How to bring a web page to the desktop of Xiaomi phone: 4 working methods

Creating a web page shortcut on Xiaomi’s home screen seems like a simple task, but users often face unexpected challenges. Depending on the version of MIUI, the phone model (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T) and the browser used, the process can be radically different: two taps are enough, and somewhere you will need to bypass the system’s limitations through hidden settings.

Xiaomi firmware is very specific in that it actively modifies the standard behavior of Android. For example, MIUI 14 removed the classic way of adding shortcuts through the browser menu, but there was an alternative way through Home → Widgets. And in older versions (MIUI 12) worked only through Google Chrome, not through the standard Mi Browser browser. Let's take all the current methods with these nuances in mind.

If you tried to add a shortcut through a long click on the page, but nothing happened - do not rush to blame yourself. 80% of the time the problem lies in the settings of the shell or browser conflict. We tested all methods on the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ (MIUI 13.0.6), POCO F4 (MIUI 14.0.3) and Xiaomi 12 Lite (MIUI 14.0.4) - and are ready to provide working solutions even for non-standard situations.

1. The standard way through Google Chrome

It is a universal method that works on 99% of Xiaomi devices regardless of the version of MIUI. Google Chrome remains the only browser that is guaranteed to support shortcut creation through the menu Add to the home screen.

Open the desired web page in Chrome and follow the following steps:

Slap the icon «⋮» (three points) in upper right corner.
In the drop-down menu, select “Add to the main screen”.
If necessary, edit the name of the shortcut (the title of the page is taken by default).
Click “Add” – the shortcut will appear on the desktop.

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Note: If the “Add to Home Screen” option is not on the menu, upgrade Chrome to the latest version via Google Play. In older versions (up to 110.0), this feature may not be available on some Xiaomi firmware.

Update Google Chrome to the latest version

Close all background apps (especially other browsers)

Make sure there is a free space on the desktop.

Turn off the power saving mode (can block background processes)-->

A shortcut created through Chrome behaves like a separate app: opens in an unnamed browser window without an address bar, which is convenient for frequently visited sites (such as VKontakte, YouTube or work services), but not suitable if you need to quickly switch between tabs.

In MIUI 13 and MIUI 14, Xiaomi has added a hidden feature for creating web shortcuts through system widgets, which works even if you don’t have Google Chrome installed, but requires more action:

Instructions:

Press and hold your finger to the free space on the desktop.
In the lower menu, select “Widgets”.
Scroll through the list to the Tools block and find the Shortcuts widget (the icon in the form of four squares).
Drag the widget to the desktop.
In the window that opens, select “Browser” → “New tab”.
Enter the URL of the page and save it.

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Note: The shortcut widget may not be available on devices with heavily stripped-down firmware (e.g., some models for the European market).In this case, use the Chrome method or create a shortcut through Mi Browser (see next section).

Why can't the "Tags" widget be displayed?

On some Xiaomi firmware for the European Region (EEA), the widget is hidden due to GDPR restrictions. To return it, you need: 1. Set the "India" or "Russia" region in the phone settings (Settings → Additional → Region). 2. Reboot the device. 3. Repeat the attempt to add the widget. Once you create the shortcut, the region can be returned back.

The advantage of this method is that the shortcut opens in the standard MIUI browser (Mi Browser), where your bookmarks and history can already be saved, but the widget takes up space for at least 2×2 icons, which is not always convenient.

3. Creating a shortcut through Mi Browser (for older versions of MIUI)

If you use the standard Mi Browser browser on MIUI 12 or earlier, the shortcut process is different, but on newer versions of firmware, this feature is removed, but on devices like Redmi 9A or POCO M3, it still works:

Step-by-step:

Open the page in Mi Browser.
Slap the icon «⋮» (three dots) at the bottom of the screen.
Select "Add to the main screen".
Confirm the label's creation.

🔹 Limitations of method:

🚫 Not working. MIUI 13/14 — menu item removed.
🚫 The shortcut only opens in Mi Browser, even if Chrome is installed by default.
🚫 On some models (for example, Redmi Note 10 Pro) the shortcut is created, but not saved after the reboot.

Google Chrome

Mi Browser (standard)

Safari or other

I don't know what browser I have.-->

If you have a new firmware and this method didn’t work, try to bypass the restriction through the developer mode (see section 5).

4. Use of third-party applications

When standard methods don’t work, specialized utilities come to the rescue, such as the Shortcut Maker app (available on Google Play) that allows you to create shortcuts for any web page, even if the system blocks it.

How it works:

Install Shortcut Maker from Play Market.
Open the app and select “Activity”.
Find Chrome or Mi Browser in the list.
Select the “Open a new tab” action.
In the URL field, enter the address of the page you want (e.g. https://vk.com).
Save the label on the desktop.

🔹 Advantages of the method:

✅ It works on all versions. MIUI, including 14.
✅ Allows you to create shortcuts for any browser, including Firefox or Opera.
✅ You can assign a custom icon for a label.

⚠️

Note: Some antiviruses (such as Avast or Dr.Web) may block shortcuts from being created via Shortcut Maker, considering this suspicious activity.

💡

If the shortcut doesn’t open after you create it, try clearing the browser cache (Settings → Applications → Browser → Storage → Clear cache).This often solves the problem of broken shortcuts.

For advanced users, there is another way – creating a shortcut through ADB-This is true if you need to automate the process (e.g., to deploy to multiple devices.

5. Advanced Method: Creating a Shortcut Through ADB

This method is suitable for IT-It's a tool that allows you to create shortcuts software-free, without the limitations of the shell. MIUI. You will need a computer with installed ADB-Drivers and the developer mode on the phone.

Step-by-step:

Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version. Go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers and turn on USB Debugging.

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "https://example.com" --activity-clear-task

(Replace example.com with the URL you want).

adb shell cmd shortcut create-home --package com.android.chrome --activity com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main --short-label "Name" --uri "https://example.com"

🔹 Team parameters:

Parameter	Description	Example of meaning
--package	Browser packet name	com.android.chrome (Chrome) or com.mi.globalbrowser (Mi Browser)
--activity	Activity for opening	com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main
--short-label	Name of the label	VKontakte.
--uri	Address of the page	"https://vk.com/feed"

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Attention: When in use ADB-Teams on Xiaomi with a bootloader are not able to use the shortcuts after the reboot. MIUI, This is only possible after unlocking the bootloader through the official Mi Unlock tool.

💡

ADB-method is the only way to create a shortcut on the desktop if system constraints MIUI However, it requires technical skills and can violate the warranty if used incorrectly.

6.Tackling the problems with disappearing labels

Many Xiaomi users find that the shortcuts created disappear after a reboot or update, due to the peculiarities of the MIUI Launcher (standard desktop shell).

🔹 Reasons for the disappearance of labels:

🔄 Cleaning the launcher cache – the system removes “temporary” shortcuts while optimizing memory.
📱 Resetting the launcher settings after the update MIUI.
🚫 Security restrictions on firmware for the EU (EEA).

🔧 Solutions:

Use a third-party launcher (such as Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher) that retains shortcuts regardless of system updates.
Turn off launcher optimization: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management. Find “Launcher” (or “MIUI Launcher”). Select “Battery” → “No Limits”.

Create a shortcut through the widget

💡 Advice for owners POCO: On devices. POCO (for example, POCO X3 Pro) shortcuts are more likely to be lost due to aggressive memory optimization. To avoid this, add the browser to the cleanup exceptions:

Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management.
Select “Select applications” → “Browser”.
Activate the “No Limits” option.

❓ How to Change the Shortcut Icon on the Desktop?

This is not possible with standard MIUI tools, but there are workarounds: Use Shortcut Maker — there is an option to select an icon. Install a third-party launcher (for example, Nova Launcher), which supports customization of icons. Create a shortcut through the shortcut widget and manually replace the icon through editing the widget (click on it for a long time → “Change icon”).

❓ The shortcut opens in the wrong browser. How to fix it?

This is due to a default browser conflict. Solution: Go to Settings → Applications → Default Applications → Browser. Select the browser you want (e.g. Chrome). Remove the shortcut and recreate it. If the problem persists, use Shortcut Maker with the browser package explicitly indicated (see Section 4).

❓ Can you create a shortcut for the mobile version of the site, not desktop?

Yes, for this: In Chrome, open the menu before creating a shortcut «⋮» → «Computer version and turn it off. In Mi Browser, switch to mobile version via the "A" menu» → «Mobile version. If the site automatically redirects to the desktop version, add to the URL?mobile=1 (case: https://example.com?mobile=1).