How to Change Icons on Xiaomi: From Standard Themes to Deep Customization

Icons on Xiaomi smartphones are the first thing that catches the eye when unlocking the screen.Standard design MIUI HyperOS is not like everyone: someone wants minimalist icons, someone – bright 3D-The effects, and some people want to bring back old icons from previous firmware versions, and fortunately, the manufacturer has several ways to change them, from simple to advanced.

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of changing icons on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices (including models from 2023-2026 on MIUI 14 and HyperOS).

• 🎨 Use built-in themes from the Theme (without root and third-party apps)
• 📱 Install custom icons through launchers (Nova Launcher, Apex)
• 🔧 Change the icons of system applications via ADB (power-user)
• 🖼️ Create your icons manually or download packs from Play Market
• ⚙️ Restore standard icons if something goes wrong

Important: Not all methods are equally secure, for example, changing system files through ADB can cause a reset or locking of the device if the syntax of commands is broken, and we will explain the risks in detail and give checklists for each method.

Never changed | Once a year | Every month | Experimenting daily-->

1. Standard method: topics from MIUI/HyperOS

The easiest and safest way to do this is to use the Themes app, which is available on all Xiaomi smartphones, and allows you to change not only icons, but also fonts, wallpaper, animations. Here's how it works:

1. Open the Themes app (brush icon on your desktop).
2. Go to the Icon tab (or Icon Packs in global firmware).
3. Select the package you like and click Apply.

MIUI 14 and HyperOS have over 50 free icon sets available, including:

• 🌌 Cosmic – futuristic icons with gradients
• 🖤 Minimal Black – Monochrome icons for minimalist lovers
• 🎮 Game Center - Stylized as game consoles
• 🍭 Sweet Candy – bright “candy” icons for girls

⚠️ Attention: Some themes may not support all apps, for example, if you installed icons from the Minimal Black pack, but the WhatsApp icon remained standard, this is normal. Theme developers do not always have time to adapt the design to all popular programs.

💡

To return standard icons, go to Themes → Mine → Icons → Default. This will work even if you previously installed custom packs through the launcher.

2.Castomic icons through launchers (Nova, Apex, Lawnchair)

If you don't have enough built-in themes, you can install a third-party launcher and download icon packs from Google Play, which works on all versions of MIUI/HyperOS and does not require root rights.

Instructions for Nova Launcher (similar to others):

1. Install a launcher from the Play Market and select it as the main one.
2. Download your favorite icon pack (such as Whicons, CandyCons or Delta).
3. Go to the launcher settings: Nova Settings → Look & Feel → Icon style.
4. Select the downloaded pack in the Icon pack section.

💡 Tip: If icons don't apply to all apps, turn on the Apply icon shape to all option (in Nova Launcher.

Make a backup of the current launcher settings|Check the compatibility of the icon pack with your version of Android|Disable battery optimization for launcher|Reboot the phone after the changes are applied-->

3. Manually modifying icons via ADB (for experienced)

This method is suitable for those who want to change system icons (for example, Settings icons, Phone or Messages) without using a launcher.

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB and Xiaomi drivers
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap)
• 🔗.png icons with the correct file names

⚠️ Attention: Wrong commands ADB It can lead to the ruin of system applications or even bootloop ( looped boot). ADB, Use the launchers from the previous section.

Example of a command to replace the Settings app icon:

adb shell


su




mount -o rw,remount /system




cp /sdcard/Download/new_settings_icon.png /system/app/Settings/res/drawable-xxhdpi/ic_launcher_settings.png




chmod 644 /system/app/Settings/res/drawable-xxhdpi/ic_launcher_settings.png




reboot

Where:

• /sdcard/Download/new_settings_icon.png — the path to your icon (size must match the original, usually 192×192 px)
• drawable-xxhdpi – folder with permissions (may vary depending on model)

4. Creating your own icons: tools and formats

If you don't find the right package in the Play Market, you can create the icons yourself.

• 🎨 Image Editor: Adobe Photoshop, GIMP (free of charge or Figma (online)
• 📏 Icon templates MIUI/HyperOS (You can download it here)
• 🖼️.png format with transparent background (resolution from 192×192 px 512×512 px)

Creation process:

1. Download the template for your model (for example, the Xiaomi 13 Pro will suit the MIUI 14 template).
2. Open it in the editor and draw your design over the base layer.
3. Export to.png with the name corresponding to the original icon (e.g, ic_launcher_phone.png for the phone application).
4. Download the icons to your phone and apply via ADB (as in the previous section) or launcher.

🔍 Where do you get inspiration? Look at the community's work:

• 🌐 DeviantArt (Tag #MIUIicons)
• 🎨 Behance
• 📱 Telegram channels with themes for Xiaomi

💡

Icons for MIUI/HyperOS should have a transparent background and square shape, otherwise they will be cropped or distorted by the system.

5 Problems and Solutions: Why don't icons change?

Even after the right actions, icons can remain standard.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 or X-ray) POCO F5) after the icons have been changed ADB It's related to HyperOS optimizations. To bring back animations, do it:

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 1.0


adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 1.0




adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 1.0

6. How to return standard icons?

If you are disappointed with the design experiments, you can return everything as it was in several ways:

1. For MIUI/HyperOS themes: Open Themes → Mine → Icons → By default. Reboot your phone if changes don't apply.
2. For launchers: Go to the launcher settings (like Nova) and select Default icons. Remove the installed icon packs from Settings → Apps.
3. For ADB-Changes: Download original icons from your model's firmware (can be found on Xiaomi Firmware Updater).Repeat the replacement procedure, but use the original files.

💡 Tip: Before any manipulation of icons, create a backup of the current theme. MIUI It can be done in Subjects. → Profile → Backup. In launchers (like Nova), backup is created in Settings. → Backup and import.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing icons to Xiaomi