Xiaomi Notification Badges Not Showing? The MIUI & HyperOS Badge Guide

Updated July 2, 2026

Xiaomi phones are the badge world's problem child. Icon badges vanish after a MIUI update, work for some apps and not others, or stop until the next reboot — and the settings that control them are scattered across three different menus. Here's where MIUI and HyperOS actually keep the badge switches, why badges break so often on Xiaomi, and the fix list that works on Redmi and POCO too.

Where Xiaomi hides the badge settings

There are two switches, and both must be on:

The global switch. Open Settings → Notifications & status bar and turn on App icon badges. On some MIUI versions this lives under Settings → Home screen instead.
The per-app switch. Go to Settings → Apps → Manage apps → [the app] → Notifications and enable the app's badge option. If the app can't post notifications at all, it can't badge either.

Note that MIUI mostly shows dots, not numbers — whether you get a count depends on the launcher and the app, and that's normal, not a bug. If you'd rather see no badges at all, here's how hiding badges works on any Android — and what hiding doesn't do.

Badges gone after an update? The usual suspects

The system launcher glitched. After major MIUI/HyperOS updates, badges disappearing for every third-party app is a well-known pattern on Xiaomi forums. Clearing the launcher's cache (Settings → Apps → Manage apps → System Launcher → Clear cache) or a reboot usually revives them.
A theme is interfering. Custom icon themes can break badge drawing. Switch back to the default theme once to test — if badges return, the theme was the culprit.
Notification style got reset. Updates sometimes reset per-app notification settings. Re-check the per-app switch above.

The real killer: background restrictions

Xiaomi's battery management is famously aggressive — MIUI kills background apps harder than almost any other Android skin. A killed app can't post notifications, and no notification means no badge. If badges (or notifications themselves) arrive late or only after you open the app, fix these three things:

Autostart. Settings → Apps → Manage apps → [the app] → enable Autostart.
Battery. Same screen → Battery saver → No restrictions.
Lock it in recents. Open recents, pull the app's card down (or long-press) to lock it, so MIUI stops sweeping it away.

This applies to every app whose alerts you care about — messengers first.

The full fix list, in order

Check the global badge switch (Notifications & status bar → App icon badges).
Check the per-app notification and badge settings.
Give the app Autostart + No battery restrictions.
Clear the System Launcher's cache, then reboot.
Test with the default theme.
Update the app — and MIUI/HyperOS itself. Badge bugs come and go with versions.
One badge stuck at a number that won't change? That's a different problem: see the stuck-badge guide.

Clearing the pile on a Xiaomi

Once badges work, Xiaomi gives you dots on every icon and no quick way to zero them. Unbadge clears every notification-linked badge in one tap from a home-screen widget — no shade, no opening apps, and your notifications never leave your phone.

Honest note for Xiaomi owners: MIUI's background killing affects badge tools too — Unbadge needs the same Autostart + battery exemption treatment described above to keep its notification access alive, and the app walks you through exactly that on first run. And as everywhere: badges drawn from an app's internal unread count reset only when you open that app.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my icon badges disappear after a MIUI or HyperOS update?

Usually the system launcher's cached badge state broke, or the update reset notification settings. Clear the System Launcher's cache, reboot, and re-check the global and per-app badge switches.

Why does my Xiaomi show a dot but no number?

That's MIUI's design — the default launcher primarily shows dots. Number counts depend on the app and launcher; many apps will only ever show a dot on Xiaomi.

Why do badges stop working until I reboot?

MIUI killed the app (or the badge tool) in the background. Give the affected app Autostart and set Battery saver to No restrictions, and lock it in recents if needed.

Does one-tap badge clearing work on Xiaomi phones?

Yes — notification-linked badges clear normally on MIUI and HyperOS. The tool doing the clearing needs Autostart and a battery exemption so MIUI doesn't kill its notification access; Unbadge guides you through both on setup.

Clear every badge in one tap

Unbadge wipes every notification badge from your home screen — and a 1×1 widget — instantly. Free on Google Play.