Remove a Linked Account
If chats, photos or documents suddenly disappear after cleaning up accounts on your Xiaomi phone, the sync connection for that account was likely removed rather than just logged out. Google, WhatsApp, Facebook and similar accounts all sit under the same accounts module, and removing one can wipe locally cached data tied to it. Knowing which account type you are touching matters before you tap confirm.
Data Usage Warning on Lock Screen
If you blow through your mobile data plan before the billing cycle ends, you probably only find out when the carrier sends a throttling notice. Xiaomi phones can flag this earlier, but the lock screen warning for data usage is off by default on most devices. Without it enabled, you only see usage numbers if you open the Security app yourself.
Turn On/Off Always-on Display
If your Xiaomi screen stays completely black in standby, you might be missing the time, battery level, or notifications at a glance. This depends on the Always-on display feature, which only works on Xiaomi models with an OLED panel, not on LCD screens.
Clear App Cache
If an app on your Xiaomi phone keeps crashing, freezing, or throwing error messages, leftover cache files are often the reason. Over time these temporary files pile up and can overlap or corrupt each other, causing an app to behave oddly even though nothing else changed. Clearing the cache removes that clutter without touching your saved data or settings.
Set Wi-Fi Hotspot Data Limit
If your mobile data plan drains fast whenever you share your Xiaomi phone's Wi-Fi hotspot with a laptop or tablet, an unlimited hotspot session is usually the cause. MIUI lets you cap the exact amount of data the hotspot can share and pick what happens once that cap is reached.
Fingerprint Unlock for App Lock
If a locked app on your Xiaomi phone keeps asking for the app lock password even though your fingerprint sensor works everywhere else, fingerprint unlock for App lock is probably switched off. This setting lets you skip the PIN or pattern entry for individual apps and confirm access with your finger instead. Without it enabled, MIUI falls back to the password every time you open a protected app.
Turn Delete Sound On or Off
Every time you delete a message or a file on your Xiaomi phone, a short click sound plays automatically. That extra sound gets annoying fast if you delete things often or want your phone quieter in general. The setting sits with the other system sounds, not inside the messaging app itself.
Delete a Single SMS Message
Deleting a whole conversation wipes out every message in that thread, even the ones you still need. Sometimes you only want one text gone, like an old verification code or a message sent to the wrong person. On Xiaomi phones, single messages inside a conversation can be removed without touching the rest of the thread.
Enable or Disable Spell Check
If words get underlined the moment you type them on your Xiaomi phone, spell check is active in the keyboard. Unlike autocorrect, spell check only flags a word as wrong without changing it, which can feel distracting when you type quickly or use slang. You can turn this marking on or off separately from autocorrect.
Enable or Disable Simple View for Contact List
If your contact list on your Xiaomi phone feels cluttered with profile pictures and extra info, a simple list view can clean things up. This setting in the Contacts app controls whether photos and details show up next to each name, or whether you just get plain text entries. Switching it off makes scrolling through a large contact list faster and less distracting.
Show or Hide Notification Icons in the Status Bar
When your status bar stays empty even though an app has new messages, the notification icon display in MIUI might be switched off. This setting decides whether small app icons show up next to the clock so you can spot new activity without unlocking your phone. If it is disabled, you will only notice new notifications once you pull down the shade.
Add a Bookmark to the Home Screen
If you keep opening Mi Browser just to reach one saved website, that link only lives in your bookmarks list, not on the home screen. Xiaomi phones do not turn a saved bookmark into a shortcut automatically, so you have to add that icon yourself. Without it, every visit means opening the browser, tapping Bookmark, and scrolling to find the right entry.
Turn Screen Wake for Notifications On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone lights up every single time a notification arrives, that constant flashing can drain the battery and get annoying fast, especially at night. On the other hand, if the display stays black and you only hear the notification tone, you might be missing messages you actually want to see right away. Both behaviors come from one single toggle in the lock screen settings.
Turn On/Off Device Watermark on Photos
Every photo you take with your Xiaomi phone gets a small watermark in the bottom left corner, showing which device captured the shot. If you want cleaner images for sharing or printing, that watermark can get in the way fast.
Turn On/Off Color Correction (Accessibility)
If someone using your Xiaomi phone has trouble distinguishing colors in charts, status icons, or notification dots, the screen's color rendering may need adjusting for a vision deficiency like red-green color blindness. MIUI ships with a color correction filter built into the Vision accessibility tools, but it stays disabled by default and is easy to miss. Without it turned on, the display keeps showing standard colors that are hard to tell apart for certain types of color vision anomalies.
Fingerprint Scan for Privacy Password: Enable or Disable
If your fingerprint unlocks the Privacy password screen, anyone with your fingerprint can bypass the extra PIN or password that protects hidden apps and locked content. That shortcut is convenient, but it removes a second layer of protection some people rely on. Whether you want that convenience or prefer to keep the password entry mandatory depends on how the phone is used.
Delete a Contact Group
If a contact group in the Xiaomi Contacts app is cluttering your groups list, you can remove it without losing the people inside it. Many users hesitate because they assume deleting a group also deletes the assigned contacts. In reality, only the group label itself gets removed, while every contact stays saved on the device.
Resize a Home Screen Widget
When a widget takes up too much space or looks squeezed on your Xiaomi home screen, the easiest fix is adjusting its size instead of removing it. Not every widget supports resizing, and some only offer fixed size steps rather than free dragging. Knowing which widgets react to resize handles saves you from rearranging your whole layout.
Make a Phone Call
When two SIM cards are active on your Xiaomi phone, tapping the call button can leave you unsure which line actually dials. The Phone app splits the green call button into two halves, one per SIM, and tapping the wrong side sends the call out on the wrong number or tariff. This mix-up gets worse if the SIM slots have not been renamed, since both halves look nearly identical.
Pin a Conversation
If an important chat keeps sliding down your conversation list on a Xiaomi phone, new messages from other contacts push it out of view. The Messaging app sorts threads by recent activity, so a conversation without fresh replies eventually disappears from the top. Pinning keeps that specific chat visible regardless of how much new activity happens elsewhere.
Set Always-on Display Duration
If your Always-on display only flashes for a few seconds after you tap the screen, it is set to the short timer instead of staying on permanently. On MIUI you can choose between a brief 10-second preview and a version that stays active the whole time your phone is locked or in standby.
Disable Wi-Fi Direct
On many Xiaomi phones the Wi-Fi Direct toggle looks greyed out or simply refuses to switch off. That happens because the feature stays active as long as at least one device remains paired to it. Disconnecting every paired device is the only way to actually shut Wi-Fi Direct down.
Limit Connected Hotspot Devices
By default, your Xiaomi phone lets an unlimited number of devices join your mobile hotspot at once. That can slow down your connection and makes it hard to track who is actually using your data. Setting a maximum device count gives you back control over who connects.
Notification Animation for Always On Display
When a message arrives with the screen off, some Xiaomi phones flash a full animation instead of the usual quiet Always On Display glow. If that effect feels too subtle, too flashy, or drains more battery than expected, the animation style itself is the setting to check, not the notification permissions.