How to add weather to Xiaomi’s home screen

Personalizing the smartphone interface starts with the most important thing, the information you see immediately after unlocking. For most Xiaomi and Redmi users, the weather widget becomes a key element, allowing you to instantly assess the situation outside the window without opening unnecessary applications. However, the standard MIUI shell or the new HyperOS offers many customization nuances that often remain hidden from the average user.

In this guide, we will discuss in detail how not to just display the temperature on the screen, but also to adjust its display as conveniently as possible. You will learn how system widgets differ from Google solutions, as well as how to fix the situation if the widget has stopped updating or shows incorrect data. The accuracy of the forecast on the widget depends on the selected data source in the Weather settings.

Some users are experiencing a widget that disappears or changes its format after a system update, due to changes in privacy policies and the shell design code update, and we’ll look at all the current ways to integrate weather data into your device’s interface, including methods for old and new firmware versions.

Standard weather widget in the shell of MIUI and HyperOS

The easiest and most energy-efficient way to display weather data is to use a built-in widget from Xiaomi, which is deeply integrated into the system, consumes minimal battery power and automatically adjusts to the theme of the design, and to activate it, you need to do a few simple actions in the desktop editing menu.

Press and hold your finger on the free portion of your desktop until the screen goes into editing mode. At the bottom of the display, you'll see a toolbar where you want to select Widgets. In the list that opens, find the "Weather" or "Weather" section, and here you'll find several options, from minimal displaying only temperature to large blocks with hourly forecast and humidity.

Choose your favorite style and drag it to the free screen space. Once you have placed the widget, you can zoom in if the version you choose supports it. To do this, click on the widget and hold it until the size reset grid appears. Pull around the corners to expand the display area and see the forecast a few days ahead.

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For maximum autonomy, use the compact 2x1 widget, as it requests less data updates from the server than large information blocks.

Importantly, the system widget requires permission to access geolocation. Without this option, it will not be able to determine your location and show the current forecast. If the widget shows scrolls instead of temperature, check the permission settings for the Weather application in the Settings menu → Apps → All applications.

Google widgets: an alternative option

Many users prefer to replace standard Xiaomi solutions with Google widgets, the main advantage of which is synchronization with a Google account and the ability to display data in a uniform style with the search bar and other services of the company. Google’s interface often seems more concise and informative.

The process of adding a Google widget is similar to standard tools, but it has its own peculiarities: you will need a Google app that is pre-installed on most global firmware versions. If you have a Chinese version of a smartphone, you may need to install Google Play services additionally.

• 🌤️ Press and hold the empty area on the desktop.
• 📱 Select the widgets item in the lower menu.
• 🔍 Find the section "Google" in the list».
• ⬇️ Select the weather widget (usually it comes in conjunction with the search bar) and drag to the screen.

The main difference between Google’s widget is the data source, which uses information from Google’s servers, which can be more convenient for those who are used to the search engine ecosystem, and it is often updated more often and offers more detailed hourly forecasts right on the home screen without having to go to the app.

Consider that Google widgets can consume a little more resources in the background to ensure high refresh rates. If you are critical to saving charge, a system solution from Redmi or Poco may be the best choice. However, visually, Google widgets often benefit in adaptability to different sizes of the desktop grid.

Third-party applications and interface customization

For users who are not comfortable with standard solutions, the market offers a huge number of third-party applications, programs like Weather & Widget, Overdrop or Today Weather allow you to create a unique design by changing fonts, colors and animations, which is the best way to turn the lock screen into a personal weather station.

Installing a third-party widget requires downloading an app from the GetApps store or Google Play. Once installed, the algorithm is standard: go to the widget menu, find the installed app and place the item on the desktop. However, such widgets often require broader permissions, including access to background geolocation and work in the background without restrictions.

Custom widgets provide access to features such as percent rainfall, UV index, air quality, and even moon phases. Some applications allow you to change the background image of the widget depending on the time of day or current temperature, creating a dynamic interface.

When choosing a third-party solution, pay attention to feedback on energy consumption. Animated widgets with live wallpaper can significantly reduce the time of a smartphone from a single charge, especially on models with a single charge. AMOLED-screens where each illuminated pixel consumes energy.

Solving problems with updating the widget

A common problem faced by Xiaomi owners is that the weather widget stops updating, showing yesterday's data or dashboards. This is due to the aggressive MIUI shell energy saving policy, which "sleeps down" background processes to save charge. To fix this, you need to manually adjust the permissions.

First, you need to prevent the system from restricting the Weather app. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance (or simply Battery). Find the Weather app in the list and select No Restrictions mode, which will allow the widget to update in the background without interruption.

Also make sure that the date and time settings are set to automatic. If the phone clock is lagging or in a hurry, the weather server may block requests for security reasons, considering the request time invalid.

⚠️ Warning: If the widget shows an incorrect location (for example, a city in a nearby area), check the geolocation settings. Enable Network Coordinates or On GPS» Sometimes it helps to manually re-enter the city in the search bar inside the weather app. Another cause of failure may be an overcrowded app cache. Cleaning up the data won't delete your settings, but it will reset temporary files that may have been corrupted. Go to Settings → Annexes → All applications → Weather. → Clean up → Clear the cache. After this procedure, the widget should reboot with new data. Accurate location and city settings For those who travel frequently or follow the weather in a city where relatives live, the ability to add multiple locations is important. Weather system application allows you to store a list of cities and switch between them by swipe. However, the desktop widget usually only displays the current location. To ensure that the widget always shows the current weather when moving, you need to allow the application to access the geoposition in the “Always” or “When using” mode. New versions of HyperOS have a feature for accurate and approximate location. For weather widgets, it is recommended to choose the exact definition so that the precipitation forecast is correct. If you add several cities to the application, the widget on the desktop will show the first one on the list or the one that is defined as “Current”. To change the priority city, open the application, find the desired location, you need to select the desired city, select the correct one on the first place, and type it in the first place. 💡Auto-location works more accurately when Wi-Fi is on, even if you're not connected to a particular network, because the phone scans the environment for triangulation, GPS In this situation, the widget can show the weather of a neighboring area, switching the data source to "Detection over the network" (Wi-Fi and mobile towers) often solves the problem faster than waiting for the satellite signal. Desktop design and styling Adding a widget is just the first step to personalization. To make the interface look harmonious, the weather widget must be combined with wallpaper and icons. MIUI It allows you to use themes that automatically change the style of widgets, making them transparent or translucent. Use the Infinite Screen function or live wallpaper that responds to the weather. For example, when it rains, the screen can show droplets, and on a sunny day, glare, and the weather widget becomes an organic part of the live scene, not just an information block. 🎨 Choose the color of the widget under the dominant color of the wallpaper. 🔲 Use the grid. 4x6 or 5x6 for more precise positioning of elements. 📉 Avoid overlaying important interface elements such as a watch or search bar with the widget. Third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher are available for advanced users. They provide even more options for setting up the grid, fonts and behavior of widgets. However, it is worth remembering that third-party launchers can consume more resources and do not always support all Xiaomi branded gestures. ⚠️ Note: When installing third-party launchers on Android 12 and above, the system may obsessively suggest returning to the standard launcher. To disable this, in the launcher settings, look for Reset Protection or similar, and follow the instructions for hiding the navigation bar. Remember to update the weather app regularly through the GetApps store. Developers often release patches that improve prediction accuracy and fix display bugs on new screen resolutions. The current version of the software is the key to the stable operation of all widgets. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Why did the weather widget disappear after the system update? MIUI Or HyperOS, the widget structure can change, and the old widget can be replaced by a new widget that needs to be added again through the desktop editing menu, and check if the Weather app is disabled in the settings. Can you resize the temperature font on the widget? In the standard widget MIUI changing the font size separately from the system font is not possible. However, installing third-party widgets (Weather & Widget et al.) gives you complete freedom to customize typography and colors. The widget shows the weather of another city how to change? Open the Weather app, make sure that the desired location is first on the list. If the city is not identified, click on the city name, enter the correct name manually and confirm the choice. Check the geolocation settings for accuracy. Does the widgett take a lot of traffic? No, text data about the weather weigh very little (a few kilobytes). Even with frequent updates once in 15-30 minutes of traffic and in the browser will not be allowed in the background of traffic? In the Weather app, go to settings (three bars or dots), select Settings, find Receive References or Get Promotional Materials, and turn off this switch. This will remove banner ads from the interface.