Russia to Turkey and back).
3. Install ClockSync application for forced synchronization with NTP-server.

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If the clock doesn’t appear after all the manipulations, check to see if the MIUI system launcher is disabled. Some users install third-party launchers (Nova, Apex) that may conflict with the display of standard watches.

5. Secret functions: seconds, animation, custom clock

The standard MIUI settings don't allow you to add seconds to the time on the home screen or change the animation of the watch.

How do I add seconds?

• 📱 Install the Chronus or Digital Clock Widget widget from Google Play – they support the display of seconds.
• 🔧 Use it. KWGT (Kustom Widget) for custom watches with stopwatches. Example of code for widgets: $df(yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss)$ (where the ss is a second).
• 🛠️ For advanced users: Modifying system files via Magisk (requires root rights).

Animation and watch styles:

With KWGT or UCCW, you can create a watch with:

• 🌈 Gradient lighting (changes color depending on the time of day).
• ⚡ Dynamic wallpaper (clocks merge with background).
• 🎵 Musical visualization (arrows move to the rhythm of music).

On Xiaomi models with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F4) Custom watches with a black background significantly save battery power, since the pixels are not illuminated.

Install KWGT from Google Play| Download your favorite template (e.g., on Kustom Rocks)|Configure permissions for the widget |Add a widget to the home screen (size 4×2 or larger)|Unlock the standard clock in the launcher settings-->

6. Display time on the lock screen

The clock settings on the lock screen are set separately from the home screen, and more options are available here, including:

• 🔐 Double time (time display in two time zones).
• 📱 Wake up – the clock will light up when you bring the phone to your face.
• 🌙 Night mode – darkening the clock in the dark.

To set up:

1. Go to Settings → Lock screen.
2. Choose the style of the watch - 5 available here+ design options (including minimalistic and 3D-clockwork).
3. Activate Show Date and Show Battery Charge for more information.

Some models (such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro) have a Always-on Display (AOD) feature that shows the time even when the screen is off.

Settings → Screen → Always-on Display → Select the style of the watch

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If Always-on Display drains the battery quickly, set a schedule for it to run (for example, only at night) or reduce brightness in the AOD settings.

7. Alternative launchers: Nova, Apex, Hyperion

If the standard launcher MIUI If you don't like it, you can set a third-party, where the settings of the watch are more flexible.-3 alternatives:

Nova Launcher:

• 🎨 Complete customization of font, color and position of the clock.
• 📏 Possibility to change size and indentation.
• 🔄 Support for gestures (for example, swipe by the clock to start the alarm clock).

To set up the clock in Nova:

1. Press your finger on the main screen → Nova settings.
2. Go to the Appearance → Search Line and Clock.
3. Turn on Show the clock and adjust the look.

Apex Launcher:

• 📱 Lightweight, suitable for older Redmi models.
• 🔧 You can hide the watch completely or replace it with a widget.

Hyperion Launcher:

• 🌈 Support for dynamic wallpaper with integrated clocks.
• ⚡ Smart Watch – automatically changes style depending on the time of day.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party launchers, disable battery optimization for them in Settings → Annexes → Permits → Auto-start, otherwise the clock may be lost after the device sleeps.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the watch on Xiaomi