Set Up a VPN Connection
If a website, streaming service, or company network blocks your current connection, a VPN reroutes your traffic through an encrypted server and hides your real location. Without one, your provider and any public Wi-Fi you join can log everything you send. MIUI does not create VPN profiles on its own, so you need a working server address and login details ready before you connect.
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.
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.
App Lock Timing
If App lock keeps asking for your PIN every time you switch briefly between apps, the delay is probably set too tight. Xiaomi lets you choose whether protected apps lock the instant the screen turns off, right after you leave the app, or after a short grace period. Picking the wrong option means either constant re-entry or apps staying unlocked longer than you want.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Set the Default Media Volume Level
Videos, music, and games on your Xiaomi phone start way too loud or too quiet, and pressing the Volume buttons only helps once something is already playing. That happens because Media volume runs on its own channel, separate from ringtone and notification levels in MIUI.
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.
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.
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.
Turn an Alarm On or Off
Alarms you already set on your Xiaomi phone stay stored even after you switch them off, but the toggle in the Clock app is easy to miss. If an alarm keeps ringing when you do not need it, or stays silent when you want it active, the switch next to the entry is probably in the wrong position. This affects your wake-up routine and any reminders you set up in MIUI.
Add Update Shortcut to Home Screen
Checking for a new MIUI version usually means digging through several settings screens on a Xiaomi phone. A home screen shortcut skips that detour and opens the update check directly. Without it, casual users often forget to check for updates at all.
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.
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.
Battery Optimization Settings for Individual Apps
If a messaging app stops delivering notifications until you open it, or a background app quietly drains your battery overnight, MIUI's per-app battery optimization is usually behind it. Some apps get frozen too aggressively, others are left completely unrestricted and keep running in the background. Getting this balance wrong either kills battery life or breaks apps that need to stay active.
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.
Rename a Home Screen Folder
A newly created folder on your Xiaomi home screen often just carries a generic label like 'Folder' or picks up the name of the first app you dropped into it. That makes it hard to tell at a glance whether it holds your shopping apps, finance tools, or games. Once you have several folders sitting next to each other, a clear name is the only thing that keeps your screen readable.
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.
Add a Keyboard Language
Typing in a second language on your Xiaomi phone turns into a mess of red underlines and wrong autocorrect suggestions when the keyboard only knows one language. Messages, emails, and notes in that language become slower to write because every word gets flagged or swapped for something else. The built-in keyboard supports multiple languages at once, but only if you add them manually first.
Set Battery Saver for Individual Apps
If one app drains your battery fast while another stops sending notifications on time, a single phone-wide power saving mode will not fix both problems. Xiaomi lets you assign a separate battery plan to each app instead of forcing every app into the same restriction level. Picking the wrong option for an app can either waste battery or delay important alerts.
Change Device Name
If your Xiaomi phone still shows up under its model number when you scan for Bluetooth devices or connect to a hotspot, that is the default device name at work. It makes picking your phone out of a list of nearby devices harder, especially if you own more than one Xiaomi device. MIUI lets you replace that generic label with a name you actually recognize.
Turn VoLTE On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone keeps dropping calls to a shaky 2G or 3G signal even though you have full LTE bars, VoLTE is probably switched off. Without it, voice calls ignore your 4G connection and fall back to older, slower networks, which means longer connect times, choppier audio and extra battery use. Turning Use VoLTE on or off is a single switch inside your SIM settings.