Focus & Shoot: Turn On or Off
If tapping the screen on your Xiaomi camera fires the shutter right away instead of just setting focus, Focus & shoot is switched on. Some people rely on this two-tap workflow to keep the phone steady, while others get accidental photos while they are still framing the shot.
Turn Autofill Service On or Off
If login fields on your Xiaomi phone stay empty or a browser keeps offering saved passwords you never asked for, the Autofill service is likely misconfigured. This system feature decides whether apps and browsers can pull addresses, payment details or passwords into forms automatically. Switching providers or turning the service off changes what gets filled in and which app holds that data.
Turn Google Play Protect On or Off
If your Xiaomi keeps blocking app installs from outside the Play Store, or you get repeated malware warnings for apps you know are safe, Google Play Protect is usually behind it. The feature scans every app before and after installation and can flag legitimate apps as risky. You can check its current status and switch the scanning behavior directly from the security settings.
Double Tap to Wake or Sleep Screen
Waking your Xiaomi phone only works by pressing the power button, and double-tapping the display does nothing. This happens when 'Double tap to wake or turn off screen' is switched off in the lock screen settings, so a quick glance at the clock or notifications requires a full button press instead.
Add Extra Contact Details
Only a phone number and name saved for a contact leaves out useful extras like birthday, nickname, or a website link. On Xiaomi phones, MIUI hides these optional fields behind the standard edit screen, so you never see them unless you go looking. Without filling them in, calls and messages only ever show the bare minimum information for that person.
Switch Between Navigation Buttons and Gestures
If your Xiaomi phone shows on-screen Back, Home, and App Toggle buttons but you expected full-screen swipe gestures - or swipes stopped registering and buttons appeared instead - the system navigation mode has switched. This setting decides whether MIUI runs on three buttons or edge-to-edge gestures, and mixing up the active mode leads to missed taps or swipes that do nothing.
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.
Change Preferred Network Type
If your phone shows no or barely any 4G/LTE signal in certain spots, calls drop and data stalls even though older 3G or 2G networks are still available nearby. The Preferred network type setting decides which mobile network your SIM tries first, and the wrong choice can leave you stuck searching for a signal instead of connecting to one that actually works.
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.
Assign Google Assistant to the Power Button
On some Xiaomi phones a short press of the Power button opens the power menu instead of Google Assistant, even though full screen gesture navigation is active. This happens because the button shortcut for Google Assistant sits in a separate settings section and stays off by default. Without enabling it, you still need the home button gesture or voice command to wake the Assistant.
Schedule Power On/Off
If you keep forgetting to switch your Xiaomi phone off at night or want it ready and running before you even reach for it in the morning, pressing the power button every time gets old fast. MIUI includes a built-in scheduler that turns the device on and off at fixed times you define, with support for daily repetition or custom days. Once set up, the phone handles the switching on its own, without any manual input.
Turn On or Off Reading Mode
If your Xiaomi phone throws a cold, blue-tinted glow at night, reading on it can feel harsh and even keep you awake longer. Reading mode warms up the display colors to ease eye strain, but a lot of people never find the toggle or the scheduling option. Without it set up correctly, the warmer tone never kicks in on its own when you need it.
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.
Turn Wi-Fi On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone won't connect to your home or public network, Wi-Fi might simply be switched off in the background. Leaving Wi-Fi active around the clock also drains the battery faster, especially when no network is in range. Many users struggle to find the toggle after a system update moved it inside a different menu.
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.
Manage the Personal Dictionary
If your keyboard keeps autocorrecting a name, brand term, or slang word you actually want to type, MIUI's personal dictionary is the setting that controls this behavior. Without an entry there, the keyboard falls back to its built-in wordlist and ignores your preferred spelling or shortcut for longer phrases.
Wi-Fi Assistant: Select Best Networks Automatically
If your Xiaomi phone keeps switching away from a weak Wi-Fi network without asking, Wi-Fi assistant is likely doing that for you. Once every nearby network drops in signal, it can also fall back to mobile data on its own, which can use up your data plan faster than expected. This automatic switching can also cause interruptions during video calls or downloads.
Turn On/Off Wi-Fi Calling
Weak signal at home, underground, or in a concrete building often causes dropped calls on a Xiaomi phone, even when Wi-Fi shows full bars. Wi-Fi calling routes voice calls through your wireless network instead of the mobile network, but only works if your carrier actually supports it. If the toggle is missing from your SIM settings, an unsupported plan or outdated carrier profile is usually the reason.
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.
Turn Do Not Disturb On or Off
When Do Not Disturb is active on your Xiaomi phone, calls get an instant busy signal and every notification stays silent, even for messages you actually want to hear. Many people leave it on by accident after enabling it for a meeting or at night, since MIUI does not always show a clear reminder that it is still running. Checking the current status and switching it off takes just a few taps in Sound & vibration settings.
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.
Unhide an Album in Gallery
If a photo album you hid earlier is missing from Gallery, it is not deleted - it just sits in a separate hidden section. Xiaomi keeps hidden albums out of the main view until you unhide them again, and each album needs to be restored on its own.
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.
Turn Screen Cast On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone won't mirror to a TV or monitor, the built-in Cast feature might be turned off, or your phone and screen aren't on the same Wi-Fi network. Screen Cast behaves differently from many third-party mirroring apps, since playback usually stops the moment you turn off the display. That makes it easy to mistake a disabled toggle for a broken connection.