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.
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.
Remove a Stored Fingerprint
If a fingerprint still unlocks your Xiaomi phone after you sold it, handed it to someone else, or just registered a bad scan, that print needs to go. MIUI stores several fingerprints under one name, so it is easy to remove the wrong one by mistake. Deleting a print always asks for your unlock pattern, PIN or password first, which trips up people who only remember using their finger.
Show or Hide Password Characters While Typing
On Xiaomi phones, every character you type into a password field flashes briefly on screen before turning into a dot. If you unlock accounts in public, on a video call, or while someone else can see your display, that brief character preview can expose your password to anyone nearby.
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 On/Off Auto Brightness
If your Xiaomi screen keeps getting brighter or dimmer without you touching anything, Auto Brightness is reacting to the light sensor. You can still drag the brightness slider manually while the function stays active, which often causes confusion about which setting is actually in control.
Check for System Updates
If you swiped away the update notification on your Xiaomi phone or never saw it pop up, the update itself is not lost. MIUI still tracks it in the background, you just need to trigger the check yourself. This matters when a security patch or bugfix has been sitting unnoticed for weeks.
Turn Off Developer Options
If Developer options keeps popping up in your Xiaomi settings even though you only enabled it once for a quick fix, it usually just needs to be switched off inside its own menu. Leaving it active keeps USB debugging and other low-level toggles exposed, which can interfere with app checks or banking apps. Turning it off hides the whole menu again until you reactivate it through the hidden tap sequence.
Turn On/Off USB Debugging
If MyPhoneExplorer refuses to sync contacts or a rooting tool cannot detect your Xiaomi phone over cable, USB debugging is usually still switched off. The option only appears once Developer options are unlocked, and many users cannot find the toggle afterward. Leaving it enabled permanently also carries a small security risk you should know about.
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.
Lock Home Screen Layout
If icons keep shifting position every time you delete an app or accidentally shake your phone, MIUI is still rearranging empty spaces on its own. Locking the layout stops that automatic reshuffling and keeps every icon exactly where you placed it.
Turn Auto-Sync Data On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone burns through mobile data or drains battery faster than expected, background account synchronization is often the reason. This setting keeps your Google Account data, like contacts, calendar entries and photos, updated in the background at all times. Switching it off stops the drain immediately but also means new changes stop arriving until you sync manually.
Turn Tap Sounds On or Off
Every tap on a button, the Back key, or a menu item triggers a short click sound on your Xiaomi phone. If that noise gets distracting during calls, meetings, or at night, the Tap sounds setting is behind it and can be switched off just as quickly as it can be turned back on.
Turn Off Battery Saver Automatically After Charging
If Battery saver stays active even after your Xiaomi phone finishes charging, it keeps throttling performance and dimming the screen longer than needed. MIUI can switch Battery saver off on its own once the battery reaches a set charge level, so you don't have to remember to disable it by hand every time you unplug the charger.
Stay on Lock Screen After Face Unlock
If your phone jumps straight to the home screen after face unlock, you lose the chance to glance at notifications or widgets on the lock screen first. Other users want the opposite and prefer to land on the home screen right away without an extra tap. This behavior comes from a single toggle hidden inside the Face unlock settings on your Xiaomi phone.
Switch Recent Apps View
On Xiaomi phones, Recents stacks open apps vertically below each other by default, which can feel cramped if you are used to the classic card layout. MIUI lets you switch to a horizontal row instead, so apps line up side by side like in older Android versions. This setting sits in the Home screen options, not inside the multitasking menu itself.
Show or Hide Week Numbers in Calendar
Scheduling an event and trying to figure out which calendar week it falls into turns into quick mental math every time. The Calendar app on Xiaomi phones can display the week number next to every row, but the option sits buried in a settings menu most people never open.
Turn a Keyboard On or Off
A new keyboard downloaded from the Play Store does not automatically show up next to Gboard on your Xiaomi phone. Until you switch it on in the input settings, it stays hidden from the language switcher and typing keeps defaulting to the old keyboard. This usually happens with third-party layouts, handwriting keyboards, or apps installed after the initial setup.
Change Wallpaper on Home Screen
Tapping and holding the home screen only gives you a handful of preset wallpapers to pick from. If you want a specific photo from a particular folder set as your background, that shortcut alone won't get you there.
Restrict Mobile Data Usage for an App
If a Xiaomi phone burns through your data plan even though you barely open certain apps, background data access is usually the cause. By default every installed app can use mobile data and Wi-Fi without restriction. On dual-SIM phones this applies separately to each SIM slot, which makes it harder to spot which line is actually consuming the data.
Turn Contact Sharing via Bluetooth On or Off
When you pair your Xiaomi phone with a car radio, the contact list sometimes stays empty even though the Bluetooth connection shows as active. That happens because MIUI keeps Contact sharing separate from the general Bluetooth toggle, so voice dialing and steering-wheel controls have no phonebook to pull from until you enable it. The same setting can also keep sharing your address book with a paired device after you no longer want it to.
Allow or Deny Do Not Disturb Access for Apps
When an app suddenly enables Do Not Disturb on its own, or a call app keeps muting notifications you actually want to see, a hidden system permission is usually behind it. On Xiaomi phones, individual apps can request permission to switch Do Not Disturb on or off, and that access is not always obvious from the app itself. Checking which apps hold this permission helps you regain control over your notifications.
Set Touch & Hold Delay
If long-pressing an app icon on your Xiaomi home screen either opens the shortcut menu too fast by accident or takes too long to react, the touch and hold delay is set to the wrong stage. This timing controls how long you need to keep your finger down before a long-press action triggers, and it affects every control element that supports it, not just app shortcuts.
Battery Saver: Extra Power Optimization Options
If Battery saver is switched on but your Xiaomi phone still lights up the screen for every notification, the standard saver mode is not doing its full job. Always-on display can also keep draining power even while Battery saver is active. Two extra toggles sit outside the main Battery saver screen and control exactly this behavior.