Personalizing the look of a smartphone is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make a device truly your own. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO gadgets often face the desire to replace standard program icons with unique images, such as photos of friends, pets or just beautiful landscapes. The standard shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS provide the basic tools for this, but they are not always obvious to the beginner.
There are several proven methods for doing this, ranging from built-in theme functions to third-party launchers. The choice of the specific method depends on the model of your smartphone, the version of the Android operating system and the desired level of detail. Some methods allow you to change only the picture, retaining the functionality of widgets, while others create shortcuts-copy.
In this article, we will take a look at all the available action algorithms so that you can turn your device screen into a unique piece of digital art. We will look at the nuances of working with system themes, the capabilities of third-party shortcut applications and the subtleties of setting up launchers. Attention: before starting experiments, it is recommended to back up important data, although the methods described are safe.
Use of the built-in MIUI and HyperOS theme store
The easiest and safest way to change the look of the interface is to use the Themes system application. Xiaomi smartphone owners have access to a huge database of user and official designs, many of which support the icon customization function. To get started, you need to open the Themes app on the home screen or in the Tools folder.
You can search the store for "Custom icons" or "Your icons" to find themes that allow you to replace standard images with user-selected ones. Once you install this theme, you often need to go to the design settings to activate the ability to select images from the gallery for specific applications.
However, free themes may contain ads or require you to watch videos to activate, and not all themes support replacement with custom photos, many only offer ready-made sets, but for a quick and safe style change, this is the optimal solution, not requiring deep technical knowledge.
- 🎨 Open the Topics app and go to the Profile section».
- 🔍 Search for “Icon pack” or “Custom icons».
- ⬇️ Download your favorite theme and apply it through the “Activate” button».
- ⚙️ Go to the theme settings to check the ability to upload your photos.
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If the theme store is down or shows a network error, try changing the region in your smartphone settings to India or Singapore – this often solves the problem of accessing servers.
Creating shortcuts through the “Themes” app and gallery
A more flexible method available on most current firmware versions allows you to create new shortcuts directly from the gallery or through the theme editing menu. This approach does not replace the original application, but creates a copy of it with a new icon.
Once you open the image, click on the "More" button (three dots) and find "Create a shortcut" or "Create a theme." The system will suggest selecting the application for which this shortcut will be created. You can crop the image, apply filters or leave the photo unchanged, which allows you to create an icon in the form of a circle, a square or with rounded corners, which is especially true for modern interfaces.
⚠️ Warning: The shortcuts created in this way are independent entities. If you delete the original app, the shortcut will stop working, but if you remove the shortcut itself, the app will stay in place.
An important aspect is that notifications on these custom shortcuts may not be displayed correctly or at all, as the system perceives them as new, unrelated to the main application package. However, the visual effect is worth it. You can create an entire composition of photos, making the desktop as personal as possible.
☑️ Label-making algorithm
Application of third-party launchers for full customization
For users who lack the standard shell, the ideal solution is to install a third-party launcher, applications like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Smart Launcher give almost unlimited rights to change the appearance, and once installed, it becomes a replacement for the standard desktop.
Third-party launcher settings usually have a "Look" or "Icons" section where you can select "Selected Icons" and click on it, you can select any application from the list and assign it an image from the gallery, which allows you to use any photos downloaded from the Internet or taken independently, without format restrictions, imposed by system themes.
The main advantage of this method is that you can fine-tune the size, shape, and even animation of icons. You can set the desktop grid to make the photos look like part of a single collage. However, it's worth remembering that third-party launchers can consume more battery life than a standard MIUI shell.
- 📲 Download and install Nova Launcher or analogue from Google Play.
- 🏠 Assign a new launcher to the default application in the settings.
- 🖌️ Press your finger on the app icon and select “Edit».
- 🖼️ Select “Image” and upload your photo from the gallery.
Why can the launcher not work properly?
Use of specialized apps for icons
There's a whole class of apps that are designed to replace icons, like X Icon Changer or Shortcut Maker, which are basically wrapping for the original application, and they don't require a super-user license, and they're safe to use on any device.
The process is as simple as possible: you open an application, select a target program, then choose the source of the image (gallery, camera or set of icons), the application will cut the photo to the desired format and create a shortcut on the desktop. This is a great way to quickly update the design without installing heavy launchers.
The downside of this approach is that when you remove the shortcut creator app, the icons themselves can disappear, and as with embedded methods, notifications can come to the original icon, not to the new one, but for visual decoration, it is the most flexible tool.
| Annex | Advertising | Widget support | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| X Icon Changer | There (free version) | No. | Low. |
| Shortcut Maker | Minimum | Yes (partially) | Medium |
| Nova Launcher | Aye (in Prime not) | Complete. | Tall. |
| Systemic themes | Depends on the topic. | Yes. | Low. |
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Specialized shortcut creator apps are the best choice if you want to change icons selectively without affecting the entire system.
Setting up widgets with photos instead of icons
An alternative and very aesthetic approach is to use widgets, so instead of changing the app icon, you can put a widget photo on your desktop and place a transparent label on the app next to or over it (if the launcher allows overlaying), which takes more effort, but the result looks professional.
Many of the weather, watch, or calendar widgets in MIUI allow you to change the background to your image, so you can set up a large widget, upload a beautiful photo, and on top of it, using the launcher grid, carefully arrange the functional elements, which turns the desktop into a kind of photo panel.
This approach often requires a third-party launcher that supports transparent widgets or layering. Xiaomi’s standard launcher has limitations on the density of elements that can prevent you from creating the perfect composition.
- 📸 Add the “Photo” or “Gallery” widget to your desktop.
- 🖼️ Upload the desired image to the widget from the device memory.
- 📍 Place app shortcuts around or over the widget.
- 🔧 Set up transparency of background shortcuts in launcher settings.
⚠️ Note: When using live photo update widgets (slideshows), battery consumption may increase as the screen and processor will be activated more often to update content.
Problem Solving and Interface Optimization
In the process of customization, users often face problems: icons become too large, the text below them does not read or notifications stop coming. If the icon looks blurry, make sure that the original photo has sufficient resolution, preferably at least 512x512 pixels. Small images lose quality when stretched.
If notifications are missing, check the battery settings for a particular application. Android can limit background copy shortcut activity. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the right one and make sure that background activity is allowed. It's also worth checking if power saving is on.
To return to the original state, simply remove the created shortcuts or change the theme to the standard in the Topic menu → Profile → Topics. Resetting the launcher to the factory settings will also return all icons to the original state, but will not delete your personal data or applications. Regular cleaning of unused shortcuts helps keep the system running.