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.
Back Up Phone Data to Google Drive
If your Xiaomi phone gets reset, lost or swapped for a new one, contacts, messages and app data disappear unless a backup exists somewhere else. MIUI has a built-in option to save that data to Google Drive, but the toggle sits buried in the general settings and is easy to miss until you actually need it.
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.
Turn On App Lock
If anyone can open your banking, messaging, or gallery apps just by unlocking your phone, sensitive content stays exposed. Xiaomi phones include a separate app-level lock that adds a second layer of protection on top of your screen lock. Setting it up wrong, or skipping the fingerprint option, often leaves some apps unprotected.
Manage Updates for System Apps
If your Xiaomi phone keeps nagging you about system app updates - or stays silent when new versions are actually ready - the System apps updater settings are probably not set the way you want. MIUI lets you control whether update notifications show up, whether updates install automatically, and whether downloads run on Wi-Fi only or also over mobile data. Leaving these settings on default can mean unexpected data usage or missed fixes.
Auto-Disable Ultra Battery Saver at 50% Charge
Once your Xiaomi phone reaches around 50% charge, Ultra battery saver can switch itself off without asking, dropping all the restrictions it just applied. If you rely on the extreme power-saving mode staying active until you manually turn it off, this automatic behavior gets in the way. The setting controlling this is separate from the regular battery saver toggle.
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.
Rename a Paired Bluetooth Device
When several Bluetooth accessories are paired to your Xiaomi phone, the device list can quickly fill up with cryptic model numbers or partial MAC addresses. Telling a pair of earbuds apart from a car stereo or a fitness tracker gets difficult once the default names look identical. Renaming each paired device gives you a clear label instead of guessing which entry belongs to which gadget.
Turn On/Off Camera Live Tips
If your Xiaomi camera keeps popping up messages about a dirty lens or telling you to hold the phone level, the Live tips feature is running in the background. These prompts are useful for beginners but can get in the way during fast shooting, and not everyone wants every single tip active.
Turn Quick Responses On or Off
When a call comes in and you cannot pick up, MIUI can send the caller a short text instead of just cutting them off. If that automatic reply keeps firing at the wrong moments or refuses to trigger at all, the Quick responses feature needs a check.
Zoom In and Out in the Camera App
If the pinch gesture in the Camera app feels imprecise or the zoom slider does not react as expected, framing a shot gets frustrating fast. On Xiaomi phones the zoom level can be controlled either with two fingers on the screen or with a dedicated slider next to the shutter button, and mixing up both methods often causes jumpy results. Knowing which control belongs to which situation makes zooming smoother and prevents accidental resets while shooting.
Block a Contact (Calls & Messages)
If someone keeps calling or texting after you have asked them to stop, deleting the contact does not actually stop the calls or messages from reaching you. MIUI has a separate blocklist function inside the Contacts app that silently rejects both. Note that blocking only works for numbers already saved as a contact, not for random unsaved numbers.
Turn JavaScript On or Off in Mi Browser
If buttons stop responding, menus refuse to open, or entire pages appear blank in Mi Browser, JavaScript is likely disabled on your Xiaomi phone. Most modern sites rely on this scripting language for interactive elements, so a wrong toggle in your browser settings breaks navigation fast.
Change TalkBack Voice Output Settings
If TalkBack reads text too fast, too slow, or in a pitch that is hard to follow, the default speech output values are likely still active. On Xiaomi phones the speaking rate and voice pitch can be adjusted independently through sliders in the Text-to-speech settings.
Turn On Second Space
If you want to keep work apps, private photos, or a guest profile completely separate from your main Xiaomi setup, mixing everything into one home screen becomes a mess fast. Second space creates an isolated area with its own apps, files, and accounts, so nothing from one side leaks into the other. It is different from a simple app lock, because the whole environment is duplicated rather than just hidden.
Set Autoclick Dwell Timing for a Mouse
If you control your Xiaomi phone with a connected mouse, clicking a tiny cursor button gets tiring fast. Autoclick (dwell timing) lets the phone register a click automatically once the pointer stops moving for a set time. The delay is adjustable, so a short dwell time can trigger accidental taps while a long one feels sluggish.
Save Photos and Videos to SD Card Automatically
If your Xiaomi phone keeps filling up internal storage even though a microSD card is inserted, the camera is probably still saving everything to the phone by default. New shots and clips pile up locally instead of moving to the card, which quickly triggers low-storage warnings.
Reset Camera Settings to Default
If your Xiaomi camera keeps producing blurry shots, odd colors, or a shooting mode you no longer understand after trying out filters and manual adjustments, restoring the default configuration usually fixes it. This clears every custom change you made in the camera app without touching photos or videos already saved on your phone. It is the fastest way to undo settings that got out of control after too much tinkering with exposure, resolution, or scene modes.
Add a Print Service
If a print dialog on your Xiaomi phone shows no printer at all, no print service is registered in MIUI yet. Most phones only come with a driver for Epson devices, so printers from other brands stay invisible until you install their own service. Without that step, apps like a PDF viewer or browser can never send a job to your printer.
Turn Data Usage On or Off for a SIM Card
If mobile data suddenly refuses to turn back on after your phone hit its limit, the culprit is usually the Data usage toggle inside the Security app. Xiaomi switches off the connection automatically once the set threshold is reached, and it stays off until you flip that switch again. The same setting also lets you disable mobile data manually before any limit is close.
Turn Call Vibration On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone buzzes loudly on a hard surface every time someone calls, or you can barely feel it while it sits in your pocket, the call vibration setting is likely working against you. This option controls only the vibration for incoming calls, independent from message or app notification vibration. Getting it wrong means either annoying buzzing on a desk or missed calls when the phone is muted and out of sight.
Turn On/Off Ultra Battery Saver
When your Xiaomi phone drops to critical battery, apps stop refreshing in the background and the screen switches to a dark theme without asking first. That is Ultra battery saver taking over, and it can feel like half your phone stopped working until you know how to control it.
Change Ringtone for Event Reminders
If every calendar reminder, note alert, and task notification on your Xiaomi phone plays the same generic tone, it's easy to miss what actually matters. Event reminders use a separate sound slot from calls and messages, so changing your default notification tone alone does nothing. MIUI lets you assign a dedicated tone just for these reminders, from either Xiaomi's included tones or your own sound files.
Turn Emergency Location Service (ELS) On or Off
If first responders cannot pinpoint your position during an emergency call or text, Emergency Location Service on your Xiaomi phone may be switched off. This feature sends your current GPS position automatically whenever you dial an emergency number, but it only works if the setting is active and your wireless carrier supports it. Some users disable it by accident while adjusting location permissions, which delays help in a real emergency.