Why Xiaomi itself is changing wallpaper on the lock screen and desktop – and how to stop it

You picked up your Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5 Pro, unlocked the screen — and found that the background image changed again without your knowledge. The situation is familiar? Automatic wallpaper change on Xiaomi smartphones (including sub-brands Redmi and POCO) — one of the most talked about features of the shell MIUI. On the one hand, it is a marketing ploy to promote the company’s services, on the other — an annoying bug for users who want to see on the screen only their chosen pictures.

In this article, we will not only list the reasons why wallpaper changes by itself, but also show step-by-step instructions for turning off automatic change on different versions of MIUI (12 to 14), pay special attention to hidden settings that are not written about in the official documentation, and also analyze cases when the problem is associated with viruses or system failures. If you are tired of sudden "gifts" in the form of new wallpaper, read on.

1.The main reasons for the automatic change of wallpaper on Xiaomi

So, to start with, why is this happening, 90 percent of the time it's not the glitches that are to blame, but the MIUI-based features that users accidentally activate or don't know how to turn off. Here are the key triggers:

  • 🔄 Theme of the Day feature in the Themes app – automatically downloads and applies new wallpapers once a day (or when connecting to Wi-Fi).
  • 📱 Updates MIUI — After installing a new version of the firmware, the system can reset the wallpaper on standard.
  • 🌐 Xiaomi Cloud Services – Synchronizing themes between devices sometimes leads to a settings conflict.
  • 🤖 Viruses or malicious applications – some adware programs change wallpaper to display ads.
  • 🎨 Live wallpaper – dynamic backgrounds (e.g. Earth & Moon or Forest) can update the picture in cycles.

The most insidious feature is that in MIUI 13 and 14, the Theme of the Day feature is activated automatically when you first connect to the Internet after you reset your settings, and many users do not even suspect that they agree to this by clicking “Next” in the setup wizard.

📊 How often do you change your wallpaper on Xiaomi without your knowledge?
Every day.
Once a week.
Rarely, but accurately.
Never noticed.
I don't know, is that normal?

2. How to turn off automatic wallpaper change in MIUI settings

If the problem is in the standard shell functions, you can fix it for 2-3 Follow the instructions for your version. MIUI:

For MIUI 14 (and newer):

  1. Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
  2. Go to Wallpaper section. → My wallpaper.
  3. Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Settings.
  4. Turn off the Automatic Download Theme and Theme of the Day option.
  5. Go back and manually select static wallpaper (not from the Live category).

For MIUI 12/13:

The interface is slightly different:

  1. Hold your finger on an empty space on your desk. → Wallpaper.
  2. Select the tab "My" at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Click on the gear (Settings) in the upper right corner.
  4. Deactivate Auto Update Wallpaper and Recommendations.

Update the Themes app on Google Play|Turn off the mobile internet before changing your settings|Reboot your phone after the changes|Check the permissions for the Themes app in the security settings-->

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Lite or Redmi) K50) After you turn off the theme of the day, the wallpaper can still change because of the cached data:

  1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
  2. Find Themes, open Warehouse and click Clear Cache.
  3. Repeat the steps to turn off the automatic shift.

3. Live wallpaper and dynamic themes: how to remove them

Live wallpapers (such as Ocean Wave or Particle Effect) often update the image every few hours to get rid of them:

  • 🖼️ Go to Settings. → Wallpaper.
  • Select the Static (or Standard) tab.
  • Install any picture from the gallery or standard options.
  • 🔍 Check if you have installed live wallpapers through third-party apps (such as Zedge or WallpapersCraft).

If they come back alive after the wallpaper changes, then the system has a dynamic theme that's active to remove.

  1. Open Topics → My subjects.
  2. Find an active topic marked "Dynamic" or "Live".
  3. Click on it and select Delete.
  4. Use a standard theme (e.g. MIUI Default).
How do I know which topic is active right now?
Open Settings → About Phone and Tap 5 times according to MIUI. A hidden menu will appear, where the Active Theme ID will be specified in the System UI section. Copy it and find it in the Remove Themes directory.

4 Viruses and Malware Applications: How to Check and Remove

If the wallpaper changes to banner ads or suspicious images (such as "You won a prize!" or porn content), your phone is infected with Advar.

Step 1: Verification of installed applications

  1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
  2. Sort the list by installation date (Recently installed).
  3. Delete suspicious programs with names like: Wallpaper Changer Live Wallpaper HD Theme Store Pro Any apps with random letters in the title (e.g. xYzWall123).

Step 2: Scanning for viruses

Use built-in MIUI Security or third-party antiviruses:

  1. Open Security. → Scanning.
  2. Choose Deep Check.
  3. If you find threats, remove them and restart your phone.

⚠️ Warning: Some viruses disguise themselves as system applications (e.g. com.android.theme) If the problem persists after removing all suspicious programs, reset your phone to factory settings (be sure to back up the data!).

Sign of infectionWhat do you do?
Wallpaper changes to advertisingRemove Advar via Settings → Applications or Antivirus
There are pop-up windows with a proposal to install wallpaperDisable permission to “Show over other windows” for suspicious applications
The wallpaper links to unknown sitesReset network settings in Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks
You can not delete the application through standard settingsUse ADB for forced removal (instruction below)

💡

If the antivirus doesn’t find the threats, but the wallpaper keeps changing, check the list of device administrators: Settings → Passwords and security → Device administrators. Remove unknown programs from there.

5. Resetting and radical methods

If none of these methods work, radical measures remain, and before them, be sure to save data (photos, contacts, messages) to your computer or to the cloud.

Method 1: Resetting the settings of the "Themes" application

  1. Go to Settings → Applications → Themes → Storage.
  2. Click Clear Data (not just cache!).
  3. Reboot the phone.

Method 2: Completely reset your phone

This is an extreme measure, but it is guaranteed to remove all settings, including hidden triggers of changing wallpaper:

  1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
  2. Select Delete all data.
  3. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO F4 GT, Xiaomi 12T Pro) after reset, it may be necessary to unlock the bootloader to reactivate.Make sure you have a backup of your Mi Account data!

Method 3: Removal via ADB (for advanced)

If the virus has blocked the removal via the menu, use ADB:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.thememanager


adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.themes

After you execute the commands, restart the phone. Attention: this will remove all the themes, including the standard ones!

6.How to prevent automatic wallpaper change in the future

To prevent the problem from returning, follow these rules:

  • 🚫 Do not install themes and wallpapers from unverified sources (especially APK-forum-file).
  • 🔒 Turn off the automatic update of the “Themes” app in Google Play.
  • 🛡️ Check your phone regularly for viruses (at least once a month).
  • 📵 Limit background activity for the Themes app: Settings → Annexes → Topics → Battery. Select Limit background activity.

It is also useful to disable theme synchronization through Xiaomi Cloud:

  1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
  2. Find the Sync section and turn off the Topics.

💡

Even after disabling all settings, MIUI can periodically offer new wallpapers through notifications. To stop this, disable notifications for the Themes app in the notification settings.

7. Frequent questions and myths about wallpaper on Xiaomi

Let’s look at common misconceptions and user questions:

🔹 Why After Updating MIUI wallpaper dropped on standard?
This is normal system behavior. Large updates (e.g. MIUI 13 to 14) reset some user settings, including wallpaper. To avoid this, before updating: Save your favorite wallpaper to the gallery. Turn off automatic theme loading (see section 2). After updating manually apply the saved wallpaper.
🔹 Can I get my old wallpaper back? MIUI, which were default?
The standard wallpaper is stored in the system section along the way. /system/media/theme/default_wallpapers. To extract them: Use a file manager with root permissions (like Root Explorer). Copy files with the.jpg or.png extension into a gallery. Without root rights, you can try to find these wallpapers in the archives of topics on sites like Miuier.
🔹 Is it true that Xiaomi sells data on selected wallpapers?
There is no evidence that Xiaomi is sharing information about your wallpaper with third parties.However, MIUI 14’s privacy policy mentions the collection of anonymous data about “user preferences,” including topics. To limit this: Open Settings → Privacy. Turn off Personalized Recommendations and Send Usage Data.
🔹 Why not? POCO The wallpaper changes more often than on Redmi?
This is due to differences in firmware. POCO smartphones (especially the F and X series) often receive global firmware with more aggressive advertising and promo content. To reduce the change rate: Go to European (EEA) or Indian (IN) firmware via Fastboot. Use patches to remove ads (e.g. Xiaomi ADB Fastboot Tools).
🔹 Can you set up automatic change of wallpaper on a schedule?
Yes, but not through the standard settings. To do this: Install the Wallpaper Changer app (like this one). Select the folder with the wallpaper in the gallery. Set up the change interval (like every 6 hours) This is safer than the built-in MIUI feature, since you control the source of the wallpaper.

Conclusion: What to do if nothing helps

If you’ve tried all the ways, but the wallpaper on your Xiaomi still changes by itself, there are three options:

  1. Contact Xiaomi Support via the official website or chat in the Mi Community app. Describe the problem in as much detail as possible, specifying the phone model and the MIUI version.
  2. Reflashing the phone to custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience) is a radical step that requires unlocking the bootloader.
  3. Embrace and use alternative launchers (for example, Nova Launcher or Lawnchair), which allow you to fix wallpaper regardless of system settings.

Remember, most of the time, the problem is solved by turning off one tick in your settings. Don't rush to drop your phone or flash it - check all the options in this article first. If you still have specific questions (such as "how to remove the X virus" or "where to find wallpaper for MIUI 14"), ask them in the comments - we will complement the guide with current solutions.