How to change app icons on Xiaomi: from standard themes to custom packs

App icons on Xiaomi smartphones are the first thing that catches your eye when you unlock the screen. The standard design of MIUI or HyperOS is not popular with everyone: someone wants uniformity, someone wants bright accents, and someone just gets bored with the appearance of native icons. Fortunately, the manufacturer and third-party developers offer several ways of customization, from simple themes to deep editing system files.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods for changing icons on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO – from official solutions to advanced tricks for power users.

• 🎨 Apply ready-made themes from the store MIUI Themes (no root rights)
• 📱 Use third-party launchers for flexible configuration (Nova Launcher, Apex)
• 🔧 Change the icons of individual applications through ADB (rusty)
• 🖌️ Install custom icon packs manually (requires root or ADB)
• ⚙️ Return the standard badges if something goes wrong

All instructions are valid for MIUI 12-14 and the new HyperOS (2026), and if your smartphone is running an older version of the firmware, some of the methods may not work, we will warn you about this in advance.

1.The Official Way: Themes from MIUI Themes

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI Themes store. It is available on all Xiaomi smartphones without any additional installations and does not require root rights or technical skills. The store has thousands of free and paid themes, many of which change not only icons, but also fonts, wallpaper, animations.

To change icons through themes:

1. Open the Themes app (brush icon on your desktop).
2. Go to the icon tab (or icons in some versions).
3. Select your favorite icon pack and click Apply.
4. Confirm the changes – the system will automatically update the icons on the desktop and in the application menu.

⚠️ Note: Some themes may not change the icons of all applications, for example, system utilities (Settings, Phone, Messages) often remain as standard. MIUI or reset the theme will reset to default.

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If the theme store doesn't have a suitable icon pack, try searching manually. Type in the style name (e.g., "minimal icons" or "neon pack") in the search bar, which is often the way hidden collections are found.

2 Third-party launchers: Nova Launcher, Apex and others

If there are few built-in themes, you can install an alternative launcher - a program that completely replaces the standard MIUI interface.

• 🌟 Nova Launcher – the most flexible, with support for custom icons, gestures and animations.
• 📱 Apex Launcher – lightweight and fast, suitable for weak devices.
• 🎨 Lawnchair – open source launcher that simulates “clean” Android.
• ⚡ Microsoft Launcher – Integration with Windows and Office Services.

How to change icons with Nova Launcher:

1. Install a launcher from Google Play.
2. Download a pack of icons (for example, Whicons, Fluid Icons or Delta – they are also searched for in the Play Market).
3. Press your finger on the desktop → Settings → Style of icons.
4. Select the downloaded pack in the section of the Pak icons.
5. If necessary, adjust the size, shape and indentations of the icons in the Appearance section.

🔹 Pros of the method: complete freedom of customization, support for animations, the ability to hide the names of applications. 🔸 Cons: Some system icons (such as Settings) may not change because the launcher cannot override them.

3. Change icons through ADB (no root rights)

If you need to change the icons of individual applications (for example, only YouTube or Telegram), you can use the ADB command. This method does not require root rights, but will require connecting the smartphone to your computer.

📌 What's the matter:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to press the version → return to → For developers).
• 📁 Icons in.png format (at least resolution) 192×192 px).

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and open the command line (Win + R → enter cmd).
2. Check the connection command: Adb devices should appear serial number of the device.
3. Download the icon you want to install and rename it icon.png.
4. Use the replacement command (youtube example): adb shell cmd shortcut set-icon --package com.google.android.youtube --user 0 /sdcard/icon.png Where com.google.android.youtube is the batch name of the application (you can find out through App Inspector).
5. Reboot the smartphone – the icon will be updated.

⚠️ Note: This method does not work on all versions. MIUI/HyperOS. On some firmware, the icon may reset after rebooting, and you may not be able to change the icons of system applications (for example, Settings or Camera).

Install ADB on PC|Enable USB debugging on Xiaomi|Download pack icons in PNG|Recognise the packet name of the application (e.g. com.whatsapp)|Connect the phone to your computer-->

4. Manual replacement of icons (requires root rights)

For the most advanced users, there is a way to completely replace the system icons manually, which requires root access and working with the file system, so it is only suitable for experienced users, an error can lead to a launcher crash or even a system freeze.

🔧 Step-by-step instruction:

1. Get root rights (for example, through Magisk).
2. Install a file manager with support for root (Root Explorer, Mixplorer).
3. Go to the application icon folder. Paths may vary, but usually: /data/app/[application package]-1/base.apk/res/drawable/ For example, for Chrome, the path will be: /data/app/com.android.chrome-1/base.apk/res/drawable/
4. Find the icon file (usually called the icon file) ic_launcher.png Or similarly, replace it with your image with the same name and resolution.
5. Reset the device.

📊 Below is a table with paths to icons of popular apps:

⚠️ Warning: Replacing system icons (such as Settings or Phone) may cause the launcher to crash.Before experimenting, back up the original files!

5. Applications for customization of icons

If you don't want to mess with ADB or root rights, you can use specialized applications, which are overlays, which are new icons over and over.

📌 Top.-3 icon-shifter:

• 🎨 Icon Changer is a simple tool to replace icons one by one, supports the creation of shortcuts with a new design.
• 🖼️ Icon Pack Studio – allows you to create your own icon packs and apply them through the launcher.
• 🔄 Shortcut Maker – creates duplicate applications with new icons (does not replace the originals).

How to use Icon Changer:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Select the icon you want to change.
3. Upload a new image (you can choose from the gallery or download from the Internet).
4. Create a shortcut on your desktop – the original icon will remain on the menu, but a new one will appear on the screen.

🔹 Plus: does not require root rights and works on any versions MIUI/HyperOS. 🔸 Disadvantage: only shortcuts are replaced, not the icons themselves in the app menu.

6. How to return standard icons

If after experimenting with themes, launchers or ADB icons began to glittle or you just got tired of customizing the interface, you can return everything back in several ways:

🔄 Ways of rollback:

• 🎨 For those: Open Topics → Mine. → Current theme and select Standard.
• 📱 For launchers: Return the system launcher in the default settings (see spoiler in section 2).
• 🔧 For ADB: Execute the command: adb shell cmd shortcut reset-icon --package [package] --user 0
• ⚙️ For manual replacement: Restore the original files from backup or reinstall the application.
• 🔄 Universal way: make reset launcher settings in Settings → Annexes → Launcher → Warehouse → Clear the data.

⚠️ Note: If after replacing the icons through root launcher stopped working, try:

1. Clear the launcher cache (Settings → Applications → Launcher → Clear the cache).
2. Restart the device in Safe Mode (press the power button → Restart in Safe Mode).
3. If nothing helps, reinstall the launcher via ADB: adb shell pm clear com.miui.home

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Before any manipulation of icons, back up your data, especially with ADB and root methods, an error can cause the phone to be reset to factory settings.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing icons to Xiaomi