Turn Glide Typing On or Off
If typing feels slow because you tap every single letter, Glide typing lets you swipe across the keys instead of lifting your finger. On some Xiaomi phones this swipe input stays off by default, or it keeps running even though you prefer classic tapping. Auto-correction and word suggestions are separate settings and keep working either way.
Allow Gallery Access to SD Card
If Gallery on your Xiaomi phone refuses to save new photos or won't let you delete files on the SD card, it usually means storage access was never granted. Android blocks apps from writing to external storage until you confirm the permission for that specific card. Until you approve it, Gallery can only display existing files but not create, move or remove anything on the card.
Enable Dark Mode in Mi Browser
If Mi Browser still shows bright white pages after the sun goes down, the built-in night option is probably switched off. This setting dims both the browser interface and many web pages, which cuts glare and makes late-evening browsing easier on your eyes. It sits separately from the general system theme, so changing one does not automatically change the other.
Set a Custom Watermark in the Camera App
If every photo automatically shows your device or camera model as a watermark, you might want your own text there instead. The Watermark settings inside the Camera app let you swap that default label for a personal signature, but the option sits a few taps deep in the menu. Once set, the custom text gets stamped on every new shot instead of the model name.
Turn Web Link Previews On or Off
If URLs in Xiaomi Messages show up as plain text instead of a preview card, the Automatic previews option is likely set to a mode you did not expect. MIUI lets you choose between previews for every shared link, previews limited to web addresses, or no previews at all. This affects both how conversations look and how much data the app pulls in the background.
Turn On/Off Gesture Confirmation
Swiping back or closing an app by accident during a full-screen game or a video can throw you straight out of the action. On Xiaomi phones with full-screen gesture control, this usually happens because gesture confirmation is turned off, so a single swipe is enough to trigger the action. Turning it on forces you to swipe twice before the gesture actually executes.
Turn Emergency Alerts On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone keeps buzzing with Amber Alerts or severe weather warnings you never signed up for, the Emergency alerts feature is likely still active in the background. Some people want the opposite and need extreme threat notifications, vibration and voice alerts to actually get through. Either way, the switch sits in a security menu that is easy to overlook.
Add a Birthday to a Contact
If the default Contacts form on your Xiaomi phone only shows phone number and email, there's no visible field for a birthday. That date option sits in a separate section that most people never open, so they assume it doesn't exist and skip it. Without it, you lose an easy way to keep birthdays tied directly to a contact card instead of a separate calendar entry.
Set an App Timer to Limit App Usage
Some apps quietly eat hours of your day without you noticing, especially social media or games that keep notifications pulling you back in. On Xiaomi phones there is no built-in reminder that tells you when an app has crossed a healthy usage limit. Digital Wellbeing lets you assign a daily time budget per app so it pauses itself once that budget runs out.
Set Up Speed Dial for Calls
Dialing the same contact from a long list every time you need them wastes time when you only want to reach a favorite number fast. Speed dial on Xiaomi phones lets you call an assigned number with a single long press on the keypad, but it only works once a contact is linked to that digit. On Dual SIM devices you may also get asked which line to use if no default SIM for calls is set.
Remove a Member from a Contact Group
If a contact still shows up in a group even though you no longer want them there, the fix is not to delete the contact but to unlink them from that specific group. On Xiaomi phones this distinction confuses people because the removal option sits inside the group menu, not in the contact's own profile screen.
Turn Location Access On or Off
If maps, weather, or camera apps suddenly stop finding your position on a Xiaomi phone, the general location toggle in MIUI settings might be switched off. Turning it off blocks GPS for every app at once, even those you already granted permission to use your location. This differs from per-app location permissions, which stay untouched but simply can't function without the master switch.
Turn Battery Drain Notifications On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone keeps popping up alerts about fast battery drain, or you never get one and expect to, this setting is the reason. Battery drain notifications warn you when an app or background process burns through power faster than normal. Left enabled, unrelated background tasks can trigger these alerts more often than you would like.
Set Up Text-to-Speech Output
When TalkBack or Select to Speak reads content in the wrong language or sounds too fast, the text-to-speech engine on your Xiaomi phone is set to the wrong voice or rate. Pitch, speed and language all come from one shared accessibility setting, so a single wrong value affects every screen-reading feature at once. Fixing it stops garbled or mismatched speech without disabling accessibility features entirely.
Turn Game Turbo On or Off
When you mirror your Xiaomi's screen to a monitor or TV, gaming performance can drop noticeably if Game Turbo stays inactive. This mode reroutes system resources, speeds up data transmission and blocks distracting features like notifications during matches. If it stays on by default, though, it can also interrupt calls or messages you actually want to see.
Split Screen on Xiaomi Phones
Split screen lets you run two apps side by side on your Xiaomi phone, so you can chat while browsing or take notes while watching a video. MIUI offers more than one way to trigger it, and not every app supports it the same way. Knowing how it behaves helps you decide when it actually saves time.
Custom Image on Always-on Display
If the pre-installed Always-on Display themes on your Xiaomi phone all look the same, you can swap them for a photo of your own. MIUI lets you pick any image from your gallery instead of the default clock designs. Once applied, you can still adjust the clock position, text color, and how battery or notification icons appear on top of your picture.
Remove a Contact from Speed Dial
Speed dial slots on Xiaomi phones fill up fast, and once all numbers are taken you cannot assign a new one until an old entry is cleared. Removing a number from the list only deletes the shortcut, not the contact itself, but the option sits several menus deep inside the call settings and is easy to miss.
Clear RAM and Storage
If your Xiaomi phone feels sluggish or storage keeps filling up, junk files, app cache, and rarely used apps are often the cause. MIUI includes a built-in cleanup tool that clears RAM and storage in one pass, but what actually gets removed depends on which categories you select before confirming.
Turn On/Off Pop-up on Keypress
If every letter you tap on your Xiaomi keyboard flashes up in a small preview bubble, typing can feel slower and the screen looks cluttered. This preview comes from a keyboard setting called Popup on keypress, and it can get in the way when you type quickly in Messenger, WhatsApp or any other app. You can switch it on or off directly in the keyboard settings on your phone.
Restart the Xiaomi Smartphone
If apps on your Xiaomi phone start lagging, background downloads get stuck, or the interface feels sluggish after days of uptime, a restart usually clears the problem. MIUI keeps processes and cached data running in the background, and over time this can slow down the whole system. A clean reboot forces MIUI to close every open app and rebuild its memory from scratch.
Volume Key Shortcut for Accessibility Features
If holding both volume buttons for three seconds does nothing on your Xiaomi phone, the volume key shortcut for accessibility functions like TalkBack or color correction is switched off in MIUI. Sometimes the shortcut is set up but blocked on the lock screen, so it only reacts once you have unlocked the device. Checking the assigned shortcut service and its lock screen permission clears up both issues.
Assign Custom Button Shortcuts
If double-pressing the power button always opens the camera when you wanted a screenshot instead, the button shortcut linked to that gesture doesn't match how you actually use your phone. MIUI lets you remap gestures like double-press power or long-press volume to actions such as torch, split screen or Google Assistant. Finding and changing that mapping means digging through a settings menu that isn't obvious at first glance.
Open Split Screen via Recent Apps
Switching back and forth between two apps constantly slows you down, especially when you need to compare content or copy information between them. On Xiaomi phones the Recent apps overview hides the option to run two apps side by side unless you tap and hold the right spot on the app card. Not every app supports this mode, and the shortcut disappears if you tap the wrong area.