How to Remove Song Cover on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide for All Models

You have downloaded your favorite song on your Xiaomi Redmi Note 12. POCO X5 Pro, but instead of a beautiful cover, you're showing a blurry artist's photo or a black square? Or maybe the system automatically framed the wrong picture, and you want to bring back the original one? MIUI, Especially after updating the firmware or transferring music from other devices.

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to remove covers from standard tools. MIUI Music Player to manually edit metadata via PC, learn why covers can stick to files even after overwriting, how to clear the media cache without losing data, and what to do if changes don't apply. MIUI 14+, where the covers are stored in the hidden database of the system.

Important: The procedure differs depending on whether you are using an embedded player or third-party apps like Poweramp or a new one. VLC. We'll look at both options. Let's start with the simplest, and gradually move on to advanced techniques for power users.

1. Removal of cover through a standard player MIUI

If you’re listening to music through the built-in Music app (or Mi Music on older versions), the quickest way is to use its editing features. POCO firmware MIUI 12 and newer.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Music app and find a track with an unwanted cover.
• 🖼️ Click on the album cover (or track if it is individual) and the enlarged image will open.
• 🗑️ In the upper right corner, tap three points (⋮) and select Remove the cover (or Reset the cover in the MIUI 15).
• ✅ Confirm the action. The cover will be replaced with a standard black background or a note icon.

If you do not delete the cover, then the image is embedded in the metadata of the file (see section 3). Also check if the option is enabled Automatic Receiving Covers in the player settings (Settings) → Additionally. → Album covers).

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra), after removing the cover through the player, it can recover after rebooting the device.This is due to the operation of the com.miui.player service, which caches metadata. The solution is to clear the cache (see section 4).

2.Resetting covers for the entire album

If you give the wrong cover to all the tracks on one album, it's easier to dump it en masse. MIUI 13-15 and works even if the files are stored on the SD-map.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Music app and go to the Albums section.
2. Find an album with a problematic cover and hold your finger on its title (or cover) until the context menu appears.
3. Choose to Edit Information (or Change to) MIUI 15).
4. Slip on the current album cover, the gallery will open, and the Remove option will appear at the bottom of the screen.
5. Confirm the deletion. All tracks on the album will lose their tied cover.

If the cover is still displayed after these actions, check:

• 🔄 Is not automatic cover filling enabled in player settings (Settings) → Album covers → Autoboot).
• 📁 Whether files like folder.jpg or cover.jpg are stored in the folder with music, the system can pick them up as covers.
• 🔍 Is there a third-party metadata management app (such as Music Tag Editor) installed that overwrites changes.

3. Manual editing of metadata via PC

When the cover is “stitched” into the file itself (e.g. in format) MP3 or FLAC), You can't delete it through a player, you have to edit the metadata. Mp3tag (Windows), Kid3 (Linux/macOS) Or Star Music Tag Editor (Android) and we'll look at the version of the Mp3tag most reliable.

Instructions for Windows:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your computer in File Transfer mode (MTP). Copy problem tracks to hard disk.
2. Install and open. Mp3tag. Drag files into the program window.
3. Select the tracks that need to be removed from the cover. In the bottom panel, go to the Cover tab.
4. Click Remove (basket icon) – this will clear all the embedded images.
5. Save the changes (Ctrl + S) and transfer the files back to the phone.

For Android users:

• 📱 Install Star Music Tag Editor from Google Play.
• 🔍 Choose a track → Edit tags → Cover → Delete.
• 💾 Save the changes and update the player library.

⚠️ Note: When editing metadata via PC, make sure that in the settings Mp3tag Automatically download covers (Options) has been disabled → Tags → Mpeg → Uncheck "Download cover" otherwise the program may re-add the cover from the Internet.

4. Cleaning of the media cache and database MIUI

If you deleted the cover, but it still appears - the problem is in the cache of the system. MIUI Stores cover thumbnails in a separate database that doesn't always update in sync with the files:

Method 1: Through application settings

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find music (or Mi Music) and discover it.
• 🧹 Press Warehouse. → Clear cache and Clear data.
• 🔄 Reset the device.

Method 2: Reset the database of media files (for experienced users)

If cleaning the cache did not help, you need to reset the base. media_storage:

adb shell pm clear com.android.providers.media

This command will delete all thumbnails and metadata, including album covers.

• 📁 Open any file manager (e.g., Mi File Manager).
• 🔄 Go to the music folder and wait until the system re-scans the files.
• 🎵 Covers should disappear (or upgrade to standard).

5 Removal of cover in third-party players (Poweramp, VLC, Musicolet)

If you use alternative players, the process of removing covers is different. Consider three popular apps:

Poweramp:

• 🎵 Open a track or album, hold your finger on the cover.
• 🖼️ In the menu, select Change the cover → Delete the current one.
• 🔄 Update the library (Settings) → Library → Full scan).

VLC:

• 📺 Turn on the track, tap on the cover in the player.
• 🗑️ Select Remove Cover (in some versions, you must first click Edit information).
• 📁 If the option is not available, the cover is sewn into the file (see Section 3).

Musicolet:

• 🎶 Go to the albums, keep your finger on the album.
• 🖌️ Choose to edit → Delete the cover.
• 🔍 If the cover is left – clear the app cache in Android settings.

⚠️ Warning: Poweramp has Embedded Cover Search, which can automatically restore covers from the Internet. Turn it off if you don't want covers coming back.

💡

If you use Spotify or Yandex Music, album covers are managed by the server and cannot be deleted.The solution is to download tracks in another player or disable the display of covers in the application settings.

Advanced methods: database editing MIUI

On devices with MIUI 14 and newer album covers are stored in a hidden database along the way:

/data/data/com.miui.player/databases/miui_music.db

To remove the covers from there, you will need root rights or access through ADB.

Instructions for users with root:

1. Install Root Explorer or FX File Explorer.
2. Click the path above and copy the file. miui_music.db PC-only.
3. Open it through SQLite Browser and complete the request: DELETE FROM album_art;
4. Save the changes and return the file back to your phone by replacing the original.
5. Reset the device.

For users without root:

You can try to drop the base through ADB:

adb shell


su




cd /data/data/com.miui.player/databases/




rm miui_music.db




exit




exit

After that, the player will create a new database without cached covers.

💡

Editing of the database MIUI — Use it only if other methods do not help, as it can lead to failures in the player.

7.How to prevent automatic cover additions in the future

To prevent the covers from reappearing, follow these steps:

In the settings MIUI Music Player:

• 🚫 Turn off Settings. → Additionally. → Automatic receipt of covers.
• 🔍 Turn off online metadata search (if any).

In Android settings:

• 📵 Limit Internet access for the Music app (Settings) → Annexes → Music. → Mobile data and Wi-Fi).
• 🛡️ Turn off background activity for com.miui.player (in battery settings).

For third-party players:

• 🎵 In Poweramp: Settings → Library → Scanning. → Disable "Download missing covers".
• 📀 V VLC: Settings → Audio. → Deactivate “Automatic collection of covers".

We also recommend:

• 📁 Store music in folders without folder.jpg or cover.jpg files.
• 🔄 Clean the player cache regularly (once every 1-2 months).
• 📥 When downloading music from the Internet, use trusted sources (such as Bandcamp or Qobuz) where the covers are not sewn into metadata.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the covers on Xiaomi