Why Xiaomi is changing its own wallpapers – and how to stop it
Did you put your favorite photo on the lock screen and then an hour later it changed to a standard landscape? Or did your desktop suddenly get adorned with a Xiaomi banner? This is an automatic wallpaper change feature — one of the “chips” of MIUI (and now HyperOS) firmware, which often turns on itself after updates or resets.
The reasons for this behavior can range from bugs in the system to hidden “gifts” from the manufacturer, for example, in some regions (especially in China and India), Xiaomi is forced to activate dynamic wallpaper with advertising through the service msa (Mobile Services Analytics). In HyperOS, a new mechanism appeared. AI-A wallpaper that adjusts the background to the time of day or weather.
The good news is that you can turn off automatic shifting, and we've put together all the work methods, including hidden settings and circumvention of restrictions for different versions of the firmware, and then we'll figure out how to permanently lock your wallpaper even if the system tries to change them.
Method 1: Disconnect in wallpaper settings (basic method)
The most obvious way is to go to the wallpaper menu and deactivate the automatic change option, but there are pitfalls: depending on the model and version of MIUI/HyperOS, the path to settings may differ.
Instructions for most devices:
- Long press on the free space of the desktop → select Wallpaper.
- Slap the icon. ⚙️ Settings (or in the upper right corner).
- Find the item Automatic wallpaper change (can be called Dynamic wallpaper or AI-wallpaper) and turn off the slider.
- Save the changes with the Apply button.
If there is no such item, try an alternative path:
- 📱 Settings → Personalization → Wallpaper. → Wallpaper settings
- 🔄 Settings → Display. → Wallpaper. → Additionally.
Long press on the desktop causes a wallpaper menu|In the wallpaper settings there is an icon of the gear|The "Automatic Shift" item is not hidden behind additional options|After the shutdown, click "Apply"-->
⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5) After upgrading to HyperOS, the auto-change item moves to the "Additional Features" section inside the wallpaper settings. If you don't find it right away, scroll through the list to the end.
Method 2: Disconnecting through “Special Features” (for hidden functions)
If the standard method didn't work, the problem could be system services that manage wallpaper in the background, such as com.miui.gallery or com.android.wallpaper sometimes ignores user settings, in which case a workaround through special features will help.
How to do this:
- Open Settings → Special features → Special features services.
- Activate the slider opposite MIUI Optimization (optimization) MIUI).
- Return to the Special Options menu and select System Settings → Remove background restrictions.
- Find Gallery, Wallpaper and Themes in the app list, then turn off background activity for them.
This method works because it limits the ability of system applications to change wallpaper without your knowledge.
Why doesn’t this method always help?
Method 3: Removing updates for the Wallpaper app
In MIUI and HyperOS, the Wallpaper app is often updated via Google Play or Mi App Store, and new versions can automatically include dynamic wallpaper.
Step-by-step:
- Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
- Find the Wallpaper app (or Wallpaper, Themes).
- Stick to three points (⋮) In the upper corner and select Remove Updates.
- Confirm the action and prevent automatic updates of this app in Google Play.
If Remove Updates is inactive, the app is system-based and has not been updated, in which case, try clearing the cache and data for Wallpaper, Gallery and Theme applications.
| Annex | Action. | The effect |
|---|---|---|
| Wallpaper. | Remove updates + clear the cache | Resetting wallpaper settings to factory |
| gallery | Clear the data | Remove Cached Dynamic Wallpaper |
| Topics | Limit background activity | Blocks the loading of new topics |
| Google Play Store | Banning the renewal of "Wallpaper" | Prevents the re-enactment of the function |
Method 4: Using ADB for deep shutdown (for advanced)
If the software methods didn’t work, it’s left to disable system services via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a radical way that requires connecting the phone to a PC, but is guaranteed to remove automatic wallpaper change.
What you need:
- 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
- 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap to unlock the developer's settings).
- 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
The following are the commands for entering ADB Shell:
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.miservice # Disables MIUI service for dynamic wallpaper
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.wallpaper # Removes Wallpaper app updates (without removing system APK)
adb shell settings put global dynamic_wallpaper_enabled 0 # Disables dynamic wallpaper at system level💡
Before execution ADB-commands to back up data through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset: In rare cases, system services may be disrupted MIUI.
⚠️ Note: The pm disable-user and pm uninstall commands can affect other functions. MIUI, If you have a bug after you run it, return the settings with the command: adb shell pm enable com.miui.miservice
Method 5: Blocking through third-party apps (without root)
If you don't want to mess with ADB, you can use third-party utilities that block wallpaper change at the software level.
- 🛡️ Wallpaper Changer Blocker (from Google Play) – intercepts the system’s attempts to change wallpaper and returns your background.
- 🔒 App Ops – allows you to disable permissions for system applications (requires) ADB activate).
- 🖼️ Muzei Live Wallpaper – Alternative Wallpaper App That Ignores Settings MIUI.
How to set up Wallpaper Changer Blocker:
- Install the app from Google Play.
- Run it and grant permission to Overlay over other applications.
- Enable the Block Wallpaper Changes option.
- Select Lock Current Wallpaper and confirm.
The downside is that applications need to be constantly running in the background, which can slightly increase battery consumption, but it is the only way without ADB and root that runs on HyperOS.
💡
The application side is the safest way, but they can conflict with MIUI updates. After a major system update, check if the blocker settings have reset.
What do you do if nothing helps?
If you have tried all the ways, but the wallpaper still changes, the problem may be:
- 📦 Adware – some firmware for Xiaomi (especially for global regions) contain hidden ad modules.
- 🔄 Reset – After resetting to factory settings, the automatic change function can turn on again. To avoid this, block the Wallpaper app update on Google Play before resetting.
- 📡 Server settings – Xiaomi sometimes forcefully activates dynamic wallpapers via push notifications. → Notifications → Notification settings.
The last option is to reflash the phone to custom firmware (for example, LineageOS or Pixel Experience), where there are no system limitations of MIUI. But this requires unlocking the bootloader and can take away the warranty.
If you are not ready for such radical measures, you can only regularly check the wallpaper settings after system updates - sometimes Xiaomi returns the function of automatic change with a "forgotten" item in new versions of firmware.