Set Date Manually
If the date on your Xiaomi phone keeps resetting no matter how often you change it, automatic network time sync is usually the reason. As long as this feature stays on, MIUI pulls the date from your carrier and overwrites any manual edit in Settings within seconds.
Turn Focus Mode On or Off
If notifications from social or gaming apps keep interrupting your home office setup on a Xiaomi phone, Focus mode is the built-in tool meant to block that noise for selected apps. Many users only discover the toggle by accident, and the automatic scheduling option often stays unused, leaving the phone unrestricted outside of manual activation.
Double-Space Period Shortcut
If you double-tap the space bar on a Xiaomi keyboard and suddenly get a period you did not mean to type, this shortcut is turned on. If you rely on it to speed up typing and it stops working after a keyboard update, the setting got switched off or reset.
Turn Battery Saver On or Off
When Battery saver kicks in on your Xiaomi phone, background tasks like email sync or downloads slow down or pause until you charge again. That can leave messages arriving late or apps failing to update in the background. If you want full performance back, or want to save power on purpose, you need to control this mode directly.
Camera Filter Selection
If your photos keep coming out with the same flat color tone, the camera is probably still set to its default look instead of one of the built-in filters. Xiaomi's camera offers several color styles like Vivid, Amour, Black & White or Sun, but the picker is easy to miss if you have never opened it before. The same filter menu controls photo, video and other media modes, so finding it once changes every shot you take afterward.
Enable Early Updates in MIUI Settings
If your Xiaomi phone always seems to be the last one on your block to get a new firmware push, a hidden switch called Receive updates early might be worth checking. Turning it on moves your device into a faster distribution group, but that also means you receive builds that have gone through less real-world testing. Many people flip this toggle without realizing that a quicker rollout can come with more bugs than the regular update channel.
Auto-download Updates via Mobile Data
If your Xiaomi phone keeps pulling system updates in the background while you are off Wi-Fi, mobile data usage can climb fast without warning. MIUI treats update downloads as automatic once a new version is detected, and a separate toggle decides whether mobile data counts as an allowed source for that download. Switching it off limits update downloads to Wi-Fi only, which matters if you are on a limited plan.
Adjust Ringtone Volume for Calls and Notifications
If calls ring too loud while notifications stay silent, the culprit is usually the separate volume sliders inside Sound & vibration. Xiaomi phones control ringtone, reminder and notification volume independently, so lowering one slider does not affect the others. This mismatch often causes missed calls or alerts that trigger at the wrong volume.
Create an Album in Gallery
When photos and videos pile up in one long timeline, finding a specific trip or event gets tedious fast. The Gallery app on Xiaomi phones sorts everything by date by default, with no automatic grouping by topic or person. Creating a custom album lets you pull selected photos and videos into one place without digging through months of camera roll.
Copy a Text Message
Need to reuse a phone number, code, or address from an SMS without retyping it? On Xiaomi phones the copy option for a text message only appears after a precise long press, and it is easy to miss if you tap the wrong spot on the bubble. Here is where the Copy command actually shows up inside the Messages app.
Select Network Manually
When you travel abroad and your phone keeps hanging on a weak carrier, automatic network selection is usually the cause. MIUI picks a network by signal priority, not by actual reception quality, so calls drop and data stalls even though a stronger carrier is available nearby. Switching to manual selection lets you pick that carrier yourself instead of waiting for the phone to reconnect.
Allow Repeated Calls in Do Not Disturb
When Do Not Disturb is active on your Xiaomi phone, every incoming call gets silenced, even urgent ones. MIUI has a separate setting that lets a second call from the same number within a short window ring through instead of staying muted.
Turn Off Suggestions in Recent Apps Menu
If your recent apps screen on a Xiaomi phone keeps showing extra tiles for Cleaner, Security scan, Deep cleaning or Manage Apps, a system suggestion feature is adding them automatically. This can make the app switcher feel cluttered and slower to scan through, especially if you only want to see your open apps.
Location Accuracy Mode Settings
If your Xiaomi phone struggles to lock onto a location or the battery drains faster than usual, the active location mode is often the reason. MIUI offers different accuracy levels that combine GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and mobile network data in different ways, and the wrong choice leads to slow fixes indoors or unnecessary power drain outdoors.
Add New Browser Tabs
Closing your current page every time you want to check something else in Mi Browser gets old fast. If you cannot find a way to browse two pages at once without losing your place, the tab feature in Mi Browser solves that without extra apps.
Turn Wi-Fi Auto Reconnect On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone keeps rejoining a Wi-Fi network you would rather avoid, or the connection drops every time you walk back into range, the Connect automatically option tied to that specific network is behind it. MIUI turns this behavior on by default for every network you have ever joined, and it stays active until you switch it off for that network individually. That is also why disabling it on one network never changes the behavior of the others.
Change Ringtone for a Contact Group
If every group member still rings with the default tone, or one contact keeps overriding the sound you picked, the group ringtone setting inside the Contacts app is being ignored. On Xiaomi phones a ringtone assigned directly to a single contact always takes priority over any group-level tone, no matter what you set in My groups. That mix-up is the most common reason a group ringtone seems to have no effect.
Edit App Vault Shortcuts
If your App Vault on the Home screen still shows outdated app icons, or the shortcuts you actually use don't fit anymore, the list needs a manual update. Xiaomi's App Vault holds up to eight shortcuts from categories like Social Media, Entertainment, Security, or Tools, and MIUI never reorders or refreshes them on its own. You have to add, remove, or move each shortcut yourself.
Change Font Size
Reading long texts on a small screen strains your eyes if the system font stays too small, and cranking up brightness alone does not fix that. On Xiaomi phones the text scale sits in its own menu, separate from general display settings, which is why many people never find it. MIUI offers six size steps instead of a simple small/medium/large switch, so getting the right level takes a bit of trial and error.
Schedule Do Not Disturb Automatically
If Do Not Disturb only works when you remember to switch it on, notifications still slip through during meetings or overnight. MIUI can run silent or Do Not Disturb mode on its own recurring schedule, but the settings for start time, repetition and mode type are easy to miss.
Set a Timer in the Clock App
Setting an alarm just to catch the end of an eBay auction wastes a reminder slot and still leaves you guessing when to check back. The Timer function in the Clock app on your Xiaomi phone counts down a fixed period and alerts you the moment it is over, without touching your alarm list. Many users overlook this tool because it sits next to the alarm and stopwatch tabs and rarely gets used.
Turn Personalized Ad Recommendations On or Off
If ads on your Xiaomi phone feel oddly tied to your recent searches or app activity, Personalized ad recommendations is the setting behind it. Switching it off does not lower how many banners you see, it only stops MIUI from matching them to your interests and usage data.
Turn Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot On or Off
If other devices cannot get online through your Xiaomi phone, the portable hotspot might simply be switched off or still using a network name and password you do not remember. This feature turns your mobile data connection into a Wi-Fi network for laptops, tablets or other phones nearby. Once it is active, the tricky part is usually finding the right toggle again, since it sits inside a settings screen most people only visit once.
Email Guests From a Calendar Event
If an appointment reminder alone is not enough, guests often miss details or forget the event entirely. MIUI Calendar lets you send everyone attached to an event a custom email, but the app pre-selects all added guests automatically. Checking that list before sending prevents the message from going to the wrong people.