Custom Image on Always-on Display
If the pre-installed Always-on Display themes on your Xiaomi phone all look the same, you can swap them for a photo of your own. MIUI lets you pick any image from your gallery instead of the default clock designs. Once applied, you can still adjust the clock position, text color, and how battery or notification icons appear on top of your picture.
Remove a Contact from Speed Dial
Speed dial slots on Xiaomi phones fill up fast, and once all numbers are taken you cannot assign a new one until an old entry is cleared. Removing a number from the list only deletes the shortcut, not the contact itself, but the option sits several menus deep inside the call settings and is easy to miss.
Clear RAM and Storage
If your Xiaomi phone feels sluggish or storage keeps filling up, junk files, app cache, and rarely used apps are often the cause. MIUI includes a built-in cleanup tool that clears RAM and storage in one pass, but what actually gets removed depends on which categories you select before confirming.
Turn On/Off Pop-up on Keypress
If every letter you tap on your Xiaomi keyboard flashes up in a small preview bubble, typing can feel slower and the screen looks cluttered. This preview comes from a keyboard setting called Popup on keypress, and it can get in the way when you type quickly in Messenger, WhatsApp or any other app. You can switch it on or off directly in the keyboard settings on your phone.
Restart the Xiaomi Smartphone
If apps on your Xiaomi phone start lagging, background downloads get stuck, or the interface feels sluggish after days of uptime, a restart usually clears the problem. MIUI keeps processes and cached data running in the background, and over time this can slow down the whole system. A clean reboot forces MIUI to close every open app and rebuild its memory from scratch.
Volume Key Shortcut for Accessibility Features
If holding both volume buttons for three seconds does nothing on your Xiaomi phone, the volume key shortcut for accessibility functions like TalkBack or color correction is switched off in MIUI. Sometimes the shortcut is set up but blocked on the lock screen, so it only reacts once you have unlocked the device. Checking the assigned shortcut service and its lock screen permission clears up both issues.
Assign Custom Button Shortcuts
If double-pressing the power button always opens the camera when you wanted a screenshot instead, the button shortcut linked to that gesture doesn't match how you actually use your phone. MIUI lets you remap gestures like double-press power or long-press volume to actions such as torch, split screen or Google Assistant. Finding and changing that mapping means digging through a settings menu that isn't obvious at first glance.
Open Split Screen via Recent Apps
Switching back and forth between two apps constantly slows you down, especially when you need to compare content or copy information between them. On Xiaomi phones the Recent apps overview hides the option to run two apps side by side unless you tap and hold the right spot on the app card. Not every app supports this mode, and the shortcut disappears if you tap the wrong area.
Add a Second Face Unlock Profile
If Face Unlock keeps failing because you wear glasses, a mask, or switch up your look, one stored face often is not enough. Xiaomi lets you register a second face profile so the sensor recognizes both appearances without asking for your PIN every time. Without this second entry, the phone falls back to Pattern, PIN or Password whenever your look does not match the saved data.
Change Color Scheme
If photos, videos or app icons on your Xiaomi phone look washed out or overly intense, the display color scheme is likely set to the wrong profile. MIUI lets you switch between a natural, a vivid and a standard color rendering, plus fine-tune the color temperature manually. Picking the wrong option can make skin tones look off or colors appear flat.
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.
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.
Send Photos and Videos via Bluetooth
Sending a photo or video from your Xiaomi phone to a paired device sometimes stalls right after you tap Share, or the target device never shows up in the list. This usually comes down to picking the wrong sharing option or Bluetooth pairing not being active. The steps below use MIUI's file sharing menu, which works the same for pictures, videos and most other file types.
Snooze App Notifications
When a chat app or delivery tracker keeps buzzing during a meeting, muting it completely isn't always what you want. MIUI lets you pause a single notification for a set time instead of turning it off for good. This keeps the alert coming back later without touching the app's notification settings.
Configure Individual System App Settings
When Security, Messages, or Camera on your Xiaomi phone keeps auto-updating or asking for permissions you never approved, a hidden per-app toggle in System app settings is usually the cause. Each preinstalled MIUI app, from Calendar to Recorder, carries its own switches for updates, notifications, and background data that do not show up on the regular app info screen. Finding the right toggle for the right app is the only way to fix the behavior without disabling the whole app.
Set Default Reminder Time for Calendar Events
Every new event in the Calendar app on a Xiaomi phone gets the same reminder time by default, even when it does not fit the appointment. Resetting the reminder manually for each entry gets tedious fast, especially for recurring meetings. This default value comes from a setting most people never open.
Record a Video with the Camera App
If the Xiaomi Camera app only shows photo mode when you open it, video recording is often just one swipe away and easy to miss. Some users also get confused about which button starts, pauses, and stops a recording, since the shutter button changes function depending on the mode. This mix-up leads to accidentally recorded clips or missed footage.
Set Up a Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot
If your Xiaomi phone still hands out a hotspot name and password nobody chose, other people nearby can guess it or connect without permission. A weak default SSID also makes it harder to spot your own hotspot among several devices in the same room. Setting a custom name and password fixes both problems and keeps the connection under your control.
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.
Enable Reading Mode in Mi Browser
Bright white pages in Mi Browser can strain your eyes during long reading sessions, especially at night. Xiaomi's reading mode swaps sharp whites for a warmer tone and dims contrast to reduce eye strain, but many people miss the intensity slider that controls how strong the effect actually is. Without adjusting it, the change can feel too subtle or too aggressive.
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.
Turn Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Scanning for Location
Even with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched off, your Xiaomi phone can still scan nearby networks and devices to sharpen its location fix. Apps with location permission trigger this background scanning automatically, keeping your radios active more often than expected. If you want tighter control over when your phone searches for networks, the scanning setting needs to be adjusted separately from the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles.
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.