How to Remove Icons on MIUI

MIUI is an excellent upgrade for Android phones, and it comes with many useful and interesting options. Most users like that you have numerous ways of personalizing the interface and creating the best possible smartphone for yourself.

Want to start with how your phone looks? Besides changing wallpapers and customizing other related options, you can remove or add icons and icon labels as you see fit.

Read our article to find out how to do this.

Clear Up the Home Screen Space

It may be challenging to remember what’s where if your home screen gets too crowded. With too many app icons, you may forget which ones you’ve installed and have been meaning to use. Not to mention that it doesn’t look neat at all.

If you want to declutter and keep your home screen more minimalistic, you’ll probably think about removing the app icons from it.

Unfortunately, if you try to delete an app icon, you’ll simultaneously uninstall the app from the phone. Xiaomi smartphones don’t allow you to just remove the icons, but there are multiple ways to make your home screen less crowded.

1. Move the Icons to Another Screen

Simply place your finger on an app icon and drag it to another screen. You will know you can move the app icon when your phone vibrates. Your apps will still be easy to access since you only need to swipe left or right to see them. At the same time, you won’t need to squeeze them all onto the home screen.

You can also use the overview mode to move the apps. First, unlock your phone and when you’re on your home screen, pinch it out to see other home screen pages. Next, tap and hold an icon and move it to the desired screen. That will open the screen so you can drop the icon. Repeat this for all the app icons you want to move.

2. Create a Folder

If you want to keep your apps on the home screen, but you want to see fewer of them, you can create folders and place them there. If you create several folders, you can group the apps according to what they’re used for. For instance, games, communication, etc.

You can’t create an empty folder and then add the apps. A folder when you drag one app over the other. They will merge and automatically create a new folder with those two apps inside. Then, you can move on to adding more apps to this folder.

3. Install a Third-Party Launcher

You can try this method as well, but only if you opt for a verified launcher. Unfortunately, Xiaomi has blocked all unverified third-party launchers, so you can’t use them with MIUI.

Check the Google Play Store for trusted launchers and choose the one you think will suit you. Once you download and install it, tap on the Home button. A prompt should appear on your screen, asking you to select a launcher. Choose the one you’ve just installed, and don’t forget to check the Remember my choice box for future use.

Now the newly installed launcher is the default one. If it’s not, do this manually.

1. Go to Settings and choose the Home screen.
   
2. In this menu, find the Default launcher and tap to open.
   
3. Choose the third-party launcher you want to set as default.
   

Depending on the launcher’s settings, you’ll be able to remove app icons without uninstalling the apps from your phone.

Remove Tools Icons

Some MIUI users have been wondering how to remove unnecessary app icons from the preexisting folders on their phones. However, now you know you can’t remove icons without deleting the apps. You also can’t delete any preinstalled app from the phone, such as Downloads, Mi Account, etc.

However, you can disable them if you think it will help your smartphone operate better:

1. Open the Settings app.
   
2. Go to “Apps.”
   
3. Select All and then find the desired app.
   
4. Tap it and when the App info opens, tap on the Disable button at the bottom.
   

Note that not every app will allow you to disable it. If the Disable button appears grey, you can’t disable the app.

Keep Your Phone Tidy

A cluttered home screen may cause you to miss an important notification. If you want to avoid that, removing unnecessary icons will do the work.

Although you can simply remove the icons by tapping an “X” button, there are three ways to make your home screen look neat – it’s up to you to choose what works best for you.

Have you ever accidentally deleted an app? Which one of these three methods will you use? Let us know in the comments section below.