How to change the look of the watch on Xiaomi devices: from smartphone to Mi Band

Why Xiaomi users want to change the dial – and what is stopping them

Owners of Xiaomi devices — from the budget Redmi Note to the flagship Mi 13 Ultra — often face the same problem: standard clocks on the lock screen or home screen look boring. Meanwhile, the MIUI and HyperOS ecosystem have more 20 hidden time design options — from minimalistic digital to animated 3D- dials. But finding them is not so easy: settings are scattered across different menus, and some features work only on certain models.

Even more complicated is the case with Xiaomi smart watches (Watch series, Watch S) and fitness bracelets (Mi Band 7/8, Smart Band Pro), where the choice of dials depends on the firmware version, the region of sale and even whether the watch is connected to the smartphone via Mi Fitness or Zepp Life. For example, Mi Band 8 owners in Russia by default see only 5 free themes, whereas in the Chinese version of the app there are more than 100.

In this article, we will explore all the ways to change the look of watches on Xiaomi devices, from smartphones to wearables, including hidden features and circumventing regional restrictions.

• 🔄 Instantly change the style of the watch on the lock screen without root rights
• 🎨 Install custom dials on Mi Band via third-party apps
• ⚙️ Activate hidden clock animations in HyperOS (powered by Xiaomi 14, 13T)
• 🔓 Bypass Mi Fitness restrictions and access Chinese themes

Method 1: Change the clock on the screen lock smartphone

On Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 12-14 or HyperOS, the watch on the lock screen is customized via the theme menu. Importantly, the available styles depend on the shell version and device model. For example, 12 options are available on the POCO F5 with HyperOS, and only 6 on the Redmi 10C with MIUI 13.

To change the dial:

1. Unlock your smartphone and swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification panel.
2. Click and hold the blank space on the home screen → select Themes.
3. Go to the Lock Screen → Watch Style section.
4. Scroll through the list of options available. Click on your favorite to apply it.

🔹 Secret trick: Some models (such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro) can activate a dynamic paralax clock that responds to the tilt of the device.

1. Choose the Analog (Dynamic) style.
2. Return to the Lock screen menu and turn on the option of Slope Effects.

⚠️ Warning: If after a change of style, the clock on the lock screen is not displayed correctly (e.g., arrows twitch or numbers overlap), this may be due to a conflict of topics.

⚠️ Go to Settings → Apps → Application Management → Themes and clear the cache. Then restart the smartphone.

Method 2: Install custom dials on Mi Band

The Xiaomi Mi Band 7/8 and Smart Band Pro officially support changing dials only through the Mi Fitness app (or Zepp Life in the newer versions), but the standard catalog offers no more than 20 to 30 themes, many of them paid. Fortunately, there are workarounds.

🔹 Method 1: Notify & Fitness for Mi Band (for Android):

• 📱 Install the app from Google Play.
• 🔗 Connect the bracelet to Notify & Fitness (you may need to turn off Mi Fitness while you set up).
• 🎨 In the Watchfaces section, select your favorite dial and press Install.
• 🔄 Sync theme with the bracelet via Bluetooth.

🔹 Method 2: Manual download of.bin files (for power users):

Some enthusiasts create custom.bin dials and post them on forums (like 4PDA) to set the dial:

1. Download the.bin file to your smartphone.
2. Rename it custom_face.bin.
3. Place the file in /MiFit/watchfaces/ (create it if it doesn't exist).
4. Open Mi Fitness, go to the dials section and select Local Files.

Method 3: Hidden clock settings in HyperOS

HyperOS, Xiaomi’s new shell that replaced MIUI in 2023-2026, offers enhanced customization capabilities, but many features are hidden from the user by default. For example, Xiaomi 14 can activate the “Deep Clock” mode, which creates the illusion of a three-dimensional dial.

To access hidden settings:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Screen → Lock screen → Additional settings.
3. Click 5 times in a row on the line MIUI Version (or HyperOS Version).
4. Return to the Lock screen menu – now there will be a new Experimental Styles section.

🔹 Hidden options available (depending on model):

• ⏳ An hourglass clock is an animation of sand as the minutes change.
• 🌌 Cosmic dial - the starry sky as a background (requires a gyroscope).
• 🎨 Color gradient: The clock changes color depending on the time of day.

💡

If after activating hidden functions, the clock on the lock screen began to slow down, try turning off animation in the developer settings (Settings → About the phone → MIUI version → 7 times tap → Developer settings → Windows animation = 0.5x).

Method 4: Changing the watch on Xiaomi smartwatch (Mi Watch)

Smart watches Xiaomi Mi Watch, Watch S1 and Watch S3 support changing the dials through the official application Xiaomi Wear (formerly Mi Wear).

• 📲 There are ~50 free themes available for the Mi Watch Lite, and over 200 for the Watch S3.
• 💰 Some premium dials cost between 100 and 500 rubles.
• 🌍 In the Russian version of the application, the theme catalog is stripped down (in the Chinese version, they are 3-5 times more).

🔹 How to set the dial on the Mi Watch:

1. Open the Xiaomi Wear app on your smartphone.
2. Connect the watch via Bluetooth (if not already connected).
3. Go to the Dials section.
4. Select a category (e.g. Sports, Classics).
5. Click on your favorite topic → Set.
6. Wait for synchronization (can take up to 1 minute).

⚠️ Warning: The Mi Watch S1 Pro may be affected by a pedometer when installing third-party themes (e.g., through Amazfit Watchfaces).

⚠️ Before installing a custom dial, back up your data to Xiaomi Wear (Profile → Backup). After changing the theme, reset the clock (Settings → System → Reboot).

Method 5: Bypassing regional restrictions in Mi Fitness

Xiaomi Mi Band and Mi Watch users in Russia often face a problem: there are only 5-10 free dials available in the Mi Fitness app, while there are hundreds of them in the Chinese version, due to Xiaomi’s regional restrictions.

🔹 Method 1: Changing the region in your Xiaomi account

1. Open the Xiaomi account page in your browser.
2. Go to Account Settings → Personal Information → Country/Region.
3. Change the country to China or India (there are more free themes).
4. Save the changes and restart Mi Fitness.

🔹 Method 2: Use VPN

Some dials are locked to the IP- address to access the full directory:

• 🌐 Install VPN with servers in China or Singapore (e.g., ProtonVPN).
• 📱 Connect to VPN on your smartphone.
• 🔄 Update the data in Mi Fitness (pull down in the Dials section).

💡

Changing the region of your Xiaomi account may result in a loss of warranty if the device was purchased in Russia, and it is recommended to create a separate account for the Chinese region.

Problem Solving: The clock doesn't change or reset

Sometimes, when you change the dial, you get bugs: the clock gets reset to the standard, the animation slows down, or the theme doesn't get installed at all. Here are the most common problems and their solutions:

🔹 If the dial does not change on the Mi Watch smartwatch:

• 🔋 Check the battery charge (should be ≥30%).
• 📶 Make sure the watch is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth.
• 🔄 Reset the clock: Press the power button for 10 seconds.
• 🗑️ Clear the cache of the Xiaomi Wear app.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing the clock on Xiaomi