Record a Video with the Camera App
If the Xiaomi Camera app only shows photo mode when you open it, video recording is often just one swipe away and easy to miss. Some users also get confused about which button starts, pauses, and stops a recording, since the shutter button changes function depending on the mode. This mix-up leads to accidentally recorded clips or missed footage.
Archive a Conversation in Messages
When your chat overview gets cluttered with conversations you want to keep but do not check daily, the Messages list keeps showing all of them at the top. Archiving hides a conversation without deleting it, and you can bring it back anytime.
Set Up Device Pairing for Messages on Web
If you want to read and send texts from your PC or laptop, the Messages app first needs to link with your browser. Without an active pairing, the browser page for Messages for Web stays blank or shows a QR code you cannot get past. This mostly affects people switching to a new browser or clearing their browser data, which breaks the existing link.
Turn Speak Passwords On or Off for TalkBack
When TalkBack reads your password out loud while you type it, anyone nearby can hear sensitive login data. On Xiaomi phones with MIUI, this happens because the Speak passwords option inside TalkBack is turned on by default. Switching it off keeps entered characters silent, though you lose the audio confirmation that a password was typed correctly.
Export Contacts as a VCF File
Switching to a new phone or just backing up your address book can be tricky when the Contacts app on your Xiaomi phone does not offer a simple 'transfer' button. Instead, contacts leave the device as a VCF file, and picking the wrong storage location or account often means the file cannot be found afterward. Knowing where the export lands makes the difference between a working backup and a lost contact list.
Document Scanner Shortcut: Enable or Disable
If the camera keeps popping up a scan icon every time you point it at a sheet of paper or a presentation slide, the Document scanner suggestion is active. Some people find this shortcut useful for quickly digitizing paperwork, others just want the extra button gone from the viewfinder.
Remove App from Folder
When a folder on your Xiaomi home screen fills up with apps you barely touch, finding the one you actually use often becomes annoying. This happens a lot with apps like Messenger or WhatsApp, which start in a folder but end up needing a spot of their own once you rely on them daily. MIUI lets you pull an app back out without deleting anything.
Change Carrier Name in Status Bar
The carrier label at the top of your screen and on the lock screen isn't always what you'd like it to say, especially if your provider's branding is long or outdated. On dual SIM phones the same generic label often shows for both slots by default, which gets confusing when the two cards belong to different networks.
Sound and Vibration for Calendar Reminders
If birthday or appointment reminders in the Calendar app stay silent, or if they buzz and ring when you would rather have them quiet, the notification settings for that app are usually the cause. On Xiaomi phones this is controlled separately from the general system sound, so a muted phone does not automatically mean the calendar stays quiet too. Checking the dedicated Calendar notification options clears up most missed or unwanted reminder alerts.
Turn Off the Content Feed in Mi Browser
If Mi Browser opens straight into a wall of YouTube clips, Facebook posts and random subscription suggestions instead of your homepage, the content feed is switched on. This feed pulls in recommended articles and videos every time you launch the app, which feels cluttered if you only want a plain start screen. You can switch it off or back on whenever you want.
Turn Off User Experience Program
If usage statistics keep syncing quietly in the background on your Xiaomi phone, the User Experience Program is likely still active. This service sends anonymous usage data from your device to Xiaomi to help refine products and features. Since it is not possible to verify exactly what data leaves your device, disabling this option is the safer choice.
Change Downloads Location in Mi Browser
If every file you download through Mi Browser lands in the same generic folder, sorting photos, documents and APKs afterward gets tedious fast. The browser has its own storage setting that decides where new downloads go, separate from the system-wide file manager. Once you know where that option sits, you can point downloads straight to the right folder.
Clear the Whole Call History
When missed, dialed, and received calls pile up on your Xiaomi phone, scrolling through the list to find one number gets tedious fast. Deleting entries one at a time barely makes a dent if you actually want a clean call log. MIUI offers a single action that wipes the entire history at once, and once it's gone, it's gone for good.
Format an SD Card
A newly inserted SD card sometimes won't work correctly in a Xiaomi phone, or you want to wipe an old card before reusing it. Formatting clears the card and lets MIUI set up the folder structure it needs to store photos, videos and app data properly. Once you confirm the format, every file on the card is gone for good.
Turn Dual Clock On/Off on Lock Screen
After switching the region on a Xiaomi phone, a second time suddenly shows up on the lock screen next to the main clock. This happens because MIUI detects a time difference between your set region and your current location or SIM, and the Dual clock feature reacts automatically. You can switch it off entirely or change which region the second clock refers to.
Enlarge the Mouse Pointer
When you plug a USB mouse or similar pointing accessory into a Xiaomi phone, the on-screen pointer often stays tiny and hard to track. Large mouse pointer is a dedicated Accessibility option built for exactly this situation, especially useful for anyone with limited vision. Without enabling it, you end up guessing where the cursor sits on a crowded screen.
Add or Remove Bookmarks in Mi Browser
Losing track of a website you visited last week is common once it drops out of your browser history. Bookmarks fix this by saving the page permanently until you decide to remove it. The catch is that many Xiaomi users don't know where the bookmark list actually lives inside Mi Browser, so saved pages get forgotten or accidentally deleted.
Turn On/Off Ad Blocker in Mi Browser
If ads keep interrupting your browsing or pages suddenly feel slower to load, the built-in ad blocker in Mi Browser is likely the reason. Xiaomi ships this filter active by default, similar to the pop-up blocker, and it can be switched on or off depending on how you want pages to render. Turning it off removes the filtering step but may bring back more banners and auto-play video ads.
Change Display Size
If text and icons on your Xiaomi phone look too small or too cramped, the Display size setting is usually the cause. It scales both the interface and the font size together, which can push app shortcuts around on your home screen until you rearrange them.
SMS Delivery Reports Setting
Not sure if a text message actually reached the other person? Xiaomi phones can show a status report for every SMS you send, but the switch for it sits deep inside the Messages app and is easy to overlook. With the setting off you get no confirmation at all, even when the message went through without issues.
Set the Fingerprint Recognition Method (Touch or Press)
If your Xiaomi phone has the fingerprint sensor built into the power button, unlocking with the screen off depends on how the sensor reacts to your finger. Some users notice the phone unlocks too slowly, or not at all, because the sensor expects a light touch instead of a firm press, or the other way around. Switching the recognition method changes how the sensor behaves every time you pick up the phone.
Show or Hide the Emoji Switch Key
If you type a lot of emojis, switching between the language globe and the emoji picker can slow you down on the MIUI keyboard. The globe icon and the emoji key share the same spot, so only one of them shows on the keyboard row at a time. Turning on the emoji switch key swaps that icon while quick language switching still works by holding the space bar.
Enterprise Mode
If you spot Enterprise mode buried in your Xiaomi settings and have no idea what switched it on, you are not alone. The feature is built for companies that want to restrict which apps or websites an employee device can reach, and in some setups it can also report device activity back to an administrator. On a private phone that was never enrolled by a company, this toggle usually just sits there unused, which raises the question of what it is doing and whether it is safe to leave alone.
Change Alarm Tone
If your Xiaomi alarm keeps ringing with the same generic tone or the Nature alarm sound never changes, the ringtone categories in the Clock app are likely the reason. Some categories, like Nature alarm, only rotate through different sounds when the phone has an active internet connection. Without that connection, the alarm falls back to a stored default tone instead of downloading a new one.