How to add music to the lock screen Xiaomi: all the ways and settings

Xiaomi’s lock screen is not just about protecting your smartphone, but it’s also a handy tool for quick access to key features. One of the most popular features is displaying music control directly on a locked screen. It allows you to change tracks, adjust volume or pause playback without unlocking the device. However, not all users know how to properly configure this feature or why it sometimes disappears.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to add music to the lock screen for Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones based on MIUI 12, 13 and 14. You will learn how to enable the display of the player for standard and third-party applications (including Spotify, YouTube Music and VK Music), as well as what to do if the music is not shown despite active playback, especially focusing on typical errors and hidden settings that can affect the function.

Why isn’t the music on the Xiaomi lock screen?

Before we get to the settings, it’s important to understand why music control may not be available on a locked screen.

• 🔕 Disabled notifications for the music app. MIUI aggressively optimises background processes, and sometimes this affects player display.
• 🔄 Power saving mode conflict: Ultra mode or Background Limitation enabled may block notifications.
• 📱 Incompatibility of the application with MIUI. Some players (especially the little-known ones) do not support integration with the lock screen.
• 🔧 System failures after update MIUI or resetting the function may temporarily disappear.
• 🚫 Manually disable in settings. Users may have accidentally deactivated display of media notifications.

If the music is playing but the player doesn't appear on the lock screen, check the permissions for the app and the notification settings first. 80% of the time, the problem is solved there.

Method 1: Enable music display through notification settings

The most reliable method is to set up the notifications for the music app manually, and the instructions are relevant for MIUI 12/13/14:

1. Open Settings → Notifications → Notifications Management.
2. Find your music app (like Spotify or Xiaomi Music) and tap it.
3. Activate the switches: 🔔 Allow notices 📲 Showing the lock screen (important!) 🔊 Sound (optional if you need sound alerts)

Special permissions → Notifications on the lock screen

After these actions, the player will appear on the lock screen when playing music. If the changes do not apply immediately, restart the application or restart the smartphone.

Make sure the app has permission to notify |

Turn on notifications on the lock screen |

Check if the "Do Not Disturb" mode is off"|

Restart the music app after the changes-->

Method 2: Configure with MIUI's "Special Permits"

The new versions of MIUI (13 and 14) have a separate section to manage the display of media notifications.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Special Permissions → Notifications on the lock screen.
2. Find your music app on the list. If it's not there, click Add Apps and select the one you want.
3. Activate the switch next to the player name.
4. To fine-tune the app, tap it and select Show the contents of notifications (this will allow you to see the track title and album cover).

Important: If your app is not in this section, it does not support integration with the MIUI lock screen, in which case try using the standard Mi Music player or install an alternative (for example, Poweramp or Musicolet).

Method 3: Use of a standard MIUI player

If third-party apps refuse to display the player on the lock screen, the most reliable solution will be the built-in Mi Music player, which is guaranteed to support all MIUI functions, including control from the locked screen.

How to set up:

1. Open the Music app (a note icon on a white background).
2. Add your tracks to it (you can copy files to the Music folder on the internal drive or connect cloud storage).
3. Start playing any track.
4. Lock the screen – the player should appear automatically.

⚠️ Note: If you have removed the standard Mi Music app, it can be restored via Settings → Annexes → Application management → Show all applications → Music. → Restore (not available on all models).

Problem Solving: Music is playing, but the player is not shown

If the track is playing but there is no control on the lock screen, try the following steps:

If none of these methods worked, try resetting the notification settings:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Additional → Resetting notification settings.
2. Confirm the action and restart the smartphone.
3. After the reboot, reset the notifications for the music app.

💡

If the player still doesn't appear, try temporarily disabling the dark theme or lock screen transparency in Settings → Lock screen → Additional settings. In rare cases, MIUI visuals conflict with notification display.

Additional settings: gestures and widgets

MIUI allows you not only to display the player on the lock screen, but also to control the music using gestures or widgets.

Gestures for music management

Some Xiaomi models (such as the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ or Xiaomi 12T) have gestures available to control playback:

1. Open Settings → Lock screen → Lock screen gestures.
2. Activate the Music Management option.
3. Set up your gestures: 👆 Swipe up - next track. 👇 Swipe down - previous track. 👈👉 Double tap - pause/replay.

Music widget on the lock screen

On devices with MIUI 14, you can add a player widget directly to the lock screen:

1. Unlock your phone and swipe right on the home screen to open the Widgets.
2. Find the Music widget and drag it to the lock screen (if this option is supported by your model).
3. Set the size and location of the widget.

Before installing third-party players, turn off battery optimization for them:

1. Go to Settings → Battery → Selection of applications.
2. Find the installed player and select No Limits.
3. Activate AutoRun for the application.

💡

The side of the player may conflict with system optimizations MIUI. If after installation the music still does not appear, try disabling MIUI Optimization via ADB (requires technical skills).

FAQ: Frequent questions about music on Xiaomi lock screen