Save Previous Camera Mode
If your Xiaomi camera always opens in Photo mode even though you shot a video or used Portrait last time, the app is not storing your last selection. This happens when the option that remembers your last shooting mode is switched off, forcing every launch back to the default. Toggling it changes how the camera behaves on the next launch, not just during the current session.
App Download Preference (Play Store)
If apps on your Xiaomi phone start downloading over mobile data even while connected to Wi-Fi, the Play Store's download preference is likely set to Over any network. This setting decides whether new app installs and updates use any connection, Wi-Fi only, or ask before each download. Getting it wrong quickly eats into a limited monthly data plan.
App Lock: Lock or Unlock Apps
Anyone who picks up your Xiaomi phone can open sensitive apps like banking, messaging or gallery without extra protection beyond the screen lock. App Lock adds a second barrier for individual apps, separate from your device PIN or pattern. Without it enabled, apps stay accessible the moment the phone itself is unlocked.
Block Offensive Words in Keyboard Suggestions
If the keyboard on your Xiaomi phone keeps suggesting swear words or curses while typing, autocorrect is picking them up as valid entries. A dedicated filter in the keyboard settings controls whether these words show up in suggestions at all. Turning it on or off changes what the prediction bar offers, not what you can actually type.
Assign a Contact to a Speed Dial Number
If holding down a number on the dial pad does nothing on your Xiaomi phone, no contact has been linked to that speed dial slot yet. Speed dial only works once you connect a number manually to a saved contact. Without that step, the quick dial button stays empty and no call goes through.
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 Up Unlock with Bluetooth Device
If your Xiaomi phone stays locked even though your paired Bluetooth accessory is nearby, the Unlock with Bluetooth device feature is probably still off. Once active, the phone unlocks automatically near that device and stays unlocked as long as the connection holds. This only works with Xiaomi's own Bluetooth accessories, not with third-party headphones or wearables.
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.
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.
Turn On/Off Screen Magnification
If icons, text or app menus stay too small even after adjusting the display size, the built-in screen magnifier can help. On Xiaomi phones this feature works as a temporary zoom you trigger with a gesture or a shortcut button, not as a permanent font size change. Many users enable it but then struggle to find the toggle again or accidentally leave it running in the background.
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 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.
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.
Turn On Automatic Backup for Storage and Data
If you only remember to back up your Xiaomi phone after something breaks or gets lost, relying on manual backups is the real problem. MIUI can schedule backups on its own, but the default days, time, and data selection may not match how you actually use your phone. Getting the schedule wrong means backups either pile up unnecessarily or miss the files you actually care about.
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.
Mobile Data on Secondary SIM During VoLTE Calls
When you're on a VoLTE call with your primary SIM, mobile data can stay locked to that same line instead of switching to your secondary SIM. That leaves apps stuck loading or messages stuck sending mid-call. A dedicated toggle in the network settings decides which SIM handles data traffic while a VoLTE call is active.
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.