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Guides for Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G

511 guides

Apps & Installation2

Notch Display per App

If one app stretches its content behind the notch while another leaves a black bar around it, the per-app notch setting is likely mismatched with that app's layout. This shows up mostly in games or video apps that were not built with a notch in mind. The fix depends on a setting Xiaomi lets you configure separately for each installed app.

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Display & Home Screen

Hide the Full Screen Indicator (Gesture Bar)

With gesture navigation active on a Xiaomi phone, a thin bar stays visible at the bottom of the screen at all times. It sits on top of apps, videos and games, and some people find it distracting during full-screen use. This line is a system indicator tied to gesture navigation, not a bug.

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Calls & Messages2

Sort Contacts by First or Last Name

If your Xiaomi contact list feels out of order, it usually comes down to whether the Contacts app is sorting entries by first name or last name. This becomes a real problem when you are searching for someone by their surname but the list is alphabetized by given name instead. The rule that controls this sits in one setting inside the Contacts app.

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Other

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.

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Notifications & Focus2

Turn Screenshot Sound On or Off

Every time you capture a screenshot on a Xiaomi phone, a short chime plays to confirm the capture went through. If that sound feels too loud in meetings or you simply want an audible confirmation back, the setting sits separately from your general ringtone volume and needs its own toggle.

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Other2

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.

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Notifications & Focus2

Assign Alarm Functions to Volume Buttons

If your alarm keeps ringing because pressing a volume button does nothing, MIUI lets you change that behavior in the alarm settings. By default the phone treats both volume keys the same way, so you cannot assign a separate action to volume up and volume down. This single setting decides whether a button press snoozes, dismisses or ignores the alarm every single time.

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Calls & Messages2

Change Default Dialer App

If you install a new phone or call app on your Xiaomi device, calls may still open in the standard MIUI Dialer instead of your preferred app. This happens because MIUI keeps its own dialer set as default until you switch it manually in the app settings. Third-party dialer apps from the Play Store only take over once you assign them as default there.

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Notifications & Focus2

Allow Calls During Do Not Disturb

If Do Not Disturb mode is silencing calls you actually want to receive, a call filter is deciding who gets through and who gets blocked. Xiaomi phones let you choose between allowing calls from anyone, only contacts, only starred contacts, or nobody at all while the mode is active. Missed calls from family or work contacts usually trace back to this exact setting being set too strictly.

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Calls & Messages2

Set Start of Week in Calendar

If your calendar always opens on a Sunday even though you expect Monday to be the first column, the app is just following the region setting on your phone. This mismatch makes weekly planning confusing, especially when you compare dates with colleagues or family using a different week layout. A quick setting inside the Calendar app fixes the view for good.

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Apps & Installation2

Hide and Show Apps on the Home Screen

If an app keeps showing up on your home screen even though you do not want it visible, MIUI can hide it completely as long as App lock is turned on. Without App lock active, the option to hide apps simply does not appear in the menu. Once hidden, an app only reappears after you unlock it with your password or pattern.

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System & Settings

Reset Mi Browser Settings

If Mi Browser keeps loading a search engine you never picked, autofill won't clear, or saved passwords and history pile up without an obvious way to clean them individually, restoring the browser to its defaults fixes all of that in one step. This wipes personal settings and locally stored browsing data together, so it helps most when smaller fixes like clearing cache alone did not solve the problem.

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Security & Privacy2

Set Up Screen Lock with Pattern, PIN or Password

If your Xiaomi phone still opens with a swipe, anyone who picks it up can read your messages, open apps or change settings. Without an active screen lock, accidental taps in your pocket can also trigger calls or purchases. Setting up a Pattern, PIN or Password closes that gap and keeps the phone usable only for you.

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Network & Connectivity2

Turn Off Mobile Data When Device Is Locked

If your Xiaomi phone keeps burning through mobile data even while sitting locked in your pocket, a background data setting is likely still active. MIUI can cut mobile data automatically once the screen locks, but the delay before that happens is often left on a setting that does not match how you use the phone. That gap is what causes messages, emails or app updates to keep syncing long after you stopped looking at the screen.

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Photo, Video & Media2

Turn On, Off or Auto Camera Flash

If your Xiaomi camera fires the flash in bright rooms or refuses to light up a dark shot, the flash mode is set wrong. The camera app lets you force the flash on, force it off, or leave the decision to the automatic sensor. Getting this wrong ruins both photos and video clips shot in low light.

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Language & Input2

Change Keyboard Theme (Language & Input)

If the Gboard keyboard on your Xiaomi phone still shows the default gray background, the theme setting has never been switched. This only changes the visual layout - colors, gradients or picture backgrounds - and has no effect on autocorrect or typing speed. The key borders can also be turned on or off separately from the overall theme.

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Notifications & Focus2

Show or Hide Lock Screen Notification Content

If your Xiaomi phone shows full message text on the lock screen, anyone picking up the phone can read private notifications before it is even unlocked. If content stays hidden instead, you only see that something arrived without knowing what it says or who sent it. This behavior is controlled by a single notification format setting in MIUI, separate from each app's own notification permissions.

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Notifications & Focus2

Bedtime Mode: Turn On or Off

If your Xiaomi phone keeps buzzing with notifications late at night or the screen stays distractingly bright while you try to fall asleep, Bedtime mode is probably not set up yet. This feature is supposed to mute the device and dim the colors automatically, but only if you pick the right trigger - a fixed schedule or charging at night. Choosing the wrong option is the usual reason it never kicks in when you actually need it.

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Security & Privacy2

Change Home or Lock Screen Theme

If your Home screen, Lock screen, and app icons suddenly look inconsistent after switching themes, MIUI applied only part of the new theme's assets. This happens when a saved theme only covers some elements, like Lock screen and System, but skips Icons. Picking the wrong theme ('Classic' vs 'Limitless') or a corrupted download can also leave icons untouched while wallpapers change.

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Apps & Installation

Uninstall App Updates

If an app starts crashing, draining battery, or losing features right after an update on your Xiaomi phone, the new version is usually the cause. Instead of waiting for another patch, you can roll the app back to the version that shipped with your system and keep your data intact.

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Other2

Turn Quick Ball On or Off

If the floating navigation bubble is missing from your Xiaomi screen edge, you probably switched off Quick Ball at some point. This shortcut button gives fast access to actions like locking the screen, capturing a screenshot, or switching between recent apps without touching the physical buttons. When it disappears or starts blocking games and videos, it usually comes down to one setting hidden inside Additional settings.

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Photo, Video & Media2

Change Camera Photo Frame Ratio

Photos taken in the default 4:3 frame show black bars when you stream them to an HDTV or play them back on a widescreen display. Switching to a 16:9 ratio matches modern screens and avoids the letterboxing, while a 1:1 crop works better for square social posts. The frame setting sits in the camera menu and is easy to miss if you never open it.

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Other2

Change Camera Picture Quality

If your camera storage fills up fast or photos take too long to share, the picture quality setting in the MIUI camera app is often the reason. Xiaomi's camera defaults to a high resolution that produces large files, even when you only need a quick snapshot. Switching between High, Standard, and Low lets you balance sharpness against file size for each situation.

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Notifications & Focus2

Turn Notification Badges On or Off Per App

A red dot keeps sitting above an app icon even after you have opened every message inside it. On Xiaomi phones this badge is a separate switch from the notification itself, so muting an app does not always remove the counter. If the dot never clears, or shows up for an app you barely use, the badge toggle for that specific app is still turned on.

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